CHAPTER 4 – The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Sophia's hands shook as she stared at the photo of Emma tied to a chair.
The message beneath it echoed in her mind.
"The wedding is not over yet."
Lily looked at the picture and burst into tears.
"They're going to hurt Mommy again..."
Sophia knelt beside her.
"I promise you... I'll bring her home."
For the first time in years, she wasn't running toward love.
She was running straight into the truth.
Just before midnight, Sophia drove through the rusted gates of the abandoned Harrington Estate.
The mansion had been empty since Nathan Harrington's "fatal" car accident eight years earlier.
At least...
That's what everyone had been told.
The front door slowly creaked open by itself.
Inside, candles flickered along the hallway.
At the end of the room stood Ethan.
Still wearing his black tuxedo.
Still looking like the perfect groom.
Only this time...
He wasn't smiling.
"You came," he said quietly.
Sophia stepped forward.
"I brought Lily."
"But first..."
"I want my sister."
Ethan nodded toward the staircase.
Two men dragged Emma downstairs.
Her wrists were bruised, but she was alive.
Sophia rushed toward her, but Ethan raised a pistol.
"One more step..."
"And your wedding becomes a funeral."
Silence swallowed the room.
Then Ethan laughed.
"You've been asking the wrong question all day."
"You keep asking who Lily's father is."
"You should be asking..."
"Why Nathan had to die."
Sophia's blood ran cold.
"You killed your own brother."
Ethan smiled.
"No."
"I buried him."
The room froze.
Emma looked up.
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"He's alive..."
Sophia blinked.
"What?"
Emma nodded slowly.
"Nathan never died."
"Ethan locked him away."
Before anyone could react...
A loud metallic bang echoed beneath the floor.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Like someone was desperately pounding from underground.
Lily grabbed Sophia's hand.
"I know that sound."
Everyone turned toward the old fireplace.
Lily pointed directly at it.
"My mommy used to bring me here."
"She said..."
"My daddy is sleeping under the house."
Ethan's calm expression finally cracked.
"SHUT HER UP!"
His bodyguards lunged forward.
But before they could reach Lily...
Another explosion shook the mansion.
The ancient fireplace split apart.
Dust filled the air.
Hidden beneath the broken stones...
An iron hatch slowly lifted open.
A pale hand reached out from the darkness.
Then a weak voice echoed through the room.
"Sophia..."
"It's really me."
Tears streamed down Sophia's face.
Nathan Harrington—
the man the entire country believed had been dead for eight years—
was crawling out of the underground prison with chains still hanging from his wrists.
Ethan staggered backward.
For the very first time...
May you like
The monster was afraid.
TO BE CONTINUED...
