As dramatic as it may sound, time seemed to freeze in the aftermath. The once-bustling room fell eerily silent, as though the very air had been sucked out of it. No one dared to move. The quiet was so profound that even the sound of a pin dropping could have been heard from a mile away. Jessica's wide eyes locked onto the figure of her mother crumpling to the floor, collapsing like discarded weight. The thud of her mother's body hitting the ground echoed in her ears, drowning out everything else. In that moment, her world shattered.
Her body reacted before her mind did. The gun slipped from her trembling fingers with a speed that seemed almost unnatural, as though it had never belonged there in the first place. She didn't flinch. Didn't speak. Didn't move. Frozen like a mannequin, her body refused to follow the frantic signals her brain was sending. Shock surged through her veins, freezing her in place. She had killed her own mother.
