The dining room stayed silent after Camille’s last words.
My worst nightmare.
The words sat heavily in the air.
Camille kept staring down at her hands like she already regretted saying anything at all.
I watched the way her fingers twisted together tightly in her lap.
Nervous.
Almost trembling.
Then finally, she spoke again.
“It all started when my mother died ten years ago.”
Her voice came out quieter this time.
“I was sixteen, and my aunt… Mrs. Ashford… took me in.”
She swallowed once before continuing.
“She was nice to me. Really nice.” A sad smile touched her lips briefly before disappearing again. “But Richard and Selena never wanted me there. They tolerated me because my aunt wanted me to stay with them,” Camille continued softly. “But everything changed five years ago.”
