Chapter 15

• Danielle stood in the hallway, watching Aria’s car disappear through the wrought-iron gates.
• Her fingers tightened slightly around the mug of warm tea in her hands. The afternoon sun filtered through the tall windows, casting a golden haze across the marble floors. Everything about this house was pristine—silent and surreal, like a photograph frozen in time. And yet, standing here in borrowed slippers and a worn-out sweater, she felt oddly... grounded.
• Behind her, soft footsteps padded across the floor.