Emily's POV.

I wasn’t expecting company.

Not today. Not ever, really.

But when the doorbell rang, the house was too quiet except for the distant murmur of the bodyguards outside. I knew…whoever it was, they weren’t just dropping by for fun.

I pulled the door open, and there she was.

My mother.

She stood at my doorstep in a beige coat, a silk scarf loosely wrapped around her neck, her short hair styled perfectly, as if she had stepped out of some magazine cover. She always had a way of looking put together, even when things were falling apart.

Her eyes swept over me, taking in the sight of me...