From the moment Ivan and Varick arrived at her door with urgent news, Lena felt the world crumbling around her. The words "Elio" and "dead" intertwined in her mind, forming a nightmare that threatened to consume her.
The journey to the wall was a blur of motion and suppressed emotions.
Lena maintained her composure for her children, but inside, she felt as if she was being torn apart. Each step away from their home was like a dagger in her heart, a constant reminder that her firstborn would never return.
Varick, wearing an expression of guilt that Lena couldn't fully comprehend, left them at the foot of the wall.
Ivan guided them up the wall's stairs, the ascent seeming endless. Lena felt Rian's weight in her arms, the little one clinging to her as if he could sense the emotional storm shaking his mother.