Gemotions

The weight of the inheritance was heavy. Her brother, Ben, had inherited their father's title and land. She, Sophia, was given a strange contraption, an intricate clockwork device unlike anything she had ever seen. She felt a knot in her stomach.

She took it home, sat at her workbench, and examined it. The gears, springs, and dials were a marvel of engineering. Yet, as she studied it, a growing feeling of something not being right began to creep over her. There was a hidden compartment. Inside, a single, faded photograph. She recognized the woman in the picture, but from where?