FROM RICHES TO RUIN

The Night They Came for My Sister

Chapter 1: The House on Diamond Hill

People often think that losing everything happens in a single day.

They're wrong.

Sometimes, it happens slowly.

Like a disease.

Like a crack in a wall that nobody notices until the entire building collapses.

My name is Daniel Walker, and before I became a boy from the slums, I lived in one of the most beautiful houses in the city.

At least, that's what everyone thought.

Our mansion stood proudly on Diamond Hill, a wealthy neighborhood where luxury cars lined every driveway and security guards patrolled the streets day and night.

From the outside, my family looked perfect.

We had money.

We had servants.

We had expensive clothes.

We had everything.

Everything except peace.

The first sign that something was wrong was the shouting.

Every night.

Without fail.

My father and mother would argue.

At first, I thought it was normal.

Parents argued.

That was life.

But as I grew older, I realized our home was different.

The arguments never ended.

They only grew worse.

And most of them began the same way.

With alcohol.

"Derrick, you've been drinking again!"

My mother's voice echoed through the mansion.

I sat on the staircase with my little sister Emily beside me.

We exchanged nervous glances.

The fight had started again.

"I can do whatever I want in my own house!" my father yelled.

The smell of alcohol drifted through the living room.

I didn't need to see him to know he was drunk.

I could tell from his voice.

I could tell...