As soon as they entered, Catalina rushed forward and threw her arms around Adeline, weeping uncontrollably. "Your father..." she sobbed, her voice choking as she slumped against Adeline's shoulder.
Adeline stood frozen, unable to react to the sudden display of grief. Her gaze drifted past her stepmother, landing on the coffin in the center of the room where her father now lay.
"Why aren't you crying?" Catalina asked, pulling away and wiping her eyes with a trembling hand. She looked at Adeline with sorrow. "You won't see your father ever again. He won't come back, Adeline."
Those words struck a hidden nerve, dragging Adeline back to the day her mother died. Her vision began to blur, and her chest heaved as a sharp wave of anxiety took hold of her lungs. The room started to tilt, the mourning faces spinning around her, until she felt Gideon's solid frame catch her from behind.
