Chapter 164

• Zara’s POV
• The world had grown louder in the weeks since I returned to school. Reconstruction hammers echoed across the grounds, laughter from students trying to reclaim normalcy floated through the air, and the scent of fresh paint blended strangely together. Yet somehow, inside me, there was only silence.
• I hadn’t spoken to Aunty May since that night. Since she shattered everything I thought I knew with one sentence: “I am your mother.”