Unchanged Priorities

Vittoria

The De Leone estate wakes up slow.

There’s no sudden rush, no loud start. Just quiet movement, piece by piece.

I catch soft footsteps in the hall outside our bedroom. A door clicks shut somewhere distant. The muted shuffle of staff slips through the walls, like a song I've started to recognize but haven’t decided if I like.

It still doesn’t feel like I belong here.

Not really.

I stand in