The second Maria finished speaking, Valentina's eyes darkened. She pulled the phone slightly away from her ear, stared at it in disbelief, and then brought it back with a scoff.
"You're asking me to help the family?" Her voice cracked—not from weakness, but from restrained rage.
Then she stood up from where she sat, pacing, unable to sit still with everything Maria had just said echoing in her head.
"The same family that watched me burn? The same people who stood by and said nothing when I was left alone, broken, with no one to even ask if I was breathing?!"
At that moment her tone grew sharper, biting.
"Maria, let me remind you. Long before the fire, long before I disappeared… none of you ever treated me like I was one of you. You made sure I knew I wasn't. Every dinner, Every occasion, Every silence. You made it clear I was the outsider."
Valentina stopped pacing, staring at the wall like she could see through it—like the ghosts of her past were lined up behind it.
