Chapter 197 A Final Prayer

• Vittoria stepped forward and took Helen’s hand with the gentleness of someone who recognized a pain that needed no words.
• Their eyes met for a moment, and within that brief silence there existed an understanding that went beyond consolation, the understanding of mothers who knew the absence that erodes from within.
• Without saying anything, Helen turned and wrapped Vittoria in a trembling embrace, her entire body yielding beneath the weight of grief.