The cold marble floor of the grand mansion foyer pressed hard against my knees. Tears blurred my vision as the heavy shadows of the vaulted ceiling loomed above me.
Richard: Stay where you are! Do not move another inch!
Leo: Let me go! Dad, please! Let me go to her!
Richard gripped his seven-year-old son by the arms, restraining the sobbing boy in the middle of the brightly lit hall. Leo kicked and twisted, his little white dress shirt rumpled as he tried to break free to reach me.
Victoria: You will never be part of this family!
Victoria stood over me in her sharp brown dress, her face contorted in pure malice. She raised a trembling, manicured hand and pointed directly at my face.
Elena: Please, Victoria... just listen to me for one second...
Victoria: Silence! You are nothing but a common servant in this house! You came here to steal from my son, and now you are done!
Leo: Stop shouting at her! She didn't do anything wrong!
Richard: Keep quiet, Leo! Your grandmother knows what is best for this home!
Victoria: Security is on their way, you pathetic little leech. I will make sure you spend the night in a cold cell!
Victoria reached down and violently grabbed my collar, attempting to drag me toward the massive front double doors. But as her fingers yanked the fabric of my black uniform, the thin silver chain around my neck snapped with a sharp metallic clink.
A heavy silver locket slid out from beneath my apron, swinging wildly in the air before hitting the marble floor. The antique piece glinted under the chandelier lights, its detailed religious icon face-up between us.
Victoria froze. Her breath hitched in her throat, her harsh sneer instantly vanishing as her eyes locked onto the swinging silver pendant.
Victoria: Celeste... she was my sister...
Leo: Don't touch my mom again!
Leo shoved Richard’s hands off his shoulders with all his remaining strength, sprinting across the floor to throw his small arms around my neck. I pulled him close, my cheeks soaked with hot tears as I stared up at Victoria’s ghostly pale face, ready to blow open the dark secret this family had kept buried for seven long years.