Chapter 265

AURELIA’S POV The ride to the hospital blurred around me. My hands shook in my lap, cold and clammy, as the same questions beat against my skull—What happened to her? Why did she scream? How did she fall? But when I arrived, there was no space for questions. The sharp scent of antiseptic clung to the air, and the corridor was filled with frantic footsteps and hushed voices. At the far end, I saw them—Father and Mother, rigid and pale, their eyes fixed on the door behind which Seraphina lay. “Father…” I began cautiously, my voice trembling. They turned on me as one. “Cruel child,” Mother spat, her eyes brimming with tears that were not for me. “How could you treat your sister like this?” “You were the last one with her,” Father snarled, stepping closer, his voice echoing down the corridor. “Always bickering, always envious—was that not enough? Did you have to push her this far?” The words struck like daggers, slicing through my defenses. My mouth opened, desperate to explain, to defend