By the time sunlight filtered through the attic windows, Daisy had already begun her first move.
She stood before the household safe once more, her mother's ring cold against her chest. This time, there was no hesitation.
Using the silicone fingerprint again, she unlocked the safe, inventorying its contents with practiced precision: bearer bonds, vintage watches, foreign currency stacks, title scrolls.
She didn't touch the money.
She photographed it all, loaded the images onto a secure flash drive, and transferred select originals into a fireproof case—already booked for private vault storage.
But she kept one thing.
Her mother's engagement ring.
No longer a memory.
A mark of sovereignty.
She slid it onto her thumb, the cool weight like armor.
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Downstairs, the housekeeper was
