Chapter 2 - Voices from the PastI took my two children and Mrs. Alvarez out of the house that very night. The mansion that once was our home now reeked of fear and hypocrisy. I arranged for us to stay at a high-end luxury hotel with the tightest security system in the city.
In the hotel suite, I plugged the old phone into a charger. When the screen lit up completely, a video folder appeared.
My hands shook as I opened the most recent file.
The footage showed the dark basement room. Owen—my young son—was curled up on the floor, his small body shivering with a high fever. The camera trembled slightly, and then Kate's voice rang out through the audio track: "Keep crying. Crying for your dad? Your dad is busy making millions of dollars, he doesn't have time to care about a weak brat like you."
Next came Lily’s quiet sobbing: "Aunt Kate, please give Owen his medicine... he's so hot..."
A sharp slap echoed through the speaker, followed by Lily’s choked gasp.
I squeezed the phone so hard the plastic casing creaked. Every muscle in my face froze. Guilt and furious rage ripped through my chest. While I was burying myself in corporate acquisitions and million-dollar deals, my children were living in hell inside our own home, created by their own aunt.
May you like
I dialed Miller—a top criminal defense attorney and my longtime close friend.
"Miller," I said, my voice dropping to a terrifyingly low pitch. "I want her to never see the light of day again."
Related Stories
