CHAPTER 162

The phone slipped from my hand, clattering to the floor as the words from Aunt Lou echoed in my mind. Hector was dead. The shock left me paralyzed, my body heavy with disbelief and despair.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t think.

All I could do was stare at the phone lying on the floor, the device that had delivered the news that shattered everything I had fought for.

Leon, who had been sitting beside me, was already reaching for the phone. His expression shifted from concern to alarm as he picked it up.

“Aunt Lou, what happened? What did you say to Margarette?” His voice was tight, anxiety lacing his words. He listened intently, his face hardening as the conversation continued.

I watched him, trying to read the emotions flickering across his face, but all I could see was the mask of tension settling in.

When he finally ended the call, he turned to me, his expression unreadable, but I knew the news had hit him just as hard.

He didn’t need to say anything. The confirmation was in his eyes