Chapter 15 - THE DOOR THAT SHOULD HAVE STAYED CLOSED
I drove home without saying a word.
Clara sat beside me.
Marcus followed in another vehicle.
When we reached the estate, every security light was on.
But something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
I entered through the front door.
"Avery?"
No answer.
"Sophie?"
Nothing.
Clara ran upstairs.
A few seconds later, she screamed my name.
I ran.
The girls were there.
Safe.
Asleep.
But on the floor beside their beds was a small envelope.
I picked it up.
Inside was a photograph of Madeline.
On the back:
MIDNIGHT. YOUR OLD HOUSE. COME ALONE.
I looked at Clara.
"They're using the girls to control me."
She shook her head.
"No."
"What?"
She pointed toward the photograph.
"Look at her hand."
I stared.
Madeline was holding something.
A small silver pendant.
The same pendant I had given her on our wedding day.
My heart began pounding.
Clara whispered:
"She's trying to tell you something."
I zoomed in on the photograph.
There was a reflection in the window behind Madeline.
A street sign.
I recognized it immediately.
It wasn't our old house.
It was the abandoned property next door.
The property I had sold years ago.
The property Patricia had secretly bought back.
I looked at Marcus.
"Get everyone ready."
Marcus shook his head.
"Ethan, the message said come alone."
I picked up my coat.
"I'm not going alone."
"Then they'll hurt her."
I looked toward the stairs.
Then at Clara.
Then back at Marcus.
For years, I had believed protecting my family meant facing every danger myself.
Now I understood something different.
A family wasn't protected by one person standing in front of everyone else.
It was protected by everyone standing together.
I opened the front door.
The night air rushed inside.
Somewhere in the darkness, a car engine started.
I stepped outside.
Behind me, Clara took my hand.
"Bring her home."
I nodded.
"I will."
Then I looked into the darkness beyond the gates.
Because this time, I wasn't chasing revenge.
I was going to uncover the truth.
And whoever had spent twelve years hiding it was about to discover one thing they had never understood about me.
They could threaten my money.
They could destroy my empire.
They could even take away everything I had built.
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But they would never get my family again.
Not without a fight.
