Chapter 2 - The House on the HillDaniel's estate appeared after nearly an hour of driving.
It wasn't a house.
It was a fortress disguised as one.
Stone walls.
Iron gates.
Security cameras.
A long private driveway surrounded by desert landscaping.
Ava pressed her face against the window.
“Is this where you live?”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
She turned to me.
“Mom, we're rich.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
“We're not rich.”
Daniel glanced at us in the mirror.
“You're protected.”
The gates opened.
Security guards stood along the driveway.
Ethan immediately moved closer to me.
Daniel noticed.
“They won't hurt you.”
“You say that like people usually try.”
He didn't answer.
The silence bothered me.
The moment we entered the house, two women approached.
One was around sixty with silver hair pulled tightly behind her head.
The other was younger and wore a black suit.
The older woman looked directly at me.
Then at my children.
Her face went pale.
“You brought them.”
Daniel frowned.
“Yes.”
“Daniel.”
Her voice was sharp.
“Who is she?”
“My fiancée.”
The woman stared at me.
For one strange second, I thought she looked terrified.
Not angry.
Terrified.
“This is Mrs. Hayes,” Daniel said.
She forced a smile.
“Welcome.”
Her eyes stayed on Ava.
Ava hid behind my leg.
Mrs. Hayes looked at me again.
“Your children resemble someone.”
“Who?”
She suddenly smiled.
“No one.”
That answer stayed in my mind.
We were shown upstairs.
Our rooms were enormous.
Ava stood in the middle of hers, turning slowly.
“There are stars on the ceiling!”
Ethan checked the bathroom.
“There are two sinks!”
I laughed for the first time in weeks.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
“You can stay as long as you want.”
I looked at him.
“Until the wedding?”
“Even after.”
I studied him.
“You're serious.”
“Yes.”
He handed me a folder.
“Prenuptial agreement.”
I opened it.
Everything was detailed.
I would receive financial security.
The children would be protected.
My personal accounts would remain mine.
Daniel would cover education and medical care.
There was one unusual clause.
Neither party would interfere in the other's private affairs.
I looked up.
“What does this mean?”
“It means I won't ask questions about your past.”
“And you expect the same?”
“Yes.”
Something in his expression tightened.
It told me he had secrets too.
I closed the folder.
“Why are you so afraid of your family?”
His eyes hardened.
“Who says I'm afraid?”
“You are.”
A pause.
“My father died two months ago.”
“I heard.”
“He left the company divided between me and my uncle.”
“And?”
“And my uncle has wanted control for twenty years.”
Daniel's voice lowered.
“If I don't marry before the board meeting, he gets enough voting power to remove me.”
“And your mother?”
“Dead.”
“Brothers or sisters?”
“No.”
“So your uncle is the only threat?”
Daniel stared at me.
“No.”
I waited.
He said nothing else.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Ava was asleep beside me.
Ethan was in the room across the hall.
I quietly opened the door.
The hallway was dark.
I heard voices downstairs.
Daniel.
And the older woman.
Mrs. Hayes.
“You should not have brought them here.”
“You know what she is?”
“I know exactly who she is.”
My breath stopped.
“She doesn't remember.”
“She doesn't need to.”
“What about the children?”
A long silence.
Then Mrs. Hayes whispered:
“The girl is the key.”
I stepped backward.
A floorboard creaked.
The voices stopped.
I ran back into the bedroom.
Seconds later, someone knocked.
I pretended to be asleep.
The door opened.
Daniel stood there.
He looked at me.
Then at Ava.
Then quietly closed the door.
I didn't breathe until he was gone.
The next morning, a woman named Victoria arrived.
She was beautiful.
Tall.
Elegant.
Perfect.
Daniel introduced her as his cousin.
She smiled at me.
But her eyes were cold.
“So this is Sarah.”
“Yes.”
Victoria looked toward my children.
“How adorable.”
Something about her made my skin crawl.
At breakfast, she sat across from me.
“You've had an interesting life.”
I put down my fork.
“How would you know?”
“I do my research.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Victoria.”
She smiled.
“What?”
He didn't answer.
After breakfast, I took the children outside.
That's when I saw something strange.
A man stood near the garden wall.
Watching us.
I looked away.
When I looked again, he was gone.
That afternoon, Daniel handed me my new phone.
“Your old number has been disconnected.”
“Why?”
“Security.”
I frowned.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“You're hiding something.”
“I know.”
He walked away.
That night, I received a message from an unknown number.
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE MARRIED HIM.
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
GET YOUR CHILDREN OUT BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
My hands went cold.
Then a third message came.
A photograph.
It showed Ava sleeping in her new room.
Taken from inside the house.
I ran down the hallway.
Ava was still asleep.
Ethan burst out of his room.
“Mom?”
I grabbed both children.
Then I saw it.
May you like
The window was open.
And on the floor beneath it was a single muddy footprint.
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