The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 580

The ferocious grip on her wrists caught Riley entirely off guard. She stared down at Daphne, whose eyes were wide with a terrifying, manic blend of hope and raw terror.

The sheer, suffocating intensity of the woman's stare made Riley's heart race.

"Mrs. Spencer? Are you alright?" she asked carefully.

Watching her mother unravel, the horrific realization hit Winona. Her mother had relapsed into her delusion and was convinced Riley was her missing daughter.

It had happened before. Whenever Daphne met a young woman who was an orphan, the trauma of losing her child would trigger a complete psychotic break.

It had been years since her last episode. Winona cursed herself for being so incredibly stupid. She had forgotten that the word orphan was the ultimate trigger.

She lunged forward, grabbing her mother's arm. "Mom, stop! You have to calm down! She isn't Evie!"

But Daphne was entirely consumed by paranoia. She shook her head fiercely, mumbling in a manic frenzy. "She is! She's Evie! Twenty-eight... Evie is twenty-eight! But she was taken in Statenbury... how did she end up in Riverport?"

Riley's wrists throbbed from the bruising grip, but she didn't try to pull away.

Winona had confided in her about this years ago. Losing her eldest daughter had shattered Daphne's sanity, causing severe, chronic depression that only stabilized after Winona was born.

It was blatantly obvious that something had triggered a massive relapse, causing her to project her missing child onto Riley.

As a doctor, Riley knew ripping away would only trigger a violent escalation.