🔥 Chapter 9 — "When The Last Light Went Out"
1235 Words
Weeks passed.
Liana recovered far faster than any doctor could explain.
Her burns faded into pale scars, her strength returned, and the girl who once trembled simply standing… now walked the halls of Isaac’s safehouse with a quiet, terrifying calm.
Yet every mirror was her enemy.
Every reflection reminded her of the fire—the scars twisting along her cheek, the patches of uneven, painful skin. Sometimes she touched them and whispered through a trembling breath,
“I’m still here… but everything else is gone.”
Six months had passed since the m******e.
Six months of silence.
Six months of nightmares.
Six months of waking to the phantoms of her family—voices that felt so real she often reached out as if she could catch them before they disappeared.
Her body hurt at times, the healed skin burning like embers.
But it was nothing compared to the agony in her chest.
She cried often—
not for the scars.
Not for the pain.
She cried for the baby she could never hold.
For the family stolen in minutes.
For every “what if” that clawed at her heart until she could barely breathe.
Merel cried too.
The old woman tried to hide it—turning away, covering her face—but Liana saw her shoulders tremble, heard her muffled sobs in the dark, felt her hands growing colder every morning.
Still, every sunrise, Merel brushed her hair and whispered,
“My brave girl… you survived.”
And every evening, when they turned on the TV for noise, for distraction, the same hollow report replayed:
> “The tragic wedding fire continues to be investigated. Authorities confirm it was caused by a gas leak. There is no evidence of foul play.”
Liana sat stiffly beside Merel, jaw clenched, hands shaking in her lap.
No mafia mentioned.
No gunshots.
No m******e.
Just a “gas leak.”
The lie crawled under her skin like poison.
Beside her, Merel would tense—just slightly, but enough for Liana to notice.
Her breath would hitch.
Her fingers would curl painfully into the fabric of her skirt.
Sometimes she pressed a hand to her chest, as if the lie physically hurt her.
The old woman’s face would pale, her lips tightening with a grief too old and too deep to hide.
“Merel… are you okay?” Liana would whisper.
Merel only nodded, even when her shoulders trembled.
Even when a thin wince crossed her face.
Even when she had to shut her eyes for a moment just to steady her breathing.
“They erased the truth…” Liana whispered, voice low and dark. “Just