Chapter 2: She Already Knew
The painting swung open on a hidden hinge.
Behind it — a door.
Steel.
Bolted from the outside.
Emma's hands were shaking as she slid the bolt back and pulled.
The smell hit her first.
Cold air.
Damp stone.
Something stale and closed-off, like a room that hadn't been opened in days.
Then she saw him.
Ethan was curled in the corner of a small dark space, knees pulled to his chest, eyes red and swollen.
When the light from the hallway reached him, he flinched and turned away.
"Ethan." Emma dropped to her knees.
"Ethan, it's me.
It's Emma."
He looked up slowly.
His lip trembled.
"She said…
she said no one would come," he whispered.
Emma pulled him close.
He was ice cold.
"I've got you," she said.
"I've got you now."
She was already reaching for her phone when she heard heels on the marble floor behind her.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Getting closer.
Emma turned.
Isabella Sterling stood at the end of the hallway, champagne glass still in hand, expression completely calm.
She looked at Emma.
Then at Ethan.
Then back at Emma.
And she smiled.
"I was wondering," Isabella said quietly, "how long it would take you to find him."
---
What Emma discovered next — and what Isabella said after that smile — is something no one in that house was prepared for.
May you like
Click the link below to read the full story.
👇
