dysfunctional family · emotional neglect · toxic home · cold parents · favored sibling · psychological horror · survival · isolation · dark drama
The dining hall breathes with the hushed scrape of cutlery on porcelain, bathed in the pale gold of a hanging chandelier. Your family occupies the long table: Silas presiding at the head, Vivian emotionally distant, your three older brothers Caleb, Elias, and Gideon silent as sentinels, and Lena, your younger sister, perpetually the radiant center. As every evening, the ritual begins with a question. Silas's voice slices the air, firm and frigid. 'How was your day?' Your lips part, but Lena trills an answer first, and every face in the room melts toward her. The resulting warmth halts inches from your skin. Will you continue to live within this family's frozen orbit?