Chapter 4 - The Wife Who DiedVictor nearly crashed the car twice on the way to the hospital.
The photograph remained on his phone.
Evelyn.
Impossible.
Lily stared at the screen.
“That could be edited.”
Victor said nothing.
“Victor.”
“I saw her body.”
“Then someone looks exactly like her.”
He stopped the car.
“No.”
Lily looked at him.
“You believe she’s alive?”
Victor stared into the darkness ahead.
“I saw her die.”
They entered the abandoned hospital.
Every corridor smelled of dust and damp concrete.
A flickering emergency light buzzed above them.
Then they heard Ethan crying.
Victor ran toward the sound.
A room stood open.
Ethan was tied to a chair.
Victor rushed forward.
But Lily grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
The floor was covered with wires.
A trap.
Victor crouched.
“Ethan, don’t move.”
The boy was sobbing.
Then a speaker crackled.
Evelyn’s voice filled the room.
“Victor.”
He looked around wildly.
“Show yourself.”
A projector came alive.
Evelyn appeared on the wall.
Not a recording.
Live.
She was sitting somewhere in the mansion.
Victor stared.
“How?”
Evelyn leaned toward the camera.
“You opened the room.”
Victor’s throat tightened.
“Are you alive?”
She smiled sadly.
“Not in the way you think.”
Lily whispered:
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn looked directly at her.
“You still wear my mother’s necklace.”
Lily touched the small silver necklace around her neck.
“I found it when I was sixteen.”
“It belonged to your mother.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she was killed because she knew too much.”
Victor stepped closer to the projector.
“Who killed her?”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“Victor, listen carefully.”
The screen flickered.
“You cannot trust your father.”
“I know.”
“You cannot trust Serena.”
“I know.”
“And you cannot trust the person standing beside you.”
Victor looked at Lily.
Lily stared back.
The projector went black.
Then the hospital doors slammed shut.
Gas began pouring into the room.
Victor grabbed Ethan.
Lily rushed toward the control panel.
“Find the emergency release!”
“I’m trying!”
Victor covered Ethan’s face with his jacket.
Lily pulled wires from the panel.
Red lights flashed.
The gas thickened.
She finally found a switch.
The doors opened.
They escaped into the hallway.
Victor carried Ethan outside.
Lily followed, coughing.
Then she saw someone standing across the parking lot.
Evelyn.
Alive.
She turned and disappeared into the fog.
Victor started running.
“Evelyn!”
He chased her into the darkness.
Lily followed.
But when they reached the end of the street, Evelyn was gone.
Only a black envelope remained on the ground.
Victor opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A newborn baby.
Two women stood beside the infant.
Evelyn.
And Lily’s mother.
On the back, a sentence had been written.
YOU HAVE BEEN PROTECTING THE WRONG CHILD.
Victor looked at Ethan.
Then at Lily.
His phone rang.
This time, the caller ID showed one name.
EVELYN VALE.
Victor answered.
A whisper came through.
“Your son is safe.”
Victor closed his eyes.
“Where are you?”
“I’m coming home.”
“Why?”
Evelyn’s voice trembled.
“Because the man controlling Serena just killed someone inside your mansion.”
May you like
The call ended.
Behind them, somewhere far away, a gunshot echoed.
