Chapter 153

Elena’s POV The door burst open. For a second, I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Then voices rushed in…sharp, excited and overlapping. “They’re here. In the bedroom!” People poured into the room like water breaking through a dam. Cameras came up, flashes popping one after another, filling the space with white light. I stood there, frozen, clutching the sheet around myself, my mind struggling to keep up.,Reporters. My chest tightened.,How did they know? My gaze drifted past the cameras, past the chaos and landed on her. My mother stood near the doorway, half-hidden behind the crowd. She wasn’t yelling or pushing forward like the others. She was just watching. And she was smiling. Warmly and Intentional. Something settled heavily in my stomach.mShe hadn’t stumbled into this. She’d planned it. I took a step forward. “Stop,” I said, my voice coming out thin. “Wait…please.” She looked at me then. Our eyes met for a brief moment. There was no apology in her expression. No hesitation. Ju