# The Mansion of Fire
## Episode 3 – A Fire Between Us
*Narrated by Yasmin & Leyla*
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### Yasmin
The sun was low when Alejandro asked me to meet him near the stables.
I found him by the wooden fence, feeding apples to a dark horse. He looked different without the usual edge—softer, almost unsure.
"I needed to see you," he said. "Before things… change."
"Change?" I asked.
He handed me an apple, then leaned against the fence. "There are things I haven't told you. Things about this place."
I felt a chill, despite the warm evening air.
"This estate—it's a cage. Beautiful, gold-plated, and cursed."
He turned to face me fully. "Our father didn't die of illness."
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### Leyla
The greenhouse key weighed heavy in my pocket.
I waited until nightfall, when the estate fell into silence, then slipped out. I passed the servant quarters, the empty fountain, and pushed through ivy-covered arches.
The key clicked into the lock like it was meant to be.
Inside, it smelled of soil and time.
Moonlight filtered through broken glass above. Plants curled around rusted pots, vines strangled forgotten statues. It was like entering a memory no one wanted.
And in the center—an old trunk, bound with leather straps.
I forced it open.
Photos. Letters. Jewelry. Blood on the paper.
---
### Yasmin
I stepped closer to Alejandro, heart racing.
"You think someone killed him?" I whispered.
"I *know* someone did. And they're watching us."
"Why bring *us* here then? Why drag us into it?"
He didn't blink. "Because it's not just our family. It's yours too."
I staggered back.
"What are you talking about?"
He pulled a folded paper from his jacket and handed it to me. An old birth record. Two baby girls. Two last names—De la Rosa and Rivera.
"This can't be—"
"You and your sister… you're more tied to this house than you know."
---
### Leyla
The letters in the trunk were dated from decades ago. Most were signed "Isabela." One letter stood out.
> *They separated us. Said it was for our own good. But I still feel her. I know she's out there. And if she finds this… know that our fire was never extinguished.*
My hands trembled.
Isabela.
The girl from the photo.
Could she have been our… mother?
Behind the trunk, I found a child's shoe. Half-burned.
This wasn't just a greenhouse.
It was a graveyard of secrets.
---
### Yasmin
I stared at the birth record, the names echoing in my head.
My last name. Alejandro's.
My fingers tightened around the paper. "Does Rafael know?"
Alejandro shook his head. "And he can't. Not yet."
"You should've told us from the beginning."
"I couldn't risk losing your trust."
"You never had it," I said, stepping away.
He grabbed my hand. "Yasmin—"
His voice cracked. That scared me more than anything.
"Someone's lying to all of us," he said. "But I swear I'm not one of them."
And in that moment, I wanted to believe him.
---
### Leyla
Back in our room, I locked the door and laid everything out across the floor.
Yasmin walked in, her face pale.
"I know something," she said.
"So do I."
We stared at each other, breathing hard.
Then at the same time, we said it:
"We're not who we think we are."
The silence between us was thick.
Somehow, the fire around us had become a fire *within*.
And it was only beginning.
---
### What comes next...
*One secret ignites.
One heart burns.*
**In Episode 4: The Games Begin**
Camila introduces the first test.
But not everyone is playing by the rules.