Oh, she gets the mansion? If you can even call it that. Place should have been bulldozed years ago. The room erupted in chuckles.
Naomi forced a swallow. Mansion. She’d seen photos, boarded windows, weed swallowing the front steps, a roofline sagging under decades of neglect.
They weren’t giving her a home. They were giving her a punishment. As the keys scraped into her palm, Naomi caught the look in their eyes, pity mixed with spite.
She just nodded once, gathered her bag, and left. The cold air outside hid like a wall. Jordan and Maya trailed beside her.
The key felt heavy in her hand, heavier than it should have been. The message was clear. They turned their backs on her, and now she had nowhere else to go.
The first time Naomi saw the place in person, it didn’t look abandoned. It looked like it had given up. The iron gates hung crooked.
One hinge snapped clean through. Ivy crawled up the stone pillars like it was trying to strangle what was left of the Carter name. She pushed the gates open.
The sound was a long, aching groan that seemed to echo through the empty yard. Jordan stepped over a cracked path, sneakers crunching on gravel and broken glass. Maya stayed close, clutching the strap of her backpack.
The mansion’s windows were clouded with grime. The front door swelled in its frame. Naomi had to throw her shoulder into it before it finally gave way.
Inside, the air was thick, damp, a smell like wet wood and dust that had been trapped for decades. Wallpaper peeled in curling strips, revealing dark stains beneath. The chandelier in the entryway hung at a lopsided angle, crystal pieces missing like teeth…
Обсуждение закрыто.