The atmosphere during dinner was strange. There was a superficial harmony, but it felt forced.
Sarah and John, for their part, seemed delighted with their new family.
Sarah kept serving more food to Esther and Emma, attentive to every detail. She was radiant, completely immersed in the role of protective mother that she enjoyed so much.
John smiled non-stop, cracking a bad joke now and then to lighten the mood, although the truth is that no one seemed to get them.
At the table, the three girls behaved impeccably.
Esther acted with elegance and courtesy. Every word she spoke was respectful, and she moved with extreme caution, like the perfect daughter.
Emma, on the other hand, fully exploited her doll-like appearance. She used an incredibly sweet voice to say thank you, blinking her eyes.
She won the couple over instantly.
And Lillith, the daughter of the house, maintained the role of the little one. She showed just the right amount of shyness and a slight reservation toward the newcomers. She barely lifted her gaze from her plate and only answered in a low voice when her parents asked her something.
Well, and every now and then, she cast a glance at Lief.
Only Lief knew what was really brewing beneath that apparent calm.
Esther and Emma pretended to pay attention to the adults, but out of the corner of their eyes, they never took their eyes off each other, nor Lillith. They were like two vipers testing the ground, measuring the other's strength and threat.
Meanwhile, Lillith was a predator pretending to sleep.
She seemed docile, but she was actually absorbing every reaction from those two.
"Well, is everyone finished?" Sarah said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, visibly satisfied, "Lief, why don't you take the girls to play for a while? Your dad and I are going to clear this up."
"Sure." Nodding, Lief put down his cutlery and stood up.
The three girls instantly fixed their gaze on him.
"Lillith, come with me."
She nodded and jumped up.
Esther and Emma exchanged a look. It was evident that the relationship between Lief and Lillith was... special.
Lief went up to the second floor with Lillith and they entered the girl's pink room. He closed the door behind him.
As soon as the door clicked, Lillith's docile expression vanished.
That sweetness evaporated, replaced by a malicious smile that, nevertheless, sought to please him. Her voice lowered, becoming serious and submissive.
"Master, what do you need?"
"Tomorrow is my only day off, but I have to go out," Lief said, getting straight to the point. He wasn't even looking at her; he walked toward the desk and picked up a unicorn ornament, turning it over in his hand, "Mom and Dad are also going out. They have to go to the police station for Emma and Esther's paperwork."
He paused and looked at her.
"That means tomorrow, for a few hours, the three of you will be alone."
Lillith's face lit up.
"And..."
"You know what I want, right?" Lief put down the unicorn. "Those two aren't stupid. Especially Esther; she's too mature for her age. And the other one looks sweet, but she's smarter than she looks."
He paused, almost smiling.
"So 'play' with them. Show them who's in charge here."
Hearing that she had permission, Lillith couldn't hold back. She put her hands on her hips, threw her head back, and let out a triumphant giggle.
Smack
Lief tapped her on the back of the neck. It wasn't hard, but it cut her short.
"Ouch!"
"Don't do that. You sound ridiculous."
"..." Lillith rubbed her head, and all the malice disappeared, replaced by a pout, "Why are you hitting me?"
"How many times have I told you to stop laughing like that?" Lief looked at her with pure annoyance, "It sounds horrible. Like a hen."
"Aww..." Lillith pouted.
"And listen to me: don't go overboard," Lief warned in a serious voice, "I don't want to have to clean up your mess again. And by 'mess' I mean corpses or... loose pieces. It's a pain to deal with that. Just scare them. Make them understand who's in charge here."
"I know the limits!" Lillith protested.
Of course she did. The message was clear: as long as she didn't kill them, she had the green light.
Lief nodded, satisfied. He turned around and left the room. He needed to shower, sleep, and prepare for tomorrow.
As for the drama that was about to start in that house... well, at least it would serve as entertainment to break the routine.
He returned to his room, took a hot shower to wash away the day's exhaustion, and collapsed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
...
Meanwhile, in the back guest room, the atmosphere was icy.
Sarah and John had put the two girls together, thinking they would feel more accompanied. The room was large, with two single beds separated by a nightstand.
Esther, in the silk nightgown Sarah had lent her, was sitting on the edge of her bed. She was combing her long braids with methodical slowness, almost like a ritual.
On the other bed, Emma was lying on her side, tightly hugging her teddy bear. Her large blue eyes watched Esther's back without blinking.
"..."
The silence was almost total, broken only by the soft hiss of the brush.
"Aren't you going to sleep, Emma?" Esther asked without turning around.
"I'm thinking..." Emma replied, with her thin, sweet voice.
"Children shouldn't think so much at night." Esther put down the brush, turned around, and gave her a soft smile, "They are very good. Dad and Mom are going to take very good care of us."
She emphasized those last words.
Emma sat up in bed, pressing the bear against her chest.
"They are not our parents. Mine are dead."
She said it with a chilling calm, as if commenting that it was raining.
"..."
Esther's smile faltered for an instant.
This girl was more complicated than she had anticipated.
"Oh, Emma, I'm so sorry..." she recovered her composure immediately, her face now a mask of compassion, "You've been through horrible things. But don't worry."
She got up from her bed and walked toward Emma's, intending to sit next to her and comfort her.
"I will take care of you. I'll be your real big sister."
But just as she was about to sit down, Emma spoke.
"Esther, what do you have on your wrists?" she asked, pointing.
The sleeves of the nightgown were long, but not long enough to completely hide the faint pressure marks, previously left at the psychiatric hospital.
!
Esther's movement froze, and instinctively, she hid her hands behind her back.
"It's nothing. I hurt myself," she replied. Her voice was still soft, but it had lost all its warmth.
"Oh, really?" Emma's expression was still pure innocence. "I read that in psychiatric hospitals they tie up people who misbehave. Were you at one of those places, sister?"
"..."
Esther's smile vanished. She stared at the girl, and her face, for the first time, hardened.
So that was it… The girl wasn't stupid. She was testing her and using that angelic face to deliver venom.
"Where did you read that stupidity?" Esther's voice was pure ice. "Children shouldn't read those things."
"I have a very good memory," Emma said, ignoring the question. She hugged her bear a little tighter. "My aunt used to say that having a good memory is bad. She says you remember things you shouldn't."
"For example... I remember how Dad died. And how the babysitter fell down the stairs. And I also remember the teacher's 'accident'."
With every word, Esther's expression darkened.
This wasn't a warning. It was a declaration.
She sat back down on her bed. The big sister charade was over. She looked at Emma, evaluating her.
"What do you want?" Esther asked, without preamble.
"What I want, I take for myself," Emma said, lying back down, burrowing up to her nose with the blanket, without letting go of the bear. "And whoever gets in my way... well. They always have bad luck."
She closed her eyes and remained still. As if she were asleep.
"..."
Esther remained sitting in the darkness, motionless.
She felt that she hadn't arrived at a warm home, but had entered another cage... and a more dangerous one.
There was the mysterious brother. The sister with that unsettling look. And now, this... little psychopath.
Esther smiled in the darkness.
________
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