Chapter 98

As she stepped over the crime tape, she sighed, knowing she would have to contact her parents about the insurance, but not now. At this moment, she just wanted to assess the damage and salvage what she could. Or so she told herself.

Assessing the damage, she tried to disconnect her emotions, but when she saw her childhood doll, still sitting on the mantle half burned, tears started rolling down her cheeks. A charred stick was once the Christmas tree, remnants of wires and lights still on it. Most of the ornaments that had belonged to her and her parents were burned, except for one that was covered in soot. She wiped it away and it was one of her favorite ornaments, one that she had dubbed The Angel Ornament as a child. The angel's wings still sparkled as it had in her childhood and her kind eyes bored into Kiki's, as if reassuring her that everything was going to work out. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cradled the ornament next to her cheek, letting her childhood memories of C