Felicia closed her eyes tightly. A part of her still recognized that the children had suffered, that Elena had serious questions to answer, and that the investigation had not appeared out of thin air. Yet another part of her—the part now raw from her family's rejection, from Gabriel's quiet disappointment, and from the sudden collapse of everything she had known—began searching desperately for someone to hold responsible.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, that blame began to settle on Daniella. Not because Felicia truly believed the young woman had lied, but because, in the deepening turmoil of her heart, none of this chaos would have entered their lives if Daniella had simply walked away and left things as they were. It was a dangerous thought, quiet and insidious. And before the night was over, she found herself believing it a little more than she had an hour earlier.
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LUCIANO AND THIAGO
