Adele:
No.
I wasn’t hearing her right. I couldn’t be.
She had to be playing some kind of twisted trick on me, right?
But the longer I stared at her, the more panic clawed at my chest. My breath quickened.
My fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks.
Without another second of hesitation, I spun around and bolted toward my mother’s room, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs.
She was lying. She had to be lying.
But the moment I reached the door and flung it open, I was met with nothing.
No warm smile. No frail yet comforting presence.
Just silence. Empty, deafening silence.
My stomach plummeted. A violent tremor wracked my body as if I had just been drenched in ice water.
No. No, no, no.
My legs wobbled, barely carrying me as I s
