Then he left.
The door clicked shut with finality.
The room fell into near-silence once more, only the faint rustle of curtains in the breeze and the low hum of the tablet's speakers remaining.
Daniella stared at the glowing screen, her world already beginning to tilt and shift beneath her in ways she could not yet fully name or understand. The peaceful morning light continued to pour in, indifferent to the earthquake unfolding inside her chest.
Daniella's fingers tightened around the tablet until her knuckles blanched, the smooth glass cool and unyielding beneath her grip. The image on the screen steadied, its brightness sharpening into cruel clarity, every pixel refusing to blur or soften the blow.
For one suspended heartbeat, her mind simply refused to process what she was seeing.
The setting registered first.
