After She Left, They Took My Home

My mom passed away when I was twelve, leaving everything she had to me. My dad cried at her bedside, swearing he'd never remarry and that he'd take care of me no matter what. But six months later, my stepmother moved into the villa my mom had left me, with her daughter. She told me, "I'll love you like you're my own." It didn't take long before my room, my clothes, everything, was taken over by her daughter. I got shipped off to a boarding school and was only allowed home on weekends. That went on for four years. After my father had been away on business for months, her abuse only got worse. She even tried to make me take the fall for her daughter. When I refused, she locked me in the basement and left me there to die. I fought with everything I had, found the old phone my mom had left behind, and called my grandfather. On the other end of the line, his voice was pure fury: "No one messes with a granddaughter of the Moretti family!" Chapter 1 My mom passed away when I was twelve. At her funeral, Dad held my hand and promised, "Emma, I swear to you, I won't ever remarry. I'll take care of you for the rest of my life, for your mom's sake too." After Mom left, she left behind two million dollars in savings and a massive three-hundred-plus square meter villa in the heart of the city, all transferred into my name. For a while after she was gone, Dad really did fall apart. He lost so much weight. But just six months later, a woman in a pantsuit driving a Porsche showed up at our door, dragging a little girl behind her. Dad couldn't quite meet my eyes. "Emma, this is Julia and her daughter Jacey. They're going to live with us from now on." Julia was a colleague from Dad's company, sweet, attentive, always bringing him lunch and keeping him company after Mom died. It didn't take long for him to fall. When I just stood there at the door without saying a word, Dad got so anxious he was practically in tears. "I'm just so lonely, sweetheart. Please, just have some pity on your old man, okay?" His voice cracked. I caved. I nodded. Julia walked up and stroked my hair. "Emma, don't be scared. Isn't it better to have one more person who loves you? I promise I'll treat you just like Jacey." Dad let out a breath when I didn't push back. "Emma, having Julia move in is for your sake too. I'm swamped at work, I'm always flying to Europe. I don't feel right leaving you here alone." And just like that, Julia and Jacey moved in. The first year, Julia was actually decent, especially whenever Dad was home. She was attentive, warm, perfect. Dad looked so relieved, like he'd made the best decision of his life. Then he left for a business trip to the Germany branch. The afternoon he left, I came home from school and pushed open the door to my bedroom on the second floor. I froze. My room was unrecognizable. All the expensive art pieces were gone. The Steinway piano Mom had left me had been shoved into a corner. And Jacey was bouncing on my bed in my silk pajamas. Julia stood nearby, directing the housekeeper to pack up my clothes. I stormed in. "What the hell are you doing?!" Julia turned around, that same gentle, soft expression plastered on her face. "Emma, Jacey really loves this south-facing room. She's not well, she needs the sunlight. I've already had the guest room at the end of the third floor cleaned up for you. You can move your things there." The guest room at the end of the third floor never got any sun. I didn't want it. "I'm not moving! This villa is mine. My mom left it to me! This is my room!" Julia's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Your mother is dead. I'm the lady of this house now." I lunged forward to yank Jacey off the bed. Jacey let out a shriek and rolled onto the carpet, clutching her forehead and wailing. The second Jacey started crying, Julia slapped me across the face. "You nasty, ill-mannered little brat! How dare you hit my daughter!" I couldn't believe it. I held my stinging cheek. Dad had barely been gone a few hours and Julia had already shown her true colors. With my other hand, I pulled out my phone and called him. "Dad, Jacey stole my room and Julia hit me!" The line was noisy. Dad's voice was barely above a whisper. "Emma, I'm in a very important board meeting right now. Julia just texted me. Jacey has asthma, she needs a room with sunlight. You're the older sister, just let your little sister have it, okay?" I was stunned. "But Julia hit me!" "Emma, don't lie. I know exactly what kind of person Julia is." "She has such a good temper. How could she possibly hit you? Stop being so hostile toward her all the time. Daddy has to go." The line went dead. Chapter 2 Julia stood in front of me, waving her phone. On the screen was the text she'd already sent my dad, claiming I had a violent temper, that I'd pushed my little sister down, and that she was patiently trying to discipline me. She'd planned all of it. "You heard him? Your dad only believes me now. In this house, you'd better behave." The next day, I was packed off to a boarding school. Julia said it was to build my independence. Dad actually agreed. After that, I was only allowed home on weekends. Every time I came back, more of my things were missing. My mom's jewelry showed up around