Rose and Aria led Mark through the palace corridors until they stopped in front of a closed door.
Alice's room.
Before opening it, both women carefully explained to him what he was about to find, and with every word, Mark's heart sank a little further.
After his disappearance, Alice had by far taken it the hardest.
They told him she had completely broken down, sinking into a nervous crisis she hadn't been able to climb out of.
And the reason was as simple as it was painful... guilt.
Alice held herself responsible for what happened.
After all, she was the one by his side that day, the one who was supposed to protect him, and yet Mark had vanished right in front of her without her being able to do a thing about it.
That thought had been eating away at her from the inside, day after day, until it broke her mentally.
Everyone had tried again and again to convince her it hadn't been her fault.
But Alice wouldn't listen.
