CHAPTER 5 – The Video That Destroyed the Harrington Empire
Nathan collapsed onto the marble floor, coughing violently as years of dust filled his lungs.
Sophia rushed to him.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Nathan... you're alive."
He could barely lift his head.
"They buried me... while the world believed I was dead."
The room fell silent.
Even Ethan's bodyguards hesitated.
Nathan slowly raised his chained wrists.
"For eight years..."
"I counted every sunrise through a tiny crack in that cellar."
"And every single day..."
"My own brother came downstairs to remind me I no longer existed."
Sophia turned toward Ethan.
Her entire body trembled with rage.
"You monster."
But Ethan only smiled.
"You still don't understand."
He snapped his fingers.
More armed men flooded into the mansion.
Within seconds, Sophia, Emma, Nathan, and little Lily were surrounded.
"There are no witnesses," Ethan said coldly.
"By sunrise..."
"The Harrington family tragedy will finally be over."
Emma suddenly laughed.
Not a nervous laugh.
A confident one.
Ethan frowned.
"What's so funny?"
Emma slowly reached into her pocket and placed a tiny black object on the table.
A flash drive.
"You always believed I escaped with nothing."
"But eight years ago..."
"I took something far more valuable than money."
Ethan's smile disappeared.
"No..."
Emma nodded.
"The security footage."
Sophia looked confused.
"What footage?"
Nathan whispered,
"The night Father changed his will."
Emma picked up the flash drive.
"It recorded everything."
"Ethan poisoning our father."
"Ethan locking Nathan underground."
"And Ethan paying the doctors to fake Nathan's death certificate."
The room went completely still.
One of Ethan's bodyguards took a nervous step backward.
Another quietly lowered his weapon.
Even they hadn't known the truth.
Ethan exploded with fury.
"Kill them! NOW!"
Gunshots rang through the mansion.
Windows shattered.
Everyone dove for cover.
In the chaos, Lily slipped away unnoticed.
She ran toward the mansion's old study.
Moments later...
Every television inside the estate suddenly turned on.
Then every phone in the room buzzed at the same time.
The giant screen above the fireplace lit up.
Security footage began to play.
The date in the corner read:
Eight Years Earlier.
Everyone watched in horror as Ethan appeared on screen.
He poured a clear liquid into his father's medicine.
Minutes later, the old man collapsed.
Then the video showed Ethan dragging Nathan—still alive—into the underground bunker.
Nathan screamed.
"Please... you're my brother!"
Ethan looked directly into the hidden camera and replied with a smile.
"Not anymore."
The recording ended.
Silence.
One by one...
Ethan's own bodyguards lowered their guns.
The man they had sworn loyalty to wasn't protecting the Harrington empire.
He had built it on murder, betrayal, and lies.
Ethan looked around the room.
For the first time in his life...
No one stood beside him.
Then he smiled again.
A slow...
Terrifying smile.
"You think this is over?"
He pressed a small remote hidden inside his jacket.
A loud electronic countdown echoed through the mansion.
10...
9...
8...
Nathan's face turned pale.
"He planted explosives..."
Sophia grabbed Lily.
Emma grabbed Nathan.
The countdown continued.
7...
6...
And Ethan whispered with chilling calm,
"If I lose the Harrington empire..."
May you like
"None of us leaves this house alive."
TO BE CONTINUED...
