Nasya's POV
Sophia sat silhouetted against the floor-to-ceiling windows, her elegant frame swallowed by the oversized armchair. The fading twilight painted her profile in monochrome - all sharp angles and unyielding lines. The darkness behind her had completely consumed her facial features, rendering her expression unreadable.
As I studied her impassive face, a cold realization settled in my chest. We had always been strangers, she and I. The woman who raised me had never truly known me, just as I'd never glimpsed the calculating mind behind her perfectly curated maternal facade.
"What if I did?" The challenge slipped out before I could stop it.
Sophia's head dipped as a humorless laugh escaped her. The sound raised gooseblesh along my arms. But when she raised her face again, the dim light caught her eyes - twin pools of venom where any pretense of amusement had evaporated, leaving behind only pure, undiluted hatred.
