Madness
The tension melted, and the room filled again with cheerful banter.
His grandmother teased him about “last night” until his mother shushed her, Lucas smirked like the devil himself, and his father simply sipped his tea in silence, amused by the chaos.
I sat among them, quiet but watchful, letting their warmth wash over me like sunlight I wasn’t sure I deserved. Every laugh, every interruption, every little quarrel, it was all so different from the cold, silence of my home.
I kept replaying that breakfast scene on my way home. The sound of their laughter, the way his mother had insisted I call her Mum, the warmth of it all, it was like a dream I wasn’t ready to wake from. My lips almost curved into a smile every time I thought of it.
I didn’t even realize the car had stopped until the driver cleared his throat politely and said, “Miss Lana, we’ve arrived.”
I blinked, startled, and shook the thoughts from my head. “Right… thank you.”
Stepping out, the air felt heavier here, pressing against my chest as I walked up the familiar steps. The moment I entered, the maids bowed their heads, murmuring greetings I barely registered. My feet carried me straight to my room.
The second I opened the door, my breath caught.
Everything was a mess. My neatly folded clothes were tossed everywhere, the sheets pulled off the bed, drawers yanked open, shoes scattered across the floor.
My heart began to pound so hard it hurt.
“No… no, no, no… please, no…” I whispered, stumbling forward.
I dropped to my knees by the dresser, pulling it open. The little compartment where I had hidden it, my mother’s bracelet, the only thing of hers I had left was empty.
My fingers clawed through the drawers, scattering everything, my vision blurring as panic clawed at me. I searched desperately under the bed, inside shoes, even tearing through my wardrobe, but it was gone.
My chest ached as if someone had punched through it. “No… please…”
“Athena!” The name tore from my throat before I could stop myself. Fury surged through despair. “What the heck!”
I stormed out of my room, my pulse a wild drumbeat in my ears. I knew exactly where to go.
I shoved open her door without knocking.
My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since I’d discovered my room torn apart.
She was sitting at her vanity, head tilted slightly as she dabbed cream along her cheekbones, her skin glowing under the soft light of her mirror. Her hair was tied back in a perfect bun, a silk robe draped lazily over her shoulders. There was not a single trace of chaos that touched her. She looked like a painting, poised, elegant and composed.
Her eyes flicked to mine in the reflection before she slowly turned, one brow arching as though I had disturbed her during a meditation session.
“Why are you shouting like a hoodlum, Lana?” she said, her voice dripping with disdain.
Her calmness only fueled my rage. “Did you take it?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care.
Athena blinked innocently, lips curling into a slow, evil smile. “Take what?”
I stepped further into the room, my fists clenching at my sides. My throat felt tight, my breaths shallow. “Don’t play games with me, Athena. Did you take my mother’s bracelet?”
Her smirk widened as if the words themselves gave her satisfaction. She crossed her legs and leaned her chin into her palm, pretending to think. “Oh… that old thing?”
My nails dug into my palms so hard I thought they’d draw blood. “You only have a minute to answer me,” I hissed.
Her eyes glimmered with mockery. “Or what? What would you do? You think you can just barge in here and threaten me?”
I was shaking with anger. My vision blurred, not from tears but from the heat rising behind my eyes.
Athena sighed dramatically, reaching for her phone on the vanity. “Unbelievable. You’re really losing it, sister.”
She lifted a device to her ear and dialed a number I didn’t recognize. Her voice transformed into a trembling, innocent tone. “Please, hurry. My sister is trying to hurt me…”
Before she could finish, I stormed forward and slapped the phone from her hand. It clattered against the hardwood floor, the screen going black.
“Are you crazy?” I snapped, my voice raw. “I’m talking to you right now. Where is it?”
Athena’s eyes flashed with malice before she plastered on her fake innocence again. “You’re the crazy one, sister. You just barged in here screaming and accusing me with no proof. Or wait…” Her lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “Wait, why are you even here? Did Luca finally chase you away already?”
The words sliced deep, sharper than knives. My body moved before my mind could stop it. I shoved her.
She stumbled back, falling onto her bed with a gasp that was far more theatrical than real pain.
Fueled by desperation, I turned my fury on her room, ripping through her things the way someone had done to mine. Perfume bottles toppled and rolled across the floor. A jewelry box flew open, spilling necklaces and earrings everywhere. I pulled open drawers, yanking clothes out by the handful.
Athena’s voice grew shrill. “What are you doing, Lana? Don’t push me!”
But I barely heard her. My pulse thundered in my ears. I could only see my mother’s bracelet in my mind, the thin silver band, delicate but unbreakable, with the tiny engraving of a crescent moon. It was all I had left of her, the only proof that she’d once loved me more than anything.
I need to find it now. When I saw that smug look on her face when I asked, I knew she had it. She definitely did.
“Stop this madness right now!” Athena shrieked, jumping up from the bed. She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin.