Chapter 4 — Family Matters

Daphneia

The slam of the door reverberated through the small living room, its sound carrying an unmistakable weight of frustration. Daphneia dropped her keys into the chipped ceramic dish near the entryway, her movements sharp and deliberate. Shrugging off her blazer, she draped it over the back of an old chair, a gesture that felt oddly symbolic—a layer of her corporate armor set aside, though the tension in her shoulders remained.