Chapter 37

Lauren's POV

I swallowed hard, still staring at the blood on the floor. My chest felt tight, like it couldn’t hold enough air, and the walls around me seemed to close in. I wanted to scream, to shout, but no sound came out. My voice stuck somewhere between my heart and my throat. My hands were shaking so badly they felt like they weren’t part of me anymore, and my feet refused to move, as if they were nailed to the marble floor.

My eyes, blurry with tears, traced the horrible trail of blood, each drop like a punch to my chest, until it reached its source.

Elena.

For a moment, everything around me vanished. I couldn’t hear the ticking of the clock on the wall, couldn’t hear the hum of the air conditioner, couldn’t even hear Ethan breathing beside me. All I saw was my little girl lying on the floor, so still, so silent, in a small pool of blood that shouldn’t have ever touched her.

The blanket I’d brought for her slipped from my hands, hi