They entered my sanctuary with a sense of entitlement that was truly staggering to witness through the camera lens.
“Work quickly,” my father ordered in a sharp voice, “we need to clear out the bedrooms first and remove all the clothes and personal papers.”
“The real estate photographer will be arriving tomorrow morning, and I want this place looking like a model home,” he added.
My mother went straight to my grandfather’s private study, while Chloe ran toward my bedroom with a predatory look in her eyes.
I watched in horror as Chloe flung open my closet doors and began pulling out my dresses as if they were nothing more than worthless rags.
She paused to hold a silk evening gown against her body and admired her reflection in my full-length mirror.
“Oh, this color actually suits me much better than it ever suited Elara,” she said with a cruel, high-pitched laugh.
Maya did not join in the laughter; she remained standing by the front door, looking pale and deeply troubled by the situation.
I picked up the hotel phone and dialed the police, providing the dispatcher with my existing case report number.
“The intruders are already inside the premises,” I said with a voice that was surprisingly steady, “they are looting my home right now.”
The emergency operator instructed me to stay exactly where I was and warned me not to approach the building for my own safety.
On the screen, I saw my mother pick up a framed photograph from the bookshelf that showed me and my grandfather on my graduation day.
She stared at it for a few seconds with a grimace, then carelessly tossed it into a large cardboard box filled with junk.
The sound of the glass shattering was picked up by the microphone, but my mother didn’t even bother to look down at the damage.
My father was standing by the large window, pacing back and forth as he talked loudly into his mobile phone.
“Yes, the Riverside Park apartment is officially available for viewing starting today, and we can list it on the premium market by the weekend,” he said.
“The legal owner is currently out of the country for an extended period, but this is a private family matter that has been settled,” he lied smoothly.
I realized then that I had spent my entire life being treated as a secondary character whose space could be emptied whenever Chloe needed more room.