Chapter 64

• CLAIRE LEBLANC
• I felt like I was floating, as if caught between consciousness and unconsciousness, lost in a thick fog that made everything around me indistinct. There was no pain, just a sense of emptiness, a frightening lightness. But even in that numbing state, one thing remained clear in my mind: the baby. My baby.
• Gradually, the voices around me began to emerge. They were muffled, as if coming from far away. I felt a warm hand holding mine firmly, and I clung to that sensation as if it were the only thing keeping me anchored to reality.