For the first time in what felt like forever, I was doing something that I would consider normal.

There were no cameras around me or chaos, just me having lunch with my mom.

I pulled up in front of my parent’s house and let out a slow exhale before stepping out of my new luxury car. The engine purred silently behind me, and it was smooth and expensive in a way I still hadn’t gotten used to.

And apparently, neither had my parents. The door opened before I could knock.

“Vera!” My mom squealed and pulled me into a tight hug so quickly that I was beginning to suspect that...