It wasn’t a diary in the ordinary sense.
The pages contained dates, short descriptions, and lists of household tasks.
Some entries were written in Sofia’s careful handwriting.
Others were little more than a few hurried words.
Monday: Clean kitchen before school. No breakfast.
Wednesday: Bianca took my shoes. Patricia said I was selfish.
Friday: Teresa told me Dad would choose his new family if I caused trouble.
I stopped reading.
My own family had been used against my daughter as a weapon.
I turned another page.
There was an entry dated two weeks earlier.
Patricia said I must never go into her bedroom when she isn’t home. She said I would be sorry if I touched anything in there.
I stared at the words.
Until that moment, I had assumed Patricia’s bedroom was simply a private space where she kept her personal belongings.
Now I wondered why a teenager would have been threatened over entering it.