Julia's neck. The limited-edition bags Mom had bought me were being used by Jacey to carry her toys. I tried to fight back, but every time I did, Julia just punished me harder. Dad was stuck in Europe for six straight months because of a major crisis at the branch office. During those six months, Julia gave me a hundred dollars a month. She said she and Dad had discussed it. A high schooler didn't need that much money, and learning to budget now would help me in the long run. But the boarding school she'd enrolled me in required us to pay for our own meals. A hundred dollars wasn't nearly enough. I called Dad to ask for more. He was always too busy to listen. Every time, he just said he'd given the money to Julia and told me to ask her. So I learned to stretch every cent. No snacks. No new clothes. The cheapest meal plan at the cafeteria every single day. Even then, I was always running out. One time I went hungry for two days. When I came home that weekend, I almost passed out on the way. I called Dad again and told him the allowance was too small. He got annoyed. "Emma, when did you learn to lie? Julia told me she enrolled you in the best boarding school. Room and board included. You shouldn't need any spending money. How is what I gave you not enough? Other kids get by just fine. Why can't you?" Julia chimed in from the background. "Is Emma dating someone at school? That would explain the extra expenses. A girl needs to learn to be frugal. Your father and I are just looking out for you!" I snapped. "Dad, my school doesn't include meals! I have to pay for food, and you only give me a hundred dollars. How is that supposed to be enough?! Jacey's at home every day and her pocket money alone is more than a hundred dollars a day. Who's actually your real daughter here?!" The second Julia heard that, she started crying into the phone. "Peter, we agreed. This is all for Emma's own good. If this child won't trust me, and now you won't trust me either, then I just..." When Dad heard Julia crying, he got furious. "Starting next month, your allowance drops to eighty dollars. If you keep spending recklessly and upsetting Julia, you'll get nothing at all." "Be good at home. Do everything Julia says!" With Dad gone, all I could do was make myself as invisible as possible. I stopped going home on weekends whenever I could get away with it. Winter came. I didn't have a warm coat. On days I couldn't stay at school, I had no choice but to go back. Today was the weekend, and Jacey's fourteenth birthday. Julia had turned the entire first floor of the villa into a pink fairy-tale castle. The champagne tower was two stories high. The place was packed. I was stopped at the iron gate. The code had been changed. The security guard had been swapped out for one of Julia's distant relatives. School was closed for the holiday, and I had nowhere to go, but I couldn't get into my own home. It was December. The temperature had dropped to fourteen degrees Fahrenheit. I was wearing nothing but a thin sweater, no coat, nothing. Freezing, I pounded on the iron gate, praying someone would let me in. "Open the door! This is my house!" Nobody answered. Chapter 3 The villa was lit up like a dream. Through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see Jacey in a sparkling princess gown, standing in the center of the crowd, eyes closed, making a wish. Julia stood beside her, beaming with that loving mother look. And Dad, Dad had actually come back. He was standing next to Julia, smiling down at Jacey. The wind cut across my face like a blade. Cold and starving, I curled up under a holly tree and tried calling Dad again. This time, it went through. "Emma?" He sounded surprised. "Dad, I'm cold." My voice was shaking so hard I could barely get the words out. "Cold? Didn't Julia get you warm clothes ages ago? It's your sister's birthday and you're not even home. What, you're throwing another tantrum?" I froze. "Dad, I don't have a coat. I'm right outside the gate and nobody will let me in." Before I could finish, Julia's voice came through the line. "Peter, is that Emma?" "She insisted on staying at a friend's house. Wouldn't even come to her own sister's birthday party. And I saved her the biggest piece of cake, too." Dad sighed. "Emma, what were you saying? You're being so unreasonable. Julia treats you so well. Why are you always so difficult? Just stay at your friend's place and don't cause them any trouble." The line went dead. The dial tone cut through the snowstorm like a knife. I clutched my phone, my heart as frozen as my body. Did Dad even know his own daughter was freezing to death outside his door? The snow fell harder. My vision started to blur. Just when I thought I was about to slip under, the villa door flew open. Someone grabbed me by the hair and dragged me up out of the snow. It was Julia. She hauled me inside, threw me onto the couch, then walked to the kitchen and came back with a glass of warm milk. She held it out to me. "Drink." I stared at her, wary. Why the sudden kindness? Julia slammed the glass down on the coffee table. "Emma. Drink it yourself." Just then, Jacey came stumbling down the stairs in her princess dress, shaking all over. Her skirt was covered in huge patches of blood. Julia rushed over and