The air in the hospital room was thick with tension, a palpable weight that pressed down on them like a physical burden. Brielle's fingers tightened around Leo's limp hand, her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip.

Seraphine's mocking laughter still echoed in her ears, a twisted, macabre sound that grated on her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. The woman's arrogance, her utter lack of remorse for the pain she had caused, ignited a fury within Brielle that burned brighter than a thousand suns.

"You're a monster," Brielle snarled, her body trembling with barely contained rage. "A soulless, twisted monster."

Seraphine merely laughed, her amusement a hollow,...