Chapter 27 - 26: Calm Before Chaos II
The morning sun cast long shadows across the campus gates, but none of them reached the small circle gathered around Celeste.
Lena stood closest to her, voice tight as she spoke.
"My dad called this morning... from the station." Her fingers were trembling, but her voice stayed steady. "The police recovered a body late last night. Female. Same height, same build. Same necklace. Same purse."
Celeste didn’t respond.
"They’re keeping it quiet for now," Lena added. "But they think it’s your mom."
There it was.
The moment shattered the world like glass.
Zane was the first to move, stepping forward—but he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, caught in a pause that never resolved.
He looked different lately. All that charm, the effortless energy—gone. It wasn’t just sadness. It was like something had been taken from him.
Emphera glanced away, her arms crossed tightly, jaw clenched. She said nothing, but the rage in her posture said enough. She’d known Celeste the longest—since they were kids—and she was never good at handling pain she couldn’t punch.
Iris stood with her arms folded, unreadable at first. But her eyes lingered on Celeste. Sharp, calculating, but dimmed with something softer—something like grief. She didn’t know how to show it. But it was there.