Chapter 135

Nora POV

I found Elena in her room at midnight, still awake, staring at her phone.

“Sweetheart, it’s late. You have school tomorrow.”

She looked up, and I saw something in her eyes I’d never seen before. Not quite fear. Not quite anger. Something harder to define.

“Mom, can I ask you something?”

I sat on the edge of her bed. “Always.”

“When Darren shot Dad... were you scared of him? Or scared for him?”

The question caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you think he was a monster who wanted to hurt people? Or did you think he was sick and needed help?”

I studied my daughter’s face. Thirteen years old and already asking questions I’d spent decades trying to answer.

“Both,” I said honestly. “I was terrified of him. But I also felt sorry for him. He was broken in ways I couldn’t fix.”

“Do you think he’s still broken?”

“I don’t know. Why are you asking?”

She hesitated, then showed me her