ALEX.
The room felt like it had tilted off its axis. For a moment, I truly thought I hadn’t heard Madam Katarina correctly. Her voice rang sharp and unforgiving, slicing through the air with a certainty that made my chest tighten painfully just as I was about to leave the room.
“I knew it,” she snapped. “I always knew she was capable of mistreating the children.”
The words hit harder than a slap.
My mouth opened, instinctively forming protests, explanations—anything—but no sound came out at first. I looked from Katarina to Niko, hoping, praying, that he would see through this. That he would read my face, my panic, the sheer disbelief written all over me.
Instead, what I saw in his eyes shattered me. They were filled with disappointment, confusion and uncertainty.
“No,” I said finally
