*ADELINE*
When Claudia walked out of the patio, her heels clicking defiantly against the stone, I felt a shift within me. It was like stepping from the blinding brightness of the day into a murky twilight filled with questions. My heart sank and rose in tandem—what had I just walked into? This world, swirling with the murmur of seductive laughter and the unmistakable ticking of danger, began to press down on my shoulders like a heavy cloak, suffocating but alluring.
I leaned against the cool railing, my gaze fixed on the grounds sprawling out beneath me like a signature of opulence and secrecy. Tall hedges rustled in the night wind, and the moon cast a silvery glow that only heightened my sense of dislocation. Here I was, Adeline—once a simple woman with dreams akin to starlight, now ta
