Lara had been lying awake for over an hour, but sleep refused to claim her.
The room was quiet—too quiet. Even the soft breathing of the little girl beside her only sharpened the tension coiled in her chest.
She pushed herself upright and sat at the edge of the bed, her gaze drifting toward the child.
Shay slept peacefully, her tiny face relaxed, lashes resting like delicate shadows against her cheeks.
An angel.
Untouched by the kind of truths Lara was beginning to uncover.
Lara's brows drew together.
Her mind reached—again—for something that should have been there.
But there was nothing, just fog. A suffocating, impenetrable fog.
And beneath it, a dull, throbbing pressure that pulsed behind her eyes like a warning.
She exhaled slowly and reached for the photo book.
The balcony doors slid open with a soft whisper, letting in the cool night air. It brushed against her skin, grounding, but not enough.
She sank into the lounge chair and opened the photo book again.
…
