The Last Heiress
It was just slow suicide, and I'd always been too stubborn to do anything slowly.
The house was still standing, mostly. That seemed like a small miracle until I realized it was standing precisely because nothing had considered it important enough to completely destroy.
The creatures had passed through, taken what they wanted, or what they thought they wanted—and moved on to easier prey. My mother's scream had probably been the last thing of value in the house as far as they were concerned.
I didn't bother to go and look for them, both my stepfather or mother. Some part of me already knew what I would find, and I wasn't ready to make that knowledge real.