CHAPTER 2:The House That Threw Me Away

The car didn’t feel like any car I had ever been in. The seats were soft enough to sink into and the windows were so dark I could barely see the streets sliding past. Veronica sat across from me like she owned the silence. Richard stayed on his phone the whole first twenty minutes, speaking in short, quiet sentences I couldn’t catch.

I kept my hands in my lap and watched the city thin out. Buildings gave way to longer roads, then high walls and trees that looked too perfect to be real. When the gates finally opened, the house behind them didn’t look like a home. It looked like a statement.

White stone. Wide steps. Windows that reflected the last of the evening light. Two staff members were already waiting at the bottom of the stairs when the car stopped.

Veronica stepped out first. “Bring her bags to the east wing,” she told one of them, even though I had no bags.

I followed her up the steps. The air inside the house was cool and smelled faintly of flowers and something sharper underneath, like polished wood and old money. My sneakers looked wrong on the marble floor.

“You’ll stay in the east wing for now,” Veronica said without looking back. “A maid will be assigned to you. Dinner is at seven. You will dress appropriately.”

“I didn’t bring clothes,” I said.

“Because you don’t need them.” She stopped at a wide staircase and finally turned to face me. “There are rules in this house, Rebecca. You will learn them quickly. The first is simple. You do not discuss the past with the staff. The second is that you answer when spoken to. The third is that you do not leave the grounds without permission. And there are still many more rules.”

I held her gaze. “And if I break them?”

“Then your grandmother’s care becomes a lot less private and a lot less comfortable.” She said it calmly, like she was talking about the weather. “Do we understand each other?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We do.”

A young woman in a plain dark dress appeared at the top of the stairs. Veronica nodded toward her. “This is Lina. She will show you to your rooms and help you prepare for dinner. Do not keep us waiting.”

Lina gave a small bow and led me down a long hallway lined with closed doors. The room she opened was larger than the entire apartment Gran and I had shared. White bedding. Tall windows. A bathroom that looked like it belonged in a magazine. A walk-in closet already filled with clothes that still had tags on them.

“These are for you, miss,” Lina said quietly. “Mrs. Ashcroft selected them this morning.”

I stared at the dresses, the shoes, the neat row of jewelry boxes. None of it felt like it belonged to me. “Do you have an idea where’s my grandmother right now?”

“She is being transferred to a private medical suite in the city, miss. Mr. Ashcroft arranged it before you left the hospital. You will receive updates twice a day.”

I nodded once. That was the only part of this deal I cared about.

She helped me into a dark green dress that fit too well, like someone had already known my measurements before I walked through the door. She fixed my hair with quiet, practiced hands, pulling the long black curls over one shoulder so the white streak at the front showed clearly under the light. When she stepped back I looked at the mirror and barely recognized the girl staring back. Same face. Different packaging. The white streak stood out sharp against the black, a single mark that refused to blend in.

Dinner was held in a long room with a table that could have seated twenty. Only four places were set. Veronica at the head. Richard to her right. An empty chair across from me.

I sat. The food looked expensive and tasted like nothing. Veronica spoke about schedules and expectations. Richard mostly stayed quiet. I answered when spoken to and kept my questions behind my teeth.

Near the end of the meal Veronica set her glass down and looked at me directly.

“This family has a public image, Rebecca. One we have spent years protecting. You will learn how to sit properly. How to hold your cutlery. How to speak when spoken to and when to stay silent. The world does not get to see the Ashcroft name look common. You will not be the reason it does.”

I kept my eyes on my plate. “And if I mess it up?”

 “You already know the stakes. Do not make me repeat them.” She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to.

Richard cleared his throat quietly but said nothing. The candlelight between us stayed steady.

I forced another bite down even though my stomach had already closed. The dress felt too tight around my ribs. The white streak of my hair kept falling forward no matter how many times I pushed it back. Every sound in the room felt sharper than it should have.

Veronica continued in the same even tone. “You will also learn how we receive guests. How we leave a room. How we answer questions from people who think they are entitled to answers. There are still more rules. You will hear them in time. For now, remember the ones I have already given you.”

I nodded once because that was what she wanted. My fork stayed still in my hand.

Footsteps came from the hallway. Light. Certain. The kind of steps that never had to hurry or apologize for being late.

A girl walked in.

Long black curls. The same white streak falling over the front. The same eyes. The same mouth. The same face I had just seen in the mirror upstairs.

My fork stopped halfway to my plate.

She looked exactly like me.