It was a new day at the mansion, but there was no peace.
The air felt heavy, as if the walls remembered what had happened the night before.
Agatha's footsteps echoed through the corridors like a constant threat.
Sara woke up early. She hadn't slept well.
Evelyn's words kept hammering in her mind:
"He didn't die in an accident."
She couldn't keep pretending everything was normal any more.
That's why, that morning, she decided to stop staying silent.
She came downstairs with the folder hidden beneath her jacket.
She carried it like armour.
Like it held the answers to all her questions.
Agatha was already there, sitting at the head of the table like a queen without a crown.
Clara sat nervously, stirring her tea with trembling hands.
Evelyn watched in silence, as always.
"Are you going to eat, or are you just going to stand there like a statue?" Agatha snapped.
"I'll do whatever I want," Sara replied firmly. "This is my house."
"No, it isn't," Agatha smirked. "Today, your tutor arrives. You'll start behaving like a proper heir."
"I don't need a tutor," Sara shot back. "I have Melinda."
"Melinda is a servant," Agatha replied. "You don't get to choose who teaches you. I'm your legal guardian now."
"You're nothing to me," Sara said, raising her voice. "My parents would never have wanted this. You didn't even mourn their deaths!"
That was enough.
Agatha stood up abruptly, walked over to her, and without hesitation, slapped her hard across the face.
The sound echoed like a gunshot in the silence.
Sara felt the sting on her cheek.
But she didn't step back.
She didn't look away.
She only clenched her fists and responded:
"If you ever touch me again… you'll regret it."
Before Agatha could reply, Persi leapt onto the table.
With feline grace, she positioned herself between them.
Her eyes glowed with a strange fury — almost human.
And when Agatha tried to shove her away with a swipe of her hand, Persi didn't just defend herself…
She sank her teeth into Agatha's hand.
"Ahhh! Get her off me!" Agatha screamed, shaking her hand violently.
Melinda rushed to separate them, but Persi refused to let go.
It was as if she knew this woman didn't deserve to touch her owner.
As if she understood every word, every threat.
Finally, Yuri arrived.
Without shouting, without moving too much, he simply said:
"Persi. Enough."
And the cat obeyed.
She leapt back gracefully, meowed in disgust, and climbed onto the table beside Sara, rubbing her head against her injured arm, as if saying:
"I'm here. No one will hurt you again."
Agatha stood up, her hand bleeding, her face filled with hatred.
"This beast has to go!" she shouted. "Tomorrow, she'll be thrown out onto the streets!"
"Don't you dare!" Sara exploded, standing tall. "If you hurt Persi, I swear I'll do everything in my power to destroy you!"
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Agatha laughed. "With your little tears and your wild cat?"
"With this," Sara said, pulling the folder from under her jacket. "I know my parents didn't die by chance. I know there's more behind all this. And I'm going to find out the truth."
The words fell like a bomb.
Clara paled.
Evelyn stopped looking out the window and locked eyes with Sara.
For the first time, Yuri looked… surprised.
"You don't know what you're looking for," Agatha warned, her voice low and dangerous. "There are things you shouldn't be digging into."
"Then you shouldn't have come," Sara replied. "Because now, I won't stop until I uncover the truth."
A heavy silence followed.
Long.
Heavy.
Finally, Agatha stormed out, muttering promises of revenge.
Clara followed, head down.
Evelyn was the last to leave.
Before stepping through the door, she gave Sara one last look.
A gaze full of warning.
And perhaps… hope.
When everyone had gone, Melinda leaned close to Sara and whispered:
"You can't keep fighting them like this. You'll end up worse off."
"Then let them try to take Persi," Sara said. "Let them try to take everything from me again. This time, I won't stay silent."
Melinda sighed, worried.
"What are you going to do?"
Sara looked at Persi, then at Yuri, still standing by the door.
"I'm going to uncover the truth," she said. "About my parents. About Yuri. About all three of you. About everything."