CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

ALEXEI

I waited patiently, giving her the time she needed to gather her thoughts.

"After Mom died, I was first taken to an orphanage, and I was there for about a year before I was adopted," Zoey began, her voice carrying the scars of her memories.

"They were good people until they were not. Their daughter never liked me, so she turned her parents' hearts against me." Her eyes, clouded with sadness, mirrored the pain she had endured.

I held her hands gently, a silent gesture of support as she ventured into the depths of her past. The pain etched on her face made it clear that these were wounds that time hadn't fully healed.

"They totally changed towards me overnight, and they became bad people until they eventually became tired of me, and then I went to the next foster home." Her gaze became distant, as if she were reliving those moments.

As Zoey continued, the layers of her tumultuous journey unfolded before me. "They were even worse than the previous ones. It was as if they needed a