~ELENA~

The house feels too quiet once my step brothers leave.

The echo of their footsteps fades down the corridor, and all that’s left is the distant murmur of rain against the windows and the occasional groan of old wood shifting in the cold.

I stand in the center of the room, still wrapped in the blanket Riccardo gave me, and just breathe.

For the first time in hours, maybe days, I let myself feel the silence.

It’s heavy.

But it’s the kind of heavy that holds you, not the kind that crushes.

I drop the blanket on the couch and walk toward the bathroom door.

Riccardo had told me...