Chapter 1 - The Ash In The Hearth
"Why did I get cleaning supplies?"
Ava’s voice drifted over the crackling embers of the fireplace, thin and bewildered, holding up a bottle of generic floor polish from the cardboard box.
Elena didn't blink. She remained rigid on the velvet sofa, her hands folded immaculately over her dark green dress, her expression carved from absolute stone.
"Those suit you," Elena replied calmly, her voice chilling the warm holiday air. "The real presents are from my children."
Marcus strode heavily from the hallway into the living room, his dark brown blazer brushing against the doorframe, his dreadlocks swaying with his sudden movement. His chest heaved with suppressed fury as his eyes locked onto the open cardboard box resting on the low coffee table between them.
"Ava, where did that laptop come from?" Marcus demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous, vibrating register.
Elena turned her head slowly, fixing her cold gaze upward at the tall man looming over them. "I gave it to her. She'll put it to better use than anyone else in this ungrateful house."
Marcus ignored Elena, stepping closer until his shadow fell heavily across Ava’s trembling shoulders. He snatched the empty packaging from the floor, his long fingers darting inside to retrieve a crisp, official document that had been wedged beneath the cardboard flaps. He unfolded it with sharp, violent jerks, his eyes scanning the printed words.
"This school letter claims Nia as the winner," Marcus snarled, slamming the paper down. "Nia has been dead for five years, Elena! Who the hell is using her identity?"
Ava gasped, dropping the cleaning sponge back into the box as the truth crashed down around her like falling timber. Elena stood up, towering over Marcus with a terrifying, unyielding smile playing at the corners of her thin lips.
May you like
"Nia isn't dead," Elena whispered softly. "And Ava is about to find out why you buried an empty casket."
---
