Hidden Truth
"Queenie my love, how are you doing?" the voice said, warm and sweet like honey.
"I'm fine father," she said back, her face getting bright with a smile that could make any dark place light up. Her father was standing there in the morning sun, looking at her with those nice eyes she always remembered.
But something felt wrong. Something about how her father was smiling made her stomach feel funny. The smile was too big, too much like he knew secrets she didn't know. Before she could figure out what was going on, before she could ask him—
SPLASH!
A bucket of cold water hit her body hard. The shock made her jump up from the bed, gasping and coughing as she got up fast, water dripping from her hair and making her nightgown all wet.
"You fool! What are you still doing in bed right now?" Georgina's mean voice filled the small room.
Queenie got up quick, her body shaking from the cold water that stuck to her skin. Water made a puddle on the wooden floor.
"Good morning auntie," she said, her voice quiet and polite even though she got woken up so bad.
"What's good about the morning? Don't you know what time it is?" Georgina yelled, her face all angry. Without saying nothing, her hand hit Queenie's cheek hard - SLAP! The sting spread across her face like fire.
"I'm sorry auntie," Queenie said, even though she knew she didn't do anything wrong. But saying sorry was just what she did now after all these years. It was easier to say sorry than fight back and get worse.
"I'm warning you Queenie, don't test me! Next time you wake up late again, you're out of this house!" Georgina said, pointing her finger at Queenie's face.
Queenie nodded quickly, her wet hair sticking to her face. There wasn't anything else to say, nothing else to do but take whatever came her way.
"Make me my tea and bring it to my room in five minutes. One minute late and you're gonna face what happens," Georgina said before walking out of the beat-up looking room.
Queenie let out a big sigh, running her shaking hand through her wet hair. All her body was soaked with water, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She didn't have time to dry her hair or change her dress before going to the kitchen. Time was against her, and Georgina never forgave being late.
When she got to the kitchen, the first thing she looked at was the big clock hanging there. It was only a few minutes past three in the morning, but Georgina still wanted her to be awake and ready. Of course, that's how it has been for years now. That's been her life ever since her father died fourteen years ago. She was living in this hell, and she was used to feeling like she was nothing.
"Here, I knew this was gonna happen, so I made the tea already," Mrs. Chen the housekeeper said, coming into the kitchen with a hot cup.
Queenie's face lit up when she saw the old lady. This was the only person in the whole house who cared if she lived or died. Mrs. Chen was like sunshine in her dark world.
"Thank you granny," Queenie said, taking the hot tea with both hands, feeling the warmth.
"But I better wait a few minutes before I give her the tea. She might say I came too early," Queenie said, knowing how Georgina could be.
Mrs. Chen smiled, her old face showing years of being kind. "Alright dear, after you finish serving her, come to my room. I'll help dry your hair," she said softly.
Queenie smiled, feeling a little bit of warmth in her chest. "Thank you granny."
Mrs. Chen smiled again before walking away, but not before saying, "Don't worry dear, things are gonna get better."
---
After waiting exactly five minutes, Queenie went into Georgina's room after knocking soft on the door. But when she got there, Catalina was there too, talking about whatever didn't really matter to her. Mother and daughter sat on the fancy chairs like they were queens.
"Auntie, here's the tea," Queenie said quietly, holding the cup carefully.
"Bring it over! You expect me to come get it from you?" Georgina said, not even looking up from talking to Catalina.
"I'm sorry," Queenie said, walking across the room toward them, her bare feet quiet on the cold floor.
"Sorry for your miserable life," Georgina said under her breath, but loud enough for Queenie to hear. That's how it has always been for her - always being told how worthless she was. By now, the words didn't hurt as much as they used to. She got thick skin over the years.
As Queenie walked toward the table in the room, Catalina, being the sneaky witch she was, put her leg in front of her without Queenie seeing. She was focused on not spilling the tea, on being perfect, on not getting in trouble.
Queenie stepped on Catalina's leg and stumbled. The tea flew out her hand, and the hot liquid poured all over the expensive carpet. The cup broke into pieces with a loud crash.
SLAP!
Catalina's hand hit Queenie's cheek hard before she could even understand what happened.
"How dare you! Are you trying to ruin my skin?" Catalina said angry, looking at her leg to see if the hot tea hurt her.
Queenie bit her lip as her knees hit the floor. The broken pieces of the cup were scattered around her. She knew that arguing with Catalina, trying to prove that she put her leg there on purpose, wasn't the right thing to do. No matter what happened, no matter who was really wrong, Georgina would always take her daughter's side.
Georgina glared at Queenie, her eyes burning mad. "Seems to me you're getting lazy," she said, standing up from her chair.
"I'm sorry auntie," Queenie begged, still on her knees with the broken pieces.
"Sorry? You almost poured hot tea on my precious daughter!" Georgina said, and her hand hit Queenie's other cheek hard.
Queenie bit harder on her lip, trying to stop the tears that wanted to come. She learned long ago that crying only made things worse.
"You know what? Today you're gonna clean up the store room by yourself, and you ain't eating nothing until tomorrow morning. Now clean up this mess and get lost!" Georgina said, pointing toward the door.
Catalina rolled her eyes. "Miserable soul," she said with a mean smile. "That's why her mother left her."
The words hit Queenie hard, but she didn't say anything. She just started picking up the broken pieces of the cup, her hands shaking a little.
---
STORE ROOM:
The room was all dark, filled with spider webs hanging from every corner. Dust was floating around in the weak light from her flashlight. But there wasn't anything Queenie could do about how creepy it was. It was either she cleaned this place or got punished worse.
Tears fell from her eyes when she remembered Catalina's mean words. "That's why her mother left her because she can't stand having a disgrace like you." The words kept playing in her head over and over.
"No, don't let what they say get to you," Queenie said to herself, trying to stay strong. Her hand reached out and opened an old wooden cupboard that made a loud creak.
Spiders crawled out the cupboard, making her jump back scared. She shines her flashlight inside the cupboard, and something caught her eye. There was a file hidden behind some old books.
She carefully took out the file, blowing the dust off it. When she opened it, she saw a picture of her father with a woman, but the woman's face was all blurry and she couldn't see who it was. Her heart started beating fast.
She opened the little pieces of letter inside the file with shaking fingers.
Dear R,
You gotta be careful. Georgina thinks I know something.
Georgina ain't what we all think she is.
She is planning on ruining my life and stealing my company and property.
But don't worry R, I promise soon everything's gonna be over and I'll get to be with you again.
Georgina ain't the saint she acts like she is.
She was the one that killed her ex-husband, just to get his property.
Once the divorce is done and Georgina pays for everything she has done to me, then I'll come be with you.
Signed by Edward Vale.
"My dad," Queenie whispered, her voice barely heard in the dark room. She was confused, her mind racing with questions. She quickly searched through the cupboard again and found a small flash drive hidden behind some old papers.
"What is this letter about? What could be on this flash drive?" she wondered out loud, holding the small thing in her palm.
Her heart was beating fast as she stared at the evidence in her hands. "Can this help me get back everything Georgina took from me?"
For the first time in years, Queenie felt something she almost forgot - hope.