pulled Jacey into her arms. "Don't be scared, baby. Mommy's here." Jacey was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. "Mom, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to take the toy car for a spin, I didn't know he'd walk out in front of me." I stared at them. "What happened?" Julia turned to me. "Jacey had a little champagne, took your father's modified mini golf cart for a drive, and accidentally hit the gardener in the back. He's already been taken to the hospital. The doctor said both his legs are shattered. He'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life." "What does that have to do with me?" I pushed myself up off the couch. Julia walked over to me, smiling. "Everything. Jacey is only fourteen. Her life has barely begun. She can't have this kind of stain on her record." "You're the older sister. And you weren't at the party tonight. All you have to do is admit that you were jealous of your sister and drove into him. You hadn't been drinking. It won't be a big deal for you." "Are you insane? You want me to take the fall for her?" "Take the fall? We're family. You're her big sister. Isn't it only natural to cover for your little sister's mistake?" Jacey peeked out from behind Julia. "Sis, just help me out, okay? Your grades suck anyway. You're never gonna be anything. A few years inside won't make a difference." I was done. "Dream on! Where's Dad? Does he know about this? I'm telling him." Julia let out a cold laugh. "I've already talked it over with your father. He didn't object. All you have to do is nod, and this is handled. Emma, you don't get to say no." Dad knew? He'd agreed to this? That's why he hadn't come looking for me? There was no way. I had to find him, had to hear it from his own mouth. I spun around and bolted for the door. I made it two steps before something cracked against the back of my skull. Everything went black. Chapter 4 When I woke up again, I was tied to an iron chair. My hands were wrenched behind my back, my ankles strapped down so tight I couldn't move an inch. It had to be the villa's basement. That's why the air smelled so rank. Back when Mom was alive, this was where we stored old junk. No windows. No heating. Barely warmer than outside. "Hello?! Is anyone there?!" I thrashed and screamed. High heels clicked on the other side of the door. It swung open, and Julia walked in carrying a plate of steak. "Hungry? Sign this confession, and the steak is yours." She set a piece of paper and a pen on my lap. I was starving. But I still said, "Dream on." Julia's face went dark. She picked up the plate, dumped the steak onto the floor right in front of me, then ground her stiletto heel into it. "Your father isn't home. Don't count on anyone coming to save you. Let's see how long you last." The iron door slammed shut. Darkness swallowed me again. I tried to gnaw through the rope with my teeth, but I couldn't reach. The hunger was so bad I started hallucinating. I saw Mom in a white dress, standing in the corner, smiling at me. My breathing grew shallow. I could feel my life draining out of me, bit by bit. No. I can't die here. I refuse to die here. I forced myself awake. My hands fumbled blindly through the dark. The rope cut into my flesh, blood slicking my wrists, but then my fingers found something. A rusted iron nail jutting out of the back of the chair. I angled my wrists toward it and sawed the rope against the nail. Once. Twice. Dozens of times. The nail tore through skin, down to the bone. A faint snap echoed in the dark. The rope finally gave. I collapsed to the floor, arms limp at my sides. I lay there for a full hour before I could gather enough strength to push myself up against the wall. By memory alone, I felt my way to the old wooden chest. Mom used to keep her keepsakes in there. It wasn't locked. I lifted the lid and dug through it until my fingers closed around an old satellite phone. Before she died, Mom had buried it at the very bottom of the box. She'd stroked my hair and told me, her face serious, "Emma, if you're ever in danger, the kind your father can't fix, use this phone. Call your grandfather." After Mom was gone, Dad forbade me from ever mentioning my grandfather. He said he was a dangerous man, that he'd bring trouble to our family. I'd always obeyed. But right now, I didn't care. I pressed the power button. The screen flickered to life with a faint green glow. Still charged. Full bars. My fingers trembling, I punched in the number Mom had made me memorize. It rang once. "Hello?" An old man's voice. "Grandpa." My voice came out like sandpaper scraping against wood. Silence. Then a sharp intake of breath. "Emma? Is that you? It's Grandpa." Something inside me just broke. All the fear, all the hurt, everything I'd been holding in came flooding out. Tears poured down my face. "Grandpa, help me! I'm so hungry and so cold. Julia locked me in the basement, she's trying to make me take the fall for Jacey!" The air on the other end shifted. "Emma, don't be scared. Grandpa's here. Tell me, where are you right now?" "The basement. At home." "Good girl. Hide the phone. Stay safe. Grandpa's on his way." Just before the line cut, I heard him roar at someone nearby: "No one lays a hand on a granddaughter of the Moretti family!"