Sallie's POV
I led Lucia through the cemetery gates, my footsteps heavy on the gravel path.
Stopping before an unmarked stone, I gestured toward it. "Clare's resting place. She had nothing left when she died, so her grave remains empty."
My voice caught slightly. "I planned to wait—find you first, fulfill her last request, then carve her name. But you should be the one to do it."
Lucia was Clare's sole surviving family, after all.
Lucia's gaze fixed on the blank marker, her hands clenching into fists. "How is there nothing? Nothing at all?"
I understood her confusion. Death usually leaves something behind—ashes, belongings, memories made tangible.
I glanced at the surrounding graves. "She's not alone. Every stone here stays blank until I complete their final wishes. Only then do I engrave their names. That's how I give them peace."
Turning back to Lucia, I asked, "Do you want to know what Clare told me before she died?"
Lucia's eyes locked onto mine, waiting.
