She Died at 18

Chapter 1

Many people were busy inside the grand mansion of the Dela Vega family, as it was the birthday of their beloved and only daughter.

The mansion was abuzz with the presence of distinguished guests – prominent business magnates, revered celebrities, and the debutante's own schoolmates. The atmosphere was one of opulence, the theme of black and white exuding an air of sophistication that mirrored the family's prestige.

All eyes were on the debutante as she emerged from the grand balcony of her room. At the stroke of eight in the evening, she appeared on the balcony to greet the guests before descending the grand staircase of their home.

"Why is it taking so long?" Shane Dela Vega, the cousin of the debutante, muttered. He sat at a round table, impatiently staring at the staircase.

"Just shut up, Shane... she'll come out eventually," Esmeralda Dela Vega, Shane's ambitious and overbearing aunt, retorted. She raised an eyebrow and smirked at the staircase.

"What took her so long? I didn't have this much fuss for my debut," Shane impatiently commented. He glanced at his mother, who gave him a stern look before rolling her eyes.

"Maybe there's a surprise," his mother cryptically remarked before walking away. Shane shrugged and took a sip of his wine.

"What's this?" Antonia Pantoja, the head maid in the mansion, exclaimed. She pointed to a woman carrying a tray heading towards the debutante's room.

"Uhh--Madam, this is from Sir," the maid stammered, avoiding eye contact with the head maid. Antonia raised an eyebrow.

"Give that to Cheska," the head maid instructed. The maid holding the tray panicked, not knowing what to do. Cheska Pantoja, the ambitious daughter of the head maid, emerged from a room and swiftly grabbed the tray from the woman.

"I'll take that, I'll be the one to give it," Cheska said haughtily to the woman with the tray. The maid remained bowing and quickly walked away.

"Give it to her properly, Eska," her mother reminded. Cheska smirked and walked arrogantly towards the staircase. However, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing a woman exit the debutante's room. Cheska quickly hid in a corner, peeking at the person who came out of the room.

To Cheska's surprise, it was Earka De Guzman, her close friend and classmate. Cheska was taken aback, as she was unaware of Earka's presence. Earka did not know the true status of Cheska's life – that she was the daughter of a maid, being supported in her studies by her mother's employer in exchange for help with household chores.

"Why is she here? I thought she was angry with her?" Cheska wondered. She had assumed Earka wouldn't attend the debut, so she was confident that she could just stay within the mansion and assist her mother with chores.

~

"Oh my gosh, girl, I can't believe it! Bestie is really a young lady now," Aina Baez exclaimed joyfully. She gazed up at the balcony where the debutante would appear.

"Yeah, what time is it?" Samantha Trias agreed, another close friend of the debutante.

"It's 7:26, why?" Aina replied, still looking at the balcony and not paying attention to Sam as she walked away.

"You got to be kidding me, Ashley. I told you we shouldn't have come to this girl's birthday," Bettina Montemayor said irritably. She was an old friend of the debutante, but they had a falling out after Bettina lost a contest at their school. She still harbored resentment, believing that the vote had been rigged against her.

"Hush... I just want to see how the Dela Vega's daughter embarrasses herself," Ashley Spencer smirked, gazing up at the balcony. She was the academic rival of the debutante and wanted to get back at her for always outshining her in academics.

8:00 pm

Everything was ready, and the spotlight was focused on the grand balcony of the debutante. As her favorite song played, dancers performed below.

As the spotlight turned, the debutante's balcony door opened. Everyone was eager to see her, and they smiled as they saw her standing there with a bouquet of red roses in her hands, lowered in front of her stomach. But confusion spread through the crowd when they realized she hadn't looked up at them and remained with her head down.

A collective gasp filled the air as she suddenly fell, tumbling from the high balcony.

People screamed in shock and chaos erupted as she landed on the ground.

However, Mr. Dela Vega managed to grab his daughter as he rushed over and embraced her, her bloodied body sprawled on the ground. He held her tightly, his voice trembling.

"My Princess... Princess, wake up."