Crossing the Threshold
Charles opened the heavy doors, his voice cutting through the tension. “Come inside.”
Elena hesitated. Her wide eyes darted from the opulence around her — marble steps, gilded frames, chandeliers dripping with crystal — to the towering gates that separated her from a world she had never known.
“Sir, I don’t want to cause you any trouble…” she began, voice shaking.
“You’re not the problem,” Charles replied coldly, his words like an order.
The doors creaked open, revealing a world that seemed to mock Elena’s raggedness. She clutched her sister closer, as though protecting Lily from a storm only she could feel.
