Ella
The sound rang out far louder than Ella had intended.
“Ha...ha!”
It cut clean through the polite applause and ceremonial murmurs like glass shattering against marble.
The echo of it seemed to cling to the air, refusing to fade, as if the hall itself had recoiled in disbelief.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Paige was still bent in her bow, frozen mid-performance, her spine stiff and her hands folded with deliberate elegance.
The wax figure of Rosa loomed before her, eternally serene, eternally silent, its unblinking eyes staring past Paige as though even in imitation, it refused to acknowledge the spectacle unfolding at its feet.
Luciano’s head snapped toward Elliana so fast the movement looked almost violent.
The veins at his temple bulged. His face flushed a dangerous shade
