Sister's Plot Against Me

The sound of a key turning in the lock jolted me from my stupor. I'd been sitting on the edge of my bed for hours, staring at the wall as shadows lengthened across the floor. When the door swung open, Alexander stood in the doorway, his tall frame silhouetted against the hallway light.

"Maya," he said, his voice devoid of the warmth that had once defined our relationship. "We need to talk."

I didn't move from my position. "About how you've all decided I'm the villain in Amelie's little drama?"

Alexander stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He remained standing, his posture rigid and formal. "Father has made a decision."

Something in his tone made my heart sink. This wasn't a conversation—it was a pronouncement.

"The Hendersons are threatening to withdraw from our trade agreements," Alexander continued, clasping his hands behind his back. "They're powerful allies we can't afford to lose."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked, though a part of me already knew.

"Lord Edmund Blackwood has offered a solution." Alexander's eyes finally met mine, and I saw something flicker there—not compassion, but perhaps discomfort. "A marriage alliance would secure our position and calm the rumors about... what happened with Amelie."

The room seemed to tilt slightly. "You want me to marry someone I've never met?"

"It was supposed to be Amelie," Alexander said, his voice dropping slightly. "But after your... outburst... Father believes you need to redeem yourself."

"Redeem myself?" I stood abruptly, anger flooding through me. "For what? A crime I didn't commit?"

"This isn't a request, Maya." Alexander's tone hardened. "It's a duty to your family. The arrangements have already been made."

---

I waited until nightfall, when the house grew quiet. The servants had been instructed not to speak with me, but I'd noticed the young maid—Eliza—had been avoiding my gaze during her cleaning rounds. She was new, inexperienced, and clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

When she came to change my water pitcher, I caught her wrist gently. "Eliza," I whispered, "I need your help."

She tried to pull away, eyes wide with fear. "Miss Maya, I can't—"

"I'm not asking you to do anything wrong," I assured her, reaching into my drawer and pulling out a silver hairpin—one of the few valuable things I still had access to. "I just need information."

Her gaze darted to the pin, then back to my face. "What kind of information?"

"About Lord Edmund Blackwood," I said, placing the pin in her palm and closing her fingers around it. "Why is this marriage being arranged so quickly?"

Eliza's face paled. She glanced nervously at the door before leaning closer. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Lord Blackwood is..." she swallowed hard, "he's dying, miss. Consumption. His estate has been quarantined for months."

My blood turned to ice. "Quarantined?"

She nodded, her voice barely audible. "They say no one who enters the manor leaves alive. That's why..." She trailed off, but I understood.

That's why they were sending me there. Not for a marriage—for disposal.

---

I had to find Mateo. If there was anyone who might still believe me, it would be him. My fiancé. The man who had promised to love me forever.

I slipped out of my room during the pre-dinner chaos, moving silently through the corridors I'd known since childhood. I found him in the library, standing by the window with a pensive expression.

"Mateo," I whispered, grabbing his arm and pulling him behind a bookshelf. "I need to talk to you."

His eyes widened at the sight of me. "Maya, you shouldn't be here. Alexander said—"

"Alexander is sending me to die," I interrupted, my voice shaking with urgency. "Lord Blackwood has consumption. His estate is under quarantine. They're not arranging a marriage—they're getting rid of me."

Mateo's face went pale, but he didn't look surprised. That realization hit me harder than anything else.

"You knew," I whispered.

"Maya, it's not what you think," he said, pulling his arm from my grasp. "Alexander explained everything. It's only temporary, until the scandal blows over."

"Temporary?" I echoed in disbelief. "Mateo, I'm being sent to a place where people die!"

He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Alexander said once the scandal dies down, you can come back. You just need to do this for the family."

In that moment, I saw Mateo clearly for the first time. Not as my devoted fiancé, but as a man who valued approval over truth, security over love.

"You're a coward," I whispered, the words falling between us like stones.

His face flushed with guilt, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he repeated the lie that had become his refuge: "You need to do this for the family, Maya."

As I stared into the eyes of the man I'd once believed would stand by me no matter what, I realized I truly was alone.