OSTARA’S POVWe reached home just after breakfast time—sunlight spilling over the driveway, the world looking painfully normal for a day that was anything but.Bethany was already at the door, concern and relief all over her face. When she spotted the car drive up, she rushed forward, crying out my name as if she needed the sound to confirm I was alive. She pulled me in so tightly I nearly lost my breath.“Oh thank God,” she whispered into my hair. “Thank god, thank god.” Before I could reassure her, a flurry of footsteps echoed down the hall.Donna.She barreled toward me with such speed I barely had time to crouch before she collided with my chest, arms thrown around my neck, face burrowed into my shoulder.“Mama,” she sobbed. “Mama, Mama, Mama—”It broke me beyond words. I held her like she was part of my body as she shook in my embrace. “I’m here,” I whispered, kissing her temple. “Baby, I’m here. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere, okay?” Her small fingers clung to the fa
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