Arrows.
At the end of the corridor I heard something.
Voices.
Hushed whispers.
I stopped, pressing myself against the wall.
And that's when I saw it.
A yellow light filters through a slit.
I crept closer.
Another door.
A metal door with a lock.
Behind it… a room.
Shelves.
Cans.
Folders.
AND…
Photographs.
Photos of my house, but taken from inside.
From angles I've never seen before.
Photo of my bedroom.
My bed.
Photos of me.
Sleep.
My stomach tightened.
It wasn't just an “estranged brother.”
There was someone watching me.
Someone is drugging me.
Someone entered my room when I couldn't defend myself.
My hand was shaking and the flashlight was blinking.
On the desk inside the room was an open folder.
I read the title.
“PROPERTY — INHERITANCE — DOCUMENTS”
And underneath… a sheet of paper with my full name.
My name.
With a blank space for the signature.
I heard Daniel speaking again, this time closer.
—We need to finish this before she starts suspecting something.
Another voice answered.
Deep.
Not someone from the house.
—What if he refuses to sign?
Daniel laughed softly.
—He will make the sign while he sleeps.
Just like mom.
My blood ran cold.
I covered my mouth so as not to make any sound.
Mom.
That meant… she wasn't just dead.
Suddenly the metal door creaked.
It opened from the inside.
I stepped back into the darkness and stumbled against the stairs.
The torch went out.
Complete darkness.
I pressed myself against the wall as the door opened and a beam of yellow light poured into the hallway.
Daniel's shadow came forward.
And behind him… another man.
Daniel stopped.
“Who’s there?” he asked.
That wasn't my brother's voice.
It was the voice of someone ready to do the worst.
At that moment, something saved me.
My phone was vibrating.
Alarm.
The alarm I had set before doing all this:
“GO AWAY. NOW.”
The vibration produced a faint sound.
Daniel turned his head.
He saw me.
—Ah… —he whispered—. So you didn't drink it.
He came closer.
I walked away.
Until my back hit the wall.
—Sister… there was no need to make everything so difficult.
The other man said:
—Let's go. We don't have time.
Daniele smiled slowly.
—Yes, we do. He always falls asleep.
At that moment, I ran away.
I threw the phone on the floor to make noise and ran down the hall.
Behind me I heard him shout:
—TAKE THEM!
I reached the panel in my room, crawled out, closed it, and pushed the closet against the wall.
It's not enough.
I heard him knocking loudly on the door.
“Open it,” he said softly. “Don’t make a scene.”
I picked up the phone and called 911.
The operator answered.
—Emergency services, what's your situation?
But before I could speak, I heard Daniel's voice from the other side of the door.
—If you call… you'll end up like your mother.
Then I remembered what our neighbor Aling Amalia once told me:
—If you hear loud noises in the house… don't lock yourself in. Run outside. Houses have ears.
I looked out the window.
I opened it.
When the door lock shattered behind me, I climbed through the window and jumped.
I landed on the grass, spraining my ankle, but kept running toward the gate.
Behind me I heard Daniel shouting my name.
Street courses.
And for the first time in a long time… I could really breathe.
In the distance, I heard sirens.
I didn't know if they were coming to get me…
Or if Daniele was already preparing another lie.
But there was one thing he no longer had.
I wasn't sleeping.
And I had seen the room.
I had seen the documents.
And I had heard the words:
“Just like mommy.”
And even though my hands were still shaking, I knew one thing.
The secret of that house would no longer remain confined within its walls.
