Diana drove off to her parents house, the mansion appeared out of the quiet countryside like a warning, tall, dark, and painfully familiar.
Diana stepped out of the car slowly, clutching her bag to her chest as the messenger drove away without waiting. His taillights vanished down the parking lot, leaving her standing in the long, echoing driveway.
A cold breeze brushed her arms.
She climbed the front steps, trying to steady her breathing. But just as she reached for the door, voices drifted through the slightly open side-window.
She froze.
She recognized her aunt's voice, sharp and calculating.
She recognized her uncle's voice too, deep and impatient.
But there was a third voice.
A man she didn't know.
Her heartbeat picked up, so she leaned closer.
"…the papers should've been signed by now," her uncle was saying.
"She's the only surviving heir," the unfamiliar man replied. "Without her signature, you can't touch the estate."
Diana's breath caught.
