Cora’s voice trembled on the phone, barely holding itself together. Marceline listened, the words slicing through the quiet of her apartment like shards of glass.

“Mother… she fainted after watching the news. We’re at Merits Hospital right now.”

The world tilted, a sudden vertigo sweeping over her. Her chest clenched so tight she thought it might shatter. The sharp intake of breath, the thud of her heart pounding in her ears—it was the first real earthquake beneath her carefully balanced facade.

“No,” Marceline whispered, voice cracking. “No, no, no…”

Cora’s pause was like a lifeline slipping through desperate fingers.

“I don’t know what to do now,” Marceline admitted, her voice...