The house was too quiet.

Hours ago, it had been full of whispers, heavy footsteps, and the rustle of black fabric as mourners drifted through my father’s funeral. They had come with bowed heads and empty condolences, their lips brushing against my cheek with the smell of insincerity. They all looked at me with pity, the poor little girl who had lost her father, never realizing that I had lost far more than that.

Now the walls were bare of sound, stripped like my heart, until the knock at the study door cut through the silence.

They entered as though they owned the place.

Seraphina, was in mourning black that hugged her waist too perfectly. Her lips were painted a red shade, curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Lucien followed behind her, his black suit immaculate, his cufflinks shiny like sunlight. His smirk was lazy and cruel.

And then the lawyer, hazy and bent, his glasses sliding down his nose but his eyes flickered to Seraphina too often, too obediently.

Her minion.

They sat across from me in the study that still smelled like my father’s perfume. The room carried the weight of his presence. His chair…empty. His watch, still resting on the desk. And me… his daughter. His heir. Or so I thought.

Seraphina’s voice cut through the silence first. “Let’s make this easy, darling. Sign the papers, and we won’t drag it into something uglier.”

I stood. “What is this?”

Seraphina’s gaze swept the study, her hand brushing over the edge of my father’s desk as though she was testing its weight. “Business, darling. The kind that cannot wait.”

My stomach clenched. “My father was buried not three hours ago, and you…”

Lucien interrupted with a soft laugh, sliding his hands into his pockets. “And yet the world does not stop for your grief, little dove. Did you think it would?”

The lawyer cleared his throat, opening a folder with trembling hands. “Miss Althea… we are here to review the will of the late Mr. Adrian…”

“My father,” I snapped.

He flinched. “Y..yes. Your father.”

Seraphina’s smile widened. “Go on.”

The lawyer began to read. His voice was steady, but I could hear the rehearsed rhythm, the words shaped to please someone else. “All holdings, estates, and accounts shall hereby pass into the care of my beloved wife, Seraphina Ward…”

My pulse thudded in my ears. “What?”

The list went on, the townhouse in the city, the country estate, the businesses, the accounts. Every line cut deeper. Even the smaller pieces, my father’s personal effects, things he had promised to me…. gone.

“Stop.” My voice cracked, fury beneath it. “This is a lie.”

The lawyer hesitated. His eyes flickered, guilty.

But Seraphina tilted her head. “A lie? Oh, Althea. Do you truly believe your father would trust a fragile girl like you with all of this?”

“He told me himself.” I stepped closer, my hands shaking. “He promised me everything he built, he said it was mine. He wanted me to carry his name, his work. Not.. you.” I spat

Lucien chuckled, low and mocking. “He said many things, didn’t he? Whispers meant to soothe a child. But when the time came to put pen to paper…” He gestured to the will. “He chose differently.”

“No.” I shook my head, my vision blurring. “You forged this. Both of you.”

Seraphina’s eyes glowed. She leaned closer, her perfume sweet and suffocating at the same time. “Proof, darling. Where is your proof? Do you have a recording? A witness? A single paper with your name written upon it? No?” Her smile sharpened. “Then hush.”she cooed

My throat burned. “You killed him.”

The room stilled.

For a heartbeat, I thought I saw it…the flicker in Lucien’s eyes, the shadow in Seraphina’s expression. But then Lucien laughed again, stepping toward me until I could feel the heat of him.

“You think we poisoned him, little dove? Got proof of this murder mystery in your head?”He bent, whispering so close I could feel the brush of his smoky breath against my ear. “Your mighty father wasn’t so mighty, after all. A single weakness in the heart, and down he went. Perhaps you didn’t know him as well as you thought.”

I shoved him away. “You’re lying.”

Seraphina’s voice was rich, laced with venom.

“My, my… grief has made you imaginative.” She brushed an invisible speck from her sleeve. “Poison, betrayal, conspiracies… It sounds like one of your father’s crime novels. But sadly, this is reality. And reality doesn’t bend to your feelings.”

“Believe what you like. It changes nothing. The world doesn’t run on tears and accusations, Althea. It runs on documents, signatures, names written in ink. And your name… means nothing.”

The lawyer cleared his throat, sliding another page toward me. “According to Mr. Adrian’s last will and testament…”

“That’s not his handwriting.” I snapped, pointing at the signature written at the bottom. It was too clean, too calculated. “He would never leave everything to you. He trusted me.”

Lucien leaned closer, his grin widening.“Trusted you? Or tolerated you?”

The words landed heavier than I expected, coiling in my gut. He knew something, something I didn’t.

Seraphina caught my stare, her lips curving. “Your father had… secrets, Althea. He wasn’t always honest. Not even with you.”

A chill went down my spine. “What are you implying?”

Her smile deepened, but she said nothing, leaving the sense to rot in the silence.

The lawyer slid another paper forward. “This includes the house. It will be sold within the month. Mrs. Seraphina and Mr. Lucien are entitled beneficiaries.”

I pushed the papers back so hard they almost slid off the desk. “This is my home! You can’t take it!”

“Can’t?” Lucien echoed, laughter spilling out, cruel and sharp. “Sweetheart, we already have. You’re nothing without his name, and his name belongs to us now.”

“I am his name,” I spat. “I’m his blood. His daughter.”

For the first time, Seraphina’s eyes softened..not with pity, but something closer to mockery. “Blood, yes. But blood is such a… fragile thing, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s not what it seems.”

The air left my lungs. My pulse hammered, a strange unease crawling through me. Her words weren’t random. They carried weight, a cruel one.

Lucien clapped his hands once, as if to end the conversation. “So, sign the papers, little dove, or fight a battle you’re destined to lose. Your choice.”

I stood, the chair scraping violently against the floor. “I won’t sign. Not today. Not ever. My father built this empire, and I’ll burn before I hand it over to snakes like you.”

They didn’t flinch, didn't rage. They only smiled, like predators surrendering to a prey that still thought it had claws.

The lawyer closed the folder, his hands trembling as he slid it back into his case. He didn’t look at me, not once. Seraphina rose gracefully, adjusting her veil. “Then burn, darling. Ashes can’t inherit estates.”

Something inside me cracked then, “You’ll regret this,” I hissed. “You’ll choke on everything you’ve stolen from me.”

Seraphina only smiled, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. “Oh, my sweet girl. By the time you learn how this world works, there will be nothing left of you to fight with.”

Lucien’s laughter followed them as they left the study. The lawyer trailed after, head bowed.

Her perfume lingered long after they left, suffocating. And in the silence, I felt the walls close in.

The house my father built around me… already slipping through my fingers.