Sydney focused entirely on the massage she was giving Elizabeth, unaware of the resentment brewing at the end of the hallway. She chatted easily with Florence, her voice calm and pleasant.Under Sydney's steady hands, Elizabeth's furrowed brow gradually eased. She sighed with contentment and told Florence, "If Vee were here, she'd be giving me a massage too."When Vivian was not yet two, she had returned to Brimcrest with her parents for the holidays. Even then, she was unusually talkative. While other children struggled to form words, she spoke in full sentences. As the youngest and most affectionate child in the family, she had everyone wrapped around her little finger.Even Albus, who rarely smiled, would laugh whenever she coaxed him. She used to hang his military medals around her neck like toys, and he never once scolded her.The mention of her youngest daughter made Florence's nose sting."Isn't that the truth," she murmured softly.Their Vee had been such a gentle, well-b
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