CHAPTER 135

Sienna Mother POV

The elaborate stained glass windows let in a kaleidoscope of hues that spread across the chilly stone floor in the morning. But the vivid colors did not much help to dispel the veil of regret and grief that had settled inside these sacred walls.

I knelt before the altar, my old hands clenched in intense prayer, looking for comfort in the presence of God. But even as the words came out of my mouth, rote recitals learned since I was a child, a part of me questioned whether I was deserving of the forgiveness I so much wanted.

Because I was a mother, a title carries with it the holy responsibility of raising and directing the priceless life placed in my charge. But I had failed my daughter in the deepest way possible, letting the dark tendrils take root in her heart.

Sienna.

Just saying her name would rekindle the old, smoldering wounds of shame that had tarnished my spirit. I had gone wrong there. What moment had I let the lovely, innocent child I had held in my arms de