“Elise, he was a weird man. You don’t think it’s strange that he left everything to you and nothing to his own son?” “No,” she said. “I think it’s fitting.” He laughed, not kindly. “I just hope you enjoy that place you think you deserve so much.” Click.
She stared at the screen for a long time after the call ended, pulse drumming behind her eyes. That night, she sat at the base of the attic stairs again. The key felt heavier in her hand. She didn’t open it. Not yet. By the end of the second week, the smell was in her skin.