The nurse's footsteps faded down the hallway, leaving me alone with Matriarch Genevieve. I clutched her fragile hand between mine, searching her serene face for any sign of awareness.
"It's just us now," I whispered, my voice breaking. "No one to judge. No one to call me crazy."
The steady beep of monitors was the only response. I sank into the chair beside her bed, still holding her hand. Five years she'd been like this—silent, unreachable. Just like my pleas to Julian had fallen on deaf ears for those same five years.
"I don't know what to do anymore." Tears streamed down my face. "I've lost everything, Matriarch. Violet is gone. Julian thinks I'm delusional. And Natalie—" My voice caught on her name. "Natalie walks free after what she did."
The morning sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting a gentle glow across the room. It felt wrong that the world could still look so beautiful when everything inside me was shattered.
