Bella's POV
The Fairfax family was drowning in tension.
The flames were out, but our memorial hall lay in complete ruin.
I stared at the ancestral tablets scattered like broken bones across the floor, some split clean through, their carved names now impossible to read.
The portraits of our ancestors that once hung proudly on the walls had turned to ash.
When Father heard about the memorial hall burning down, fury consumed him. His face went white, his eyes rolled back, and he dropped like a stone.
Our family physician scrambled forward, hands shaking as he fumbled for his needles. After a few desperate jabs, Father slowly opened his eyes.
The air in the main hall felt suffocating.
Ivy knelt on the freezing floor, her whole body trembling. Tears cut clean lines through the soot smeared across her cheeks.
Mother sat close by, looking completely rattled, her mouth slightly open but too afraid to make a sound.
