Intro. The Valerius estate was once a place where the sun seemed to linger a little longer, trapped in the golden carvings of the grand hallways. It was a house built on legacy, but held together by Sofia.
As the youngest, Sofia was the heartbeat of the home. Her kindness wasn't a performance; it was in the way she knew exactly how Mrs. Higgins liked her tea, the way she spent her afternoons reading to the elderly gardener, and the way she looked at her older brothers, Julian and Elias, as if they were the sun and the moon.
"Protectors for life," Julian used to say, ruffling her hair.
"Our little star," Elias would whisper, promising that no shadow would ever touch her.
But shadows don't always come from the outside. Sometimes, they are invited in. 🚪🌑
The day the front doors opened to welcome Lea, the air in the manor grew inexplicably thin. Lea, the daughter of their late housekeeper, arrived with downcast eyes and a suitcase full of orchestrated tragedy. Sofia, with a heart far too wi