Pravi wasn't a city you'd expect to harbor secrets. It was a small town, nestled among green hills and fields that in summer were filled with golden reeds. Its houses had tiles that gleamed in the sun, and people used to know each other by their first names.
But even in the quietest places, life can hide its own darkness.
Gabriel was walking down the cobblestone alley with his three best friends – Dorella, Peter, and Lily. They were laughing, talking about classes, the party they were planning to have at the end of the year, and what they were going to do over the summer. For a moment, everything seemed normal. Almost perfect.
Until the phone rang.
The name on the screen made him freeze. It was one of the mansion's servants. Gabriel immediately picked up the phone. At first he couldn't hear well—just a heavy, trembling voice. Then the words came clear, like a slap:
"Gabriel… Leo… we found him in his room… he's dead."
The world around him faded. The laughter of his friends abruptly ended. He felt as if he had suddenly fallen into a void. His brother, Leo… The best person he knew. His last piece of family. Murdered!
"No… no, he can't…" he whispered, while Dorella reached out to hold him.
Something inside him felt as if it were falling apart. When they had lost their parents, Leo had been the one who had kept him standing. And now he had left him too. And no one knew why.