Chapter 7 - THE DEAD DO NOT LEAVEThey found Linda standing in the hallway.
Alive.
But barely.
Her skin was gray.
Her eyes were unfocused.
David ran toward her.
“Mom!”
She grabbed his hand.
“Run.”
“From what?”
“From Adrian.”
Adrian appeared behind them.
Linda screamed.
“You promised me!”
He nodded.
“I promised.”
“You said my children would be safe.”
“They are.”
“You're killing them!”
Adrian glanced at Stella.
“No.”
He looked at David.
“I'm giving them a choice.”
Linda turned toward David.
“Your father tried to break the contract.”
“What happened?”
“He failed.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wanted you to have a normal life.”
David laughed bitterly.
“Normal?”
She started crying.
“Every year I lied to you.”
Then she revealed the final secret.
Stella was not David's biological sister.
David stared.
“What?”
“Your father wasn't her father.”
Stella slowly backed away.
“What are you saying?”
Linda looked at Adrian.
“She was his child.”
Everyone went silent.
Stella shook her head.
“No.”
Adrian walked toward her.
“You were born inside the contract.”
Stella stared at him.
“That means nothing.”
“It means everything.”
He showed her a document.
Her birth certificate.
Her biological father was listed as:
ADRIAN VALE.
Stella's knees gave out.
David caught her.
“No.”
Adrian's voice remained calm.
“The fortune was never meant for your family.”
“It was meant for you.”
Stella looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because you were the heir.”
“To what?”
Adrian smiled.
“To everything.”
The walls began changing.
The house seemed to age.
Wood cracked.
Paint peeled.
Luxury furniture decayed.
The entire illusion began collapsing.
David looked around.
“What is happening?”
“The contract is nearing completion.”
“Completion of what?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward Linda.
“You have one hour.”
“One hour for what?”
“Choose who dies.”
The clock began ticking.
11:00.
10:59.
10:58.
Stella started crying.
“David...”
“We'll find another way.”
Adrian laughed.
“There is always another way.”
David glared.
“Then tell us.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You must find the original contract.”
“Where?”
“Where your father hid it.”
“Where?”
Adrian leaned toward him.
“Inside the grave.”
The clock continued.
10:21.
10:20.
10:19.
Then the front door opened.
Police sirens echoed outside.
Adrian disappeared.
David looked through the window.
Dozens of police officers were surrounding the house.
But Stella wasn't looking at them.
She was staring at the wall.
New words had appeared.
Written in blood.
THE FIRST BODY WAS NEVER YOUR FATHER.
David whispered:
May you like
“Then whose body did we bury?”
The lights went out.
