Valeria

The next morning started slow. The house was quiet again after the chaos with Elena. The staff moved carefully, still unsure of how to act around me. I had a cup of coffee on my desk and stacks of papers in front of me, but my mind wasn’t on the numbers. I kept thinking about how fast things had changed. A few months ago, I was nothing in this house. Now I gave orders that people actually followed.

It felt strange, but also good.

I had learned that silence carried power. When ...