Gemotions

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, glowing with a malevolent light. She hadn't expected the results so soon. Clicking the link, her breath hitched. Her biological family… it wasn’t the picture-perfect one she’d always envisioned. It was a family she didn’t know, a family she had never imagined.

A coldness crept up her spine, like icy fingers tracing their way to her brain. She felt a disconnect, as if the ground beneath her feet had suddenly turned to liquid. Her carefully constructed identity, the one she'd spent a lifetime cultivating, felt fragile, ready to shatter.

She stood up abruptly, knocking her chair over in the process. The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness through her. The walls of her apartment seemed to close in, the air growing thick and heavy. She needed to be outside, to breathe.