A sudden splash of ice-cold water shattered the silence.
Aria gasped, her body jerking upright as the shock sent a violent tremor through her. She coughed, her breaths ragged, her soaked hair clinging to her pale face.
Her fingers gripped the silk sheets beneath her—soft, luxurious—but unfamiliar.
She blinked, her vision adjusting to the dimly lit room. Tall windows framed with blood-red curtains loomed over her, the chandelier's dull glow casting eerie shadows on the walls. Every inch of the room screamed wealth, power… and something far more sinister.
This wasn't home.
A sharp voice snapped her out of her daze.
"Finally awake?"
Aria turned her head, her heart pounding. A woman stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed, her expression carved from stone.
She was tall, dressed in a sleek black gown that hugged her figure. Dark eyes glinted under the light, sharp and cold. Unfeeling. Unforgiving.
Aria swallowed. "W-Who are you?"
The woman's lips curled into a smirk, but there was nothing warm about it.
"Liana," she said, her voice smooth, yet laced with venom. "Your mother's sister."
Aria's breath hitched.
Her mother's… sister?
That couldn't be right. Her mother had never spoken of family—never mentioned a single relative.
Liana took a slow step closer. "You must be confused." Her tone dripped with mock sympathy. "I suppose that's natural, considering you've been unconscious for four days."
Aria's fingers dug into the sheets.
"F-Four days?" Her voice trembled.
Liana let out a cold laugh. "Yes, four days. You collapsed right after your mother took her last breath."
Pain shot through Aria's chest, sharp and unbearable. Her mother's face flashed in her mind—her weak, fading smile, the blood pooling beneath her—
Gone.
It felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
Aria clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "Where am I?"
Liana's eyes darkened. "Somewhere safe. That's all you need to know for now."
Aria didn't believe her.
Something about this place, about Liana's presence, felt… wrong.
She glanced around again, as if looking for an escape, but there were no open doors, no signs of anyone else. Just her and this woman—this stranger who claimed to be her aunt.
Liana sighed, bored. "Listen, girl. You don't live here for free."
Aria's head snapped up.
"What…?"
"You heard me." Liana's voice turned razor-sharp. "Your mother left you here. And now, you work for your place in this house."
Aria's stomach twisted.
"My mother would never—"
Liana's hand shot out, grabbing Aria's chin roughly.
Aria froze, her breath caught in her throat.
Liana leaned in, her nails digging into Aria's skin. "Don't be stupid, child. Dead people don't have a say in what happens to the living."
Aria's eyes burned with unshed tears, but she refused to cry.
Liana finally let go, straightening herself with an air of authority. "Get up. You're no different from the servants here. You'll earn your place, or you'll be thrown out."
Aria's heart pounded.
"Thrown out?" she whispered.
Liana smiled—a cruel, amused smile.
"You don't want to know what happens to girls with nowhere to go, do you?"
The blood drained from Aria's face.
Liana turned on her heel, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She reached the door and paused.
"Get dressed," she ordered. "You have work to do."
And with that, she walked out, slamming the door shut behind her.
Aria sat frozen, her hands trembling.
Her mother was dead.
She was trapped in a stranger's house.
And she had just woken up in a nightmare.