The instant Bianca’s fingers closed around my mother’s necklace, something in me broke clean in half.
“Don’t touch that!” I lunged forward, gripping her wrist. “That’s mine! My mother gave it to me before she got sick. You can’t just take it like it’s yours!”
Bianca’s smirk deepened, venom dripping from every word. “Oh, look who suddenly found her voice,” she taunted, yanking harder. The chain dug into my neck until it snapped with a sharp metallic sound.
My hand moved before I even realized it. The slap cracked through the air like thunder. For a fleeting second, I felt something close to power. “You’ve taken everything else from me,” I hissed. “You don’t get this too.”
But Bianca was quick to recover — her eyes widened, and tears sprang on command. She stumbled back dramatically, one hand covering her cheek. “Rafael!” she screamed, her voice shrill and practiced. “Rafael, help! She hit me! She’s losing it!”
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall. Rafael appeared, the stench of whiskey and arrogance surrounding him. “What the hell is happening here?”
Bianca ran straight into his arms, sobbing into his shirt like a frightened child. “I was just trying to help her pack, and she slapped me! She said she wants my baby to die — she cursed your child, Rafael!”
My head snapped up. “That’s a lie!” My voice shook with fury. “She’s the one who said she hopes my mother dies—”
“Shut your mouth!” Rafael barked, the hatred in his eyes blazing. “You never stop, do you? Always playing the victim. You did it to Hannah, and now you’re trying to do it to Bianca too?”
Bianca whimpered, burying her face against him. “She hates me, Rafael. She keeps saying I ruined everything. She’s unstable — she scares me.”
I could barely breathe. “She’s lying!” My voice broke. “That necklace—she stole it. It’s all I have left of my mother—”
Rafael cut me off with a harsh laugh. “You’re crying over a trinket? Pathetic.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, his eyes glacial. “Still not going to apologize? Not even going to kneel and beg like you should?”
I met his gaze, forcing myself to stay upright even as my knees trembled. “No. I won’t bow to either of you.”
His smile turned cold. “You sure about that?” He pressed a button on his phone. I froze as the nurse’s voice echoed through the speaker.
“This is the nurse on duty.”
“Turn off the machines keeping my mother-in-law alive,” Rafael said smoothly. “No more free care for a vegetable. Let her rot like her daughter.”
My blood ran cold. “Stop!” I dropped to the floor, the impact jarring through my bones. “Please, Rafael! Don’t! I’ll do anything! I’m sorry — Bianca, I’m sorry! Please, just don’t hurt my mother!”
Bianca wiped away fake tears, her lips curling with triumph. “That’s more like it,” she said softly, savoring every word.
I pressed my forehead against the cold marble floor, biting back sobs. My nails dug into my palms until they bled, but I didn’t move. Just a few more days, I reminded myself. Just survive a few more days.
Rafael ended the call, slipping his phone back into his pocket. His disgusted sneer made my stomach twist. “You really are worthless,” he muttered. “Be thankful Bianca’s forgiving. Get up and clean this place before I make you regret breathing.”
Their footsteps faded. Bianca’s laughter trailed behind them, sharp and mocking, the broken necklace swinging from her fingers like a trophy.
I didn’t shed a single tear. Not this time.
When the house fell silent again, I crawled to my closet, dragging out a shoebox filled with remnants of what used to be my life — letters, photos, cards from anniversaries that meant nothing. Every word he’d written had once felt like love; now they were lies on paper.
I carried the box outside to the garden. The night air was still and heavy. Striking a match, I dropped it into the pile. The flames licked the edges of the photos, curling them to ash.
Rafael’s voice cut through the quiet. “What the hell are you doing now?”
I didn’t look up. “Getting rid of the trash.”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “You’ve completely lost it.” Then he turned and went back inside, the door slamming shut behind him.
When the fire dimmed, I pulled out a small candle, lighting it with the last flicker of the match. It wasn’t for him — it was for the child I’d lost, the one whose heartbeat I’d never get to hear. And for Hannah, my twin, whose shadow I’d been living under for years.
Their laughter floated from the windows — Bianca’s high-pitched giggles mixing with Rafael’s low, drunken groans. Once, the sound would’ve shattered me. Now, it was just noise — hollow, meaningless.
By morning, the house was quiet again. I set a bouquet of white lilies beside Hannah’s framed photograph on the dresser. Today was her death anniversary. I wanted to visit the church, light a candle, whisper a prayer — maybe even ask her to forgive me for surviving when she didn’t.
But when I reached the door, Rafael was already standing there, arms crossed, eyes cold. “Where are you going?”
“To church,” I answered softly. “It’s Hannah’s day.”
He leaned closer, his breath reeking of last night’s alcohol. “And you think you deserve to mourn her? You killed her.”
My chest constricted. “That’s not true! She was driving — she wouldn’t listen—”
He shoved me hard, sending me stumbling back into the room. “Liar. You think playing saint makes you less guilty? You don’t get to leave this house. You belong right here — rotting.”
The door slammed. The lock clicked.
I stayed where I’d fallen, staring at the broken chain I’d managed to retrieve when Bianca dropped it in the chaos. The pendant was scratched, the clasp bent, but it was still mine. Still hers. I pressed it to my heart, whispering, “I’ll fix everything, Mama. Just hold on. Just a few more days.”
Night came heavy and silent. I sat by the window, the moon faint through the glass. When I heard footsteps outside my door, I braced myself, expecting Rafael’s slurred insults or Bianca’s shrill laughter.
But it wasn’t them.
The door creaked open. Two men in dark clothes slipped in — faces masked, hands rifling through my drawers. My pulse thundered in my ears.
“Please—” I choked out. “Take whatever you want. Just don’t hurt me.”
One of them turned. The faint glint of a knife caught the moonlight. Before I could move, he struck me across the face. Pain burst through my skull. I fell against the wall, vision spinning.
They tore through the room, throwing open drawers, scattering my things. I crawled toward the nightstand, fingers trembling as I grabbed my phone and dialed Rafael’s number.
He answered on the third ring, his voice groggy and annoyed.
“Rafael—please—there are men in the house! They’re taking everything—help me!”
A pause. Then a lazy sigh. “You really don’t quit, do you? I’m at the hospital with Bianca. Stop calling me for attention.”
“Rafael, I’m not lying—”
The line went dead.
My body went numb. The man yanked me up by the hair, the knife flashing again before he slammed me to the floor. I tasted blood, heard drawers crashing, glass breaking — the sound of my life being torn apart piece by piece.
And then, mercifully, there was nothing. Only darkness.
