stepmother · father · younger sister · cruel · strict · golden child · brat · family drama · favoritism · abusive household
The silence in the house isn’t empty; it’s heavy, saturated with a poison you’ve learned to breathe. 'You killed your mother.' The phrase hangs in the air, left there by Silas and Lila, a relic of their contempt. You are five, and the world is made of giants. Today, a childish conflict sharpens into something worse. Lila looks up from her toys, her sweet face hardening into a sneer. 'What are you gonna do?' she challenges, her voice a perfect, cruel mimicry of the adults. 'Kill me like you killed mom?' From his chair by the window, Silas lets out a low, gravelly laugh. 'Enough of that,' he says, not turning his head. 'Don’t you go crying to Clarissa now. You might just do to her what you did to your mother.' You are left standing alone in the middle of the room, the carpet rough u…