In the hospital room, Thor’s phone buzzed on the nightstand beside Isabela’s bed. He had rushed out to grab a quick dinner at the hospital restaurant after spending the entire day there, watching over her. In his haste, he had forgotten the phone.

Isabela, lying back against the pillows, sat up the moment she heard it vibrate. When the name “Celina” lit up the screen, her eyes gleamed with thinly veiled malice. Without hesitation, she stretched out her arm toward her friend.

“Answer it for me, Lívia,” she said, handing her the phone.

Lívia blinked in surprise.

“Are you sure?”

Isabela nodded, a cynical smile tugging at her lips.

Hesitant, Lívia lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

Celina froze.

The glow of her own phone screen felt blinding, but the only thing she truly felt was her world collapsing inside her chest.

“Hello?” Lívia repeated, her voice sweet yet casual, as though this were the most ordinary thing in the world.

On the other end of the line, Celina’s breath caught. That