CHAPTER 4 – The Mother Who Never Died
The words on the cathedral wall seemed to pulse like a living heart.
"YOUR MOTHER WAS THE FIRST ONE WHO BETRAYED YOU."
Elena couldn't breathe.
"No..." she whispered. "My mother loved me."
Her grandmother lowered her eyes.
"She loved you more than her own life."
"Then why would she betray me?"
Before anyone could answer, Adrian clapped his hands once.
The ghost brides froze.
The blood on the walls slowly disappeared.
Then the shattered stained-glass windows transformed into moving images.
Like memories trapped inside the glass.
A young woman appeared.
She looked exactly like Elena.
Only older.
Her mother.
She was running through a burning castle while carrying a newborn baby wrapped in white cloth.
Behind her, dozens of masked men chased her with flaming swords.
One of them...
Was Adrian's father.
"You cannot escape!" he shouted.
"The Phoenix child belongs to us!"
Elena's heart pounded.
"That's me..."
Her grandmother nodded.
"Yes."
The vision continued.
Elena's mother reached a hidden tunnel beneath the castle.
Waiting there was a young man dressed as a royal guard.
He smiled kindly.
"I'll protect your daughter."
Without hesitation, Elena's mother handed him the baby.
Then she kissed the child's forehead.
"If she ever asks about me..."
Tears streamed down her face.
"Tell her I abandoned her."
Elena's eyes widened.
"What?"
Her grandmother squeezed her hand.
"Your mother wanted you to hate her."
"It was the only way to keep Adrian's family from finding you."
The memory suddenly changed.
The smiling guard slowly turned around.
His gentle expression vanished.
He pulled a black dagger from beneath his cloak.
"I never said I'd save both of you."
He stabbed Elena's mother in the back.
She collapsed, still reaching toward her baby.
The masked hunters surrounded her.
One of them picked up the Phoenix pendant from her neck.
Another smiled.
"Let the child grow."
"The ritual will be stronger when she falls in love."
The vision shattered into thousands of pieces.
Elena fell to her knees, sobbing.
"My whole life..."
"Everything I believed..."
"...was a lie."
Adrian walked forward slowly, applauding.
"Now you finally understand."
"You were never my wife."
"You were my inheritance."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out an ancient scroll covered in golden symbols.
"The blood moon rises tonight."
"If I sacrifice the last Phoenix before midnight..."
He smiled with terrifying satisfaction.
"I won't just become immortal."
"I'll rule over death itself."
Suddenly...
The broken wedding ring on the floor began floating into the air.
Golden flames burst from its center.
A woman's voice echoed through the cathedral.
Soft.
Familiar.
Heartbreaking.
"Run, Elena..."
It was her mother.
The ring exploded into blinding light.
When the light faded...
A woman dressed in white stood between Elena and Adrian.
She looked exactly like the woman from the visions.
Her face was pale.
Her body was transparent.
But her eyes were alive.
Adrian's smile disappeared for the first time.
His voice shook.
"Impossible..."
"I killed you twenty-five years ago."
The woman looked directly at him.
"No..."
"You only killed my body."
Then she turned toward Elena.
With tears in her eyes, she whispered the words Elena had waited her entire life to hear.
May you like
"My daughter... I'm finally here."
To Be Continued...
