The following days were a tangle of tension and solitude for Anna. Every moment spent in that house seemed heavier than the last, as if she was trapped in an invisible cage, with the walls slowly closing in around her. The sounds of the city felt distant, muffled by the weight of fear that gripped her. She no longer had a sense of time passing; everything seemed to stretch endlessly, trapped in a space where she had no control.
Louis Bernard, The Reaper, came every week, and with each visit, he brought with him a silent pressure that seeped into the house's walls. The conversations, or rather the orders, were cold. His expectations were clear, without ambiguity. He never spoke unnecessarily. He didn't need excess words, just his relentless presence, his dark eyes that seemed to analyze every movement of Anna. Her mother, on the other hand, became more and more of a spectator in this cruel game. Anna could see the exhaustion in her eyes, a complete resignation that revolted her and made her feel even more abandoned. She had no friends, no one to confide in, no one to turn to. Her family had become a place of silent solitude, a place where human warmth had evaporated.
Anna spent her days trying to understand what she could do to escape this situation. The life she had known seemed like an illusion, a dream she had never truly believed in, but which was now collapsing before her eyes. The shadow of Louis Bernard was omnipresent, and every moment spent in the house felt like one more step toward a destiny she refused to accept.
One day, as she stood by the window, staring at the outside world without truly seeing it, she felt something new, a strange vibration. A thought crossed her mind: what if her mother knew more than she admitted? The evasive gaze, the persistent silences, the coldness of her responses… Anna began asking questions she had never dared to ask before. Wasn't her mother the first to be responsible for this situation? If she had agreed to sell her own daughter, maybe it was because she had a secret, a hidden past she had never wanted to share.
She remembered, as a child, the rare times her mother had let go of her anger, her frustrations that Anna had always attributed to life's hardships. But now, all of that seemed insignificant in light of the reality she was living. Anna also recalled the rare conversations between her mother and certain visitors. Whispers in the kitchen, furtive glances exchanged with men with hard faces, unsaid promises… Perhaps, in another life, her mother had made choices that had led her here. Maybe she wasn't just a victim in this story, but an accomplice.
Nights had become moments of anxiety, where thoughts clashed in Anna's mind, hitting the walls of the house, seeking an escape. She had decided to act. She needed to find out what her mother knew, understand the reasons that had led this woman to sacrifice her. Maybe she would find a key to freedom. But to do so, she had to get closer to her mother, break through the wall of silence, learn what she had hidden, what she had failed to tell her.
That evening, as her mother seemed more tired than usual, Anna took a deep breath and sat across from her in the small kitchen. The contrast between them was striking. Her mother, much older, her features drawn from years of struggle, and she, a young woman full of uncertainties, a future that seemed to be slipping away beneath her feet.
"Why?"
The word slipped from her lips, weak but impactful. Her mother looked up, first surprised, then a veil of sadness spread across her face. Anna realized that the question she had just asked wasn't the one she had prepared, but the only one that truly mattered. Why had she made this decision? Why had she let her fall into the clutches of this man?
Her mother didn't answer immediately. A heavy silence settled between them, then she slowly put down her spoon and sighed.
"You won't understand, Anna. You can't understand."
Anna felt anger rising within her. She had spent weeks trying to understand, gathering clues, and this vague response was all she got. She stood up, pacing nervously, her mind tormented by growing turmoil.
"I want to understand, Mom," she insisted, her voice trembling. "I want to understand why you gave me to that man. Why didn't you find another way?"
Her mother stood up then, her gaze as hard as stone. Anna had never seen her mother so cold, so distant. She lowered her eyes, but her words were clear.
"It wasn't an easy choice, Anna. Louis Bernard… he's not just any man. He is more than that. And there was no question of finding another way, there was none. I had to pay, and I had no one else. I… I had no other choice."
Anna's heart tightened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother, the woman who had always preached independence, strength, dignity… She had given in to Louis Bernard, this ruthless man. But why? What had this man done to make her get to this point?
"But why him? Why let him into our lives? What does he do to you? What do you owe him?"
Her mother's eyes blurred for a moment, as if a painful memory resurfaced. She turned away from her daughter, unable to look her in the face.
"I can't tell you all of this, Anna. There are things you don't need to know. Not now."
It felt like a punch to Anna. She could feel that her mother was hiding something much bigger, something deep that was connected to their past, something The Reaper controlled. But what? And most importantly, why had she made the decision to use her own daughter as payment for debts Anna hadn't understood?
That night, Anna's anger didn't subside. She knew something was wrong with this story. Her mother was terrified, and Anna had no idea what she might risk in trying to understand. But she had no choice. She had to discover the truth, no matter the cost, to finally break free from Louis Bernard's grip and the invisible chains that bound her to this man.