Chapter one

Vanessa stood beside the graves, staring at the two freshly covered mounds of earth in front of her.

Her parents.

The only two people she had ever known as family.

Around her, people cried, prayed, and whispered words of comfort. Some held handkerchiefs to their faces while others stood in small groups, discussing things in hushed voices.

Vanessa looked at them one after another.

Strangers.

They called themselves family, yet she couldn't remember seeing most of their faces before today.

Some of them had arrived with tears streaming down their cheeks, wailing as though they had lost someone they had been close to for years. Vanessa watched them silently, unable to understand where all their grief had suddenly come from.

She couldn't cry.

She had tried.

But nothing came.

Maybe the tears were somewhere deep inside her, trapped beneath the shock that had taken over her entire body.

Her parents were gone.

Just like that.

Her mother, who had always kissed her forehead before bed. Her father, who never failed to ask about her day even when he was busy.

Gone.

Vanessa swallowed hard and lowered her eyes.

She was not even eighteen.

How was she supposed to live without them?

She didn't know how to take care of herself. She didn't know how bills were paid, how businesses were managed, or even what would happen to the house she had grown up in.

She only knew one thing.

She had no one.

Or at least, no one she trusted.

Her gaze slowly moved across the crowd again.

There was something about the way some of them looked around the property that made her stomach twist. Their eyes didn't linger on her for long. Instead, they wandered around the large compound, taking in the house, the cars, and everything her father had left behind.

It didn't take Vanessa long to understand.

They are not here for her.

They are not even here for her parents.

They are here for what her parents had left behind.

Money

Properties

Inheritance.

Everything except the grieving daughter standing in the middle of it all.

Vanessa's heart tightened.

She wondered who would eventually take her in.

Would they treat her kindly?

Would they see her as a daughter or as another burden?

Would they allow her to continue living the life she had known, or would everything change overnight?

A horrible thought crossed her mind.

For a brief moment, Vanessa wished she could simply close her eyes and disappear.

Maybe if she had died too, she would still be with her parents.

At least then, she wouldn't have to stand here alone.

After the burial ceremony, everyone returned to her father's house.

The same house that had once been filled with laughter now felt unbearably quiet.

Vanessa sat on one of the sofas in the living room, surrounded by people she barely knew.

Then an older woman approached her.

Vanessa recognized her only because someone had whispered earlier that she was her aunt.The woman immediately wrapped her arms around Vanessa.

"My poor child," she cried. "How are you feeling? You must be hungry. Have you eaten anything today?"

Vanessa stiffened slightly in her embrace.

The woman pulled away and held both of Vanessa's hands.

"You don't have to worry anymore. I will take care of you. You can come and stay with me. I will make sure you're comfortable. Whatever you want to eat, whatever you need, I will provide it."

Vanessa stared at her.

The woman had tears in her eyes.

But Vanessa couldn't bring herself to believe them.

"I will treat you like my own daughter," the woman continued. "You won't have to worry about anything. Let me take care of...."

"Absolutely not."

Everyone turned.

A man stepped forward from the other side of the room.

Vanessa recognized him as another relative, though she had never met him before today.

He shook his head firmly.

"She should come with me."

The aunt frowned. "And why should she go with you?"

"Because I'm her uncle," he replied. "And I can take care of her just as well as you can."

The woman scoffed.

"I have known her longer than you"

"You have not seen her in years."

"Neither have you"

The man ignored her.

He turned toward Vanessa with a sentence that seemed almost too rehearsed.

"I have three children at home," he said. "They will be happy to have another sister. She won't be lonely. I will treat her exactly like my own daughter."

Another relative immediately joined the conversation.

"Why are you both arguing? She can stay with me."

"I have enough space in my house."

"I can provide better education for her."

"I have a stable home."

One after another, they began making promises.

Vanessa sat quietly in the middle of it all.

She almost laughed.

Almost.

The irony was unbearable.

These people had barely known she existed yesterday, yet suddenly everyone wanted to become her guardian.

Everyone wanted to feed her.

Everyone wanted to protect her.

Everyone wanted to treat her like their own daughter.

But somehow, every conversation eventually circled back to her father's properties.

Who would manage them?

Who would have access to them?

What would happen to the businesses?

Who would be responsible for the house?

Vanessa's eyes slowly hardened.

She had never felt so alone in a room full of people.

While they continued arguing, Vanessa quietly stood up.

No one noticed.

Or perhaps they noticed and simply didn't care.

She walked upstairs, entered her bedroom, and gently closed the door behind her.

The moment the door clicked shut, the noise downstairs became muffled.

Vanessa stood there for a few seconds.

Then her legs gave way.

She slid down against the door until she was sitting on the cold floor.

For the first time that day, she allowed herself to stop pretending.

Her shoulders began to shake.

She covered her mouth with both hands as a sob finally escaped.

She looked around her room.

Everything was still exactly as she had left it.

Her books.

Her clothes.

The little things her mother had bought for her.

The photograph of her parents sitting on her bedside table.

Vanessa crawled toward the photograph and picked it up with trembling hands.

She stared at their smiling faces.

"Mum..." she whispered.

Her voice broke.

"Dad..."

The tears finally came.

And this time, there was no one around to see them.

Vanessa pressed the photograph against her chest and curled up on the floor, mourning the two people who had been her entire world.

Downstairs, the arguing continued.

But upstairs, Vanessa was learning what it meant to be completely alone.