The house was silent, but it wasn't a peaceful silence.
It was the kind that comes before a storm.
Sara had spent days avoiding her aunts, but she couldn't keep running any more.
Not when every step reminded her that everything had changed.
That nothing would ever be the same again.
That morning, she decided to enter her mother's room.
Melinda tried to stop her.
"This isn't a good time, Miss Sara," she said gently. "Maybe another day…"
"There is no other day," Sara replied. "I need to see it. I need to feel close to her."
She opened the door slowly.
The scent of old perfume and dried flowers still lingered in the air.
Everything was exactly as it had been: dresses hanging in the closet, glass bottles on the dresser, even her silver hairbrush remained — with a few golden strands still caught in its bristles.
Sara walked toward the wardrobe and began going through the stored boxes.
Some held family photos, others jewellery, letters written by her father…
And then she found something more.
A diary.
Dark blue velvet cover, with a broken lock.
She opened it with trembling hands and read:
"If you're reading this, then something has gone terribly wrong. I've felt for a long time that someone wants to harm this family. Someone from within. Don't trust everyone around you, Sara. Not even those who share your blood."
A chill ran through her.
She kept reading, page after page, until she found an entry that froze her blood:
"Agatha is not who she claims to be. Her hatred goes beyond money. She knows things she should never have known. I fear for us. I fear for you."
Sara shut the diary tightly.
Her eyes burned.
Could it really be…?
Had her own aunt been behind everything?
Just then, she heard footsteps.
"So that's where you've been!" Agatha exclaimed, stepping into the room like a dark shadow. "You should know you can't just go rummaging through the belongings of the dead as if you own everything."
"I do own this," Sara replied without looking at her. "This is my house."
"You're just an orphan girl," Agatha shot back, moving closer. "And very soon, you'll stop thinking you get to decide anything about your life."
Sara lifted her gaze, locking eyes with Agatha — filled with tears, but also fury.
"What did you do to my parents?"
Agatha froze.
But only for a second.
"What nonsense is that?" she asked, feigning indignation. "Your parents died in an accident."
"You're lying!" Sara shouted. "My mother wrote this. She knew you were involved. She knew you couldn't be trusted!"
Agatha pressed her lips together.
"You shouldn't read things not meant for your eyes."
"And you shouldn't be here," Sara replied. "This is my room. My house. My life."
That was enough.
Agatha stepped forward, grabbed her, and slapped her across the face.
Hard.
Brutal.
Sara stumbled back, but she didn't cry.
Didn't scream.
Only stared.
"I hate you," she whispered.
Agatha smiled.
"That doesn't scare me, dear."
But just as she was about to say more, Persi leapt between them, growling furiously.
She lunged at Agatha's leg, claws digging deep.
Agatha screamed, trying to shake her off, but Persi wouldn't let go.
"Get her off me!" she shrieked. "This beast is!"
Sara rushed to pull them apart, but Persi kept hissing and snarling like she'd sensed the danger before it even came.
Finally, Melinda arrived and helped calm the cat down.
Agatha stood up, now with a scratch on her leg and fury burning in her eyes.
"This isn't over," she said, wiping the blood. "You'll learn to respect me."
"Never," Sara replied. "I will never respect you. You're a liar. A thief. And maybe… a murderer."
A deadly silence followed.
Agatha glared at her with pure hatred.
"Then prepare yourself, girl. Because now… this gets personal."
Without another word, she stormed out, leaving behind a room thick with threat.
Persi jumped onto the bed and curled beside Sara, meowing softly — as if saying: "I'm with you. Always."
Sara hugged her tightly as the tears finally fell.
"I know, Persi," she whispered. "I know."
But she wasn't afraid.
For the first time in weeks… she wasn't afraid.
Only full of questions.
And she wouldn't stop until she found the answers.