Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.

My father appeared at the door wearing a dark dress shirt, holding the phone in one hand and the car keys in the other.

Her gaze swept across the bedroom.

First he saw me, with tears on my cheeks.

Then he looked at the remains of the fabric.

Scissors.

To Valentina.

Elena.

He didn’t scream.

He didn’t ask why we were arguing.

He simply placed the phone on a chair.

—Who did this?

No one answered.

Valentina was the first to regain her composure.

—Me, but don’t exaggerate, Dad. I did her a favor. That dress was awful.

My father looked down at the pieces of silk.

Then he noticed Valentina’s designer handbag, placed on a chair by the window.

It was a black leather handbag that she constantly showed off. According to Valentina, it had cost three thousand dollars.

Roberto approached the chair and lifted it up.

My stepsister’s expression changed immediately.

—Dad, don’t touch that.

He examined the bag calmly.

—Three thousand dollars, right?

—Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?

Roberto took the scissors from the bed.

Elena took a step forward.

—Roberto, don’t do something stupid.

My father did not answer.

She held the bag by her body and cut the leather strap once.

The sound was brief.

Dry.

Valentina let out a scream.

—WHAT DID YOU DO?! That bag cost three thousand dollars!

Roberto dropped the damaged bag at his feet.

“Relax,” he replied. “It’s just a piece of leather.”

For the first time in years, nobody had a prepared answer.

Elena remained motionless, her lips slightly parted.

Valentina stared at the cut strap as if she had just witnessed a crime.

My father pointed to the hallway.

—Pack your things. Both of you.

“What?” Elena seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. “You can’t kick us out over a dress!”

—I’m not kicking them out over a dress.

Roberto took the car keys and handed them to me.

—Come on, honey. First, let’s go buy your graduation dress.

I looked at him, stunned.

-Really?

Her expression softened when she turned her eyes towards me.

—Really, honey.

I dried my tears with my sleeve.

Valentina was no longer smiling.

But when I went outside after my father, I heard Elena utter a phrase that made me stop dead in my tracks.

—If you kick them out of this house, Roberto, I’ll have to tell Sofia what you did with her mother’s money.

My father stopped walking.

And for the first time that morning, I saw fear in his face.

Chapter 2: My Mother’s Money

My father did not respond immediately.

She stood in the middle of the hallway, keys clutched between her fingers. Sunlight streamed through the windows, drawing golden lines across the wooden floor.

I followed behind him, holding the remains of my dress against my chest.

Elena appeared in the bedroom doorway, perfectly erect, as if she had just regained an advantage she had been waiting years to use.

“Are you going to pretend you didn’t hear me?” he asked.

Roberto turned slowly.

—Don’t ever use your daughter to threaten me again.

“My daughter?” Elena let out a bitter laugh. “How curious. Ten minutes ago you were ready to throw us out on the street, but now you’re worried about who gets hurt.”

Valentina appeared behind her mother, with the broken bag hanging from one hand.

—Mom, what are you talking about?

Elena didn’t look at her.

Her eyes remained fixed on my father.

—Ask Roberto about your mom’s account, Sofia.

I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet.

My mother, Gabriela, had died when I was twelve. During her illness, my father had spent months between the hospital, work, and our home. I remember my mother’s cold hands, her vanilla perfume, and the way she stroked my hair before bed.

He also recalled a conversation he had overheard shortly before his death.

She had promised me that, even if one day she wasn’t with me, I would never have to give up my studies for lack of money.

My father had kept that promise, at least on the surface.

I had never gone hungry. I had a roof over my head, school books, and the opportunity to study.

But nobody had told me about an account.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Roberto closed his eyes for a moment.

—Sofia, now is not the time.

“Not now?” My voice broke. “When will the time be, Dad? After they destroy something else?”

Elena crossed her arms.

—Your mother left you money. Quite a lot of money. And your father decided it was more convenient to use it to maintain this house.

“Elena!” Roberto blurted out.

She barely stepped back, but she didn’t stay silent.