The alarm I had set earlier before doing any of this:
“LEAVE. NOW.”
The vibration made a faint sound.
Daniel’s head turned.
He saw me.
—Ah… —he whispered—. So you didn’t drink it.
He stepped closer.
I backed away.
Until my back hit the wall.
—Sister… you didn’t have to make this difficult.
The other man said:
—Come on. We don’t have time.
Daniel smiled slowly.
—We do. She always falls asleep.
At that moment, I ran.
I threw my phone to the ground to make noise and sprinted up the corridor.
Behind me I heard him shout:
—CATCH HER!
I reached the panel in my room, crawled out, shut it, and pushed the wardrobe against the wall.
Not enough.
I heard him pounding on the door.
—Open it —he said sweetly—. Don’t make a scene.
I grabbed my phone and called 911.
The operator answered.
—Emergency services, what is your situation?
But before I could speak, I heard Daniel’s voice on the other side of the door.
—If you call… you’ll end up like Mom.
Then I remembered what our neighbor Aling Amalia once told me:
—If you hear banging in your house… don’t lock yourself in. Run outside. Houses have ears.
I looked at the window.
I opened it.
When the door lock shattered behind me, I climbed through the window and jumped.
I landed on the grass, twisting my ankle, but I kept running toward the gate.
Behind me I heard Daniel shouting my name.
I ran into the street.
And for the first time in a long time… I could truly breathe.
In the distance, I heard sirens.
I didn’t know if they were coming for me…
Or if Daniel was already preparing another lie.
But there was one thing he didn’t have anymore.
I wasn’t sleeping.
And I had seen the room.
I had seen the documents.
And I had heard the words:
“Just like Mom.”
And even though my hands were still shaking, I knew one thing.
The secret of that house would no longer remain trapped inside its walls.
