Chapter 240

• As I blinked awake, groggy and disoriented, I struggled to sit up from the unyielding surface beneath me,
• knowing deep down that something monumental had shifted. The world around me seemed sharper, every color intensified, as if a filter had been removed from my vision. Faint scarlet threads, flickering like fine strands of light, trailed over random spots across the house. Through the large window in the living room, I caught a glimpse of dawn’s first light. Hours—long, draining hours—had passed as I wrestled to reclaim the memories locked away. My back should have ached, yet I felt surprisingly loose, like I’d shed a layer of weariness. That hollow void within me, the one I’d carried for as long as I could remember, had finally vanished. Once, I had wandered blindly, grasping for meaning. Now, I was filled with a newfound clarity and purpose. I didn’t yet understand the memories I’d seen, but their presence had unlocked something profound inside me. I was no longer the lost, grieving girl named Isabella. I didn’t yet know who I was, but I knew I was finally on the path to finding out.
• “Give her a moment to absorb this,” I heard Emiliano murmur quietly to Leonardo, who looked anything but patient.