I turned to Marco, my voice barely above a whisper. “She doesn’t belong here.”
His jaw tightened. “Not now, Olivia.”
But I couldn’t let it go. “She wasn’t Celeste’s family. She wasn’t her teacher, her friend. What reason does she have to be here?”
Marco exhaled sharply. “She worked for me. She knew Celeste.”
“Knew her?” My voice rose slightly. “She barely even interacted with her. And now she’s standing there like she lost something?”
Marco’s grip on my arm was firm, a silent warning. “This is neither the time nor the place.”
I yanked my arm away, my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn’t stand to be near him anymore.
I turned to my mother, my voice strained. “I’m staying with you for a while.”
She nodded without hesitation, her grip on my hand tightening. “Of course, sweetheart.”
Marco said nothing. No protest, no attempt to convince me otherwise.
And that silence told me everything I needed to know.
—
Later that night, when the house should have been empty, I returned.
I needed Celeste’s favorite teddy bear—the one she couldn’t sleep without.