Hours Earlier…
The sky was dull and grey as the first pale light of Christmas Eve morning began to bleed through the clouds, casting a cold gloom over the city streets. Irene drove aimlessly down the empty roads, her fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as the heater blasted dry and stale air into her face. She had spent another endless, sleepless night tossing in bed, her mind trapped in the same maddening loop that had consumed her for months.
She had not set out with any concrete plan when she grabbed her keys at the ungodly hours of that morning, but her obsession with impressing Aziel had long since stripped her of any normalcy, often driving her out into the dawn just to move, unable to sit still while Azaria existed. Irene was convinced that Azaria had done something to make Aziel stop his efforts to ruin the Aldrith family, completely stealing his focus and leaving Irene sidelined.
