Chapter 81

Sienna’s POV

I was lost in the blues and purples swirling on my palette, trying to capture the elusive light of the evening on canvas.

My mind, usually a whirlwind, felt quiet, focused, finding a fragile peace in the rhythm of brushstrokes.

I was almost there.

Almost forgetting the bitter taste of public humiliation, the anger at Daniel and Ellie’s shocking announcement.

Almost.

Then, the studio door burst open. Zoe stood there, panting, her face ghost-white, her eyes wide with a terror that instantly snapped me out of my artistic haze.

Her phone was clutched in her hand, screen facing me, showing a paused image that made my blood run cold.

Daniel.

A blurred figure, slumped.

“Mama! Mama, look!” she gasped, her voice choked, barely a whisper. “He… he collapsed!”

My hand, holding a brush laden with ultramarine, froze mid-air. The palette clattered to the floor, paint splattering.

The image on Zoe’s phone so