HEART BOUND

GHOST AT THE GATE

(Season 1)

CHAPTER 27

Zach knew the second he saw Liora’s face.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hands shaking. Jae had talked.

What happened at the party. The hospital. Her stepmother.

He’d braced for anger. He didn’t brace for this. Liora was unraveling.

He turned on his heel, already moving.

"Come with me," he said, voice low.

Jae barely had time to protest before his hand clamped around her wrist.

"Let go! You’re hurting me!" she hissed, yanking against him.

His grip didn’t loosen. If anything, it got worse.

He dragged her out to the side garden, away from the house, away from Liora. Then he spun her around and slammed her back against the stone wall.

"Say one more word," Zach growled, "and I’ll feed you to my dogs."

Jae froze. The fight drained out of her in a second.

Up close, Zach didn’t look human. The air around him went cold. That aura he carried — it pressed down on her chest like the opening scene of a horror movie, except this was real. And he was staring at her like she was already dead.

"Listen carefully," he whispered, venom in every syllable. "I don’t care what game you’re playing. I don’t care why you’re here. But if you so much as breathe wrong near Liora, I will make your whole family beg for death. Are we clear?"

Jae forced a laugh. Tried for innocent. "I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. Liora’s my sister. I care about—"

"Don’t."

His eyes cut through her lie. Disgust twisted his mouth.

He leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath.

"She’s _my_ little sister now. And no one touches my family. No one."

Something in Jae’s mask cracked. For half a second pure panic flashed in her eyes before she smoothed it over.

"And one more thing," Zach murmured. "You show up here again without an invitation, there will be consequences. Big ones. Now get out."

He let her go.

Jae stumbled back, gasping, pupils blown wide. Her hands trembled as she turned and ran, his warning echoing in her ears like a slap.

---

Back inside, Ryan had his arms around Liora.

She was still crying, still saying the same thing over and over: "I need to see her. I need to go to the hospital."

Zach hated it. But he saw the guilt eating her alive.

"Fine," he said finally. "We go."

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The next day, the gates of the VALOR mansion loomed ahead.

Big. Cold. The place Liora had run from.

Ryan parked and glanced at her. "You don’t have to do this."

Liora managed a small smile. "I know."

She wasn’t just going to see her stepmother. She needed answers.

Ryan took her hand as they walked in.

Mr. Phillips was the first to see them. The old butler stopped mid-step, tray nearly slipping from his hands.

"Miss Liora?"

She crossed the room and hugged him. Hard.

"Uncle," she whispered. "I missed you."

He hugged her back, eyes wet. He’d been the only one who snuck her bandages. The only one who slipped her bread when Mrs. Brown locked the kitchen.

"I’m fine," he said, voice rough. "You look... you look good, child."

He led them down the hall to Mrs. Brown’s room.

Liora stopped in the doorway.

Her stepmother stood up. And smiled.

Then she crossed the room and pulled Liora into a hug.

Liora went stiff. This was the same reaction Jae had. Too warm. Too fast.

"Oh, my dear girl," Mrs. Brown sobbed. "I’m so sorry. For everything. Please forgive me."

Tears streamed down her face. Real tears.

"After you left, I saw what I’d done. I was insecure. Ridiculous. I’ve been living with it every day. Please, forgive me."

Liora’s throat tightened. This wasn’t the woman who used to lock her in rooms.

This woman was breaking.

"I... I forgive you," Liora said quietly. "It’s hard to forget. But I forgive you."

Ryan watched from the corner. His jaw was tight.

On the surface it looked real. But underneath it, something felt wrong. Too clean. Too perfect.

He caught Mr. Phillips’ eye and tilted his head toward the hall.

"Walk with me?"

They stepped out. Zach had sent Ryan for a reason. Kai would’ve burned the house down by now.

In the room, Liora poured her stepmother a glass of water.

Mrs. Brown took it, sipped, and studied her.

"You look good," she said softly. "Healthy. Happy."

Liora smiled, small but real.

"I am," she said. "Because of them. The brothers who found me."

She thought of Zach’s rage. Of Ryan’s steady hands. Of Kai’s stupid jokes at 2am.

She owed them everything. And she had no idea how to ever repay them.

TBC