The Diary Keeper ["The Dark Legacies" Series]

Chapter 1: An owner of the mansion

Each of us has a story.

I'll begin by saying that I live in the small town of Ravenwood, where everyone is related to or acquainted with each other. It's more tangled than any of the highest-grossing series from Netflix. But let's start from the beginning.

Last week, myself, my family, and several hundred other residents of our town had to attend the funeral of my distant relative, Amos Ronald Di Flores. The man was very old and passed away at the age of 99, although just the day before, he was still fantasizing with family about how he would celebrate his 100th birthday.

Amos has always been happy, optimistic, talkative and full of beans. Unfortunately, it happens - none of us are granted with eternity. But the most interesting thing is that Amos did not have any children or wives in his life, but instead amassed considerable wealth - the largest in the town. This often happens - if someone is too lucky in one aspect of life, they must be lacking in another.

To be fair, old Di Flores had failed in school, hadn't got any higher education, and had dropped out of college before the end of his first semester.  But nature endowed him with an innate entrepreneurial flair and the ability to communicate effectively, which often comes in more handy than a doctorate in a university.

And so, the wealthiest person in Ravenwood was left alone in his last days.

Who will appear to be an heir? Time will tell.

***

Now, let's talk about me. Since I am granted to be a heroine of this insane story, you should know at least some details. My name's Liandra Amelia Di Flores and I live with my parents and a black kitten Stormy. My family members still don't know about the kitten so this surprise is waiting for them in my room, I hope they won't get too angry.

My great-grandfather and his six brothers, including Amos, were emmigrants from Italy. Venice, to be precise. I'd like to visit it one day. I have also American and English roots.

I'm only fifteen and my life motto is "I don't care". I don't care what they think. I don't care what they talk. I don't care what they care. The only thing that really makes sense is to live brightly, to enjoy the every crazy moment and to do what you sincerely want. And I know what I want to do this day.

But for now, let's forget about the abandoned house - we'll come back to it soon. There are some more things I consider essential.

***

To be honest, I'm not an ugly girl and, you know, every beauty has a competitor, at least one. In a nutshell, my main competitor is Mabel, the one from the popular clique and also my classmate. She's quite pretty but not as much as she desires.

Are you acquainted with Mabel? Oh, she's queen bee of our little school and our little town. She's fabulous. She's fashionable. She's so stylish and everything connected with perfection. And... she is my ex-friend. Yes, just ex. I'll explain it later if you don't mind - the causes were pretty catastrophic.

Again, who's Mabel? She's mean. She's arrogant. She's cunning and everything connected with evil. The popular one who seeks attention, you know. Such people always get what they want - but it's not what they really deserve.

Should I leave it alone? Probably no.

Well, Mabel has always had enough boyfriends since she was eleven, but it's hard to say she's very devoted person. To my mind, everyone in Ravenwood has to know the truth - she's dating three guys simultaneously, can you imagine? And although Mabel manages to conceal the cheating successfully, I can't leave it alone. And there is someone to help with - my another classmate and also a cousin Martin, who is keen on hacking and willing to reveal all the messages on school web-site.

That would be epic!

***
Nobody knew who did the prank and, fortunately, I wasn't expelled. But why fortunately? Really, I don't care about it at all. There are many successful people without any education, so why should I worry? Does it have any sense? My aim was to make Mabel feel guilty for all she had already done. Finally, I've done what I had to. Justice is worth to fight for.

On the other hand, Martin wasn't satisfied with this adventure. He has always been rather responsible than funny.

"Liandra, all the stuff was wonderful, but don't you think she may revenge you as soon as possible?"

"Oh, that would be even better! It's always great to start another war just to become a winner."

Martin just sighed. That was the only reaction.

I didn't really hurry to return home - of course, I completely understood noone would greet me with kindness. I can say even more - it is rare for anybody to greet me with kindness. To be honest, it is completely fair.

My dear cousin came to his house because it was high time to do the homework, write some essays - you know, all this useless stuff. I would have visited his room just to accompany him on this boring day but eventually I realized it was a bad idea. Aunt Emily would have caught me and led me to my parents. I just wanted to wait until they calm down a little bit.

So, while Martin was cramming stubborny for History tests, I decided to visit the nearby park and admire the peaceful nature. I was sitting on a bench not even looking at my smartphone. There were too many notifications but they didn't worth my attention. I recalled my careless childhood - so much time spent here. I played hooky here together with Mabel when we were ten. We skipped a few lessons until being got caught. Later there was detention by our teachers.

So warm memories to recall but it all ended at once. We were only twelve when Dave appeared in our lives. Every girl fell in love with this new classmate but finally he chose me and Mabel just couldn't live peacefully with this news. It's she who wanted to reign at school. It's she who must be a queen bee. I broke up with Dave in three days but it was enough for my best friend to end our relationships. That's how allies become rivals. Although we're fifteen now, nothing has changed.

But when one story ends, another begins. And this time it was more than just unexpectedly. All in all, I looked at my phone to check the notifications. As I expected, tons of messages in class group chat... and 47 missed calls from my mum. Ok, I think I should call. She picked up immediately.

"Hello, mum, it's your little criminal."

"Stop joking, my dear!" It seemed she was extremely angry. "You still don't know what's going on?"

"Mabel eventually faced the music, if we're talking about the same things..."

"God damn your Mabel and all of her boyfriends! Where the hell you are?" She paused for a moment. "Liandra, the abandoned mansion... According to the testament, it's yours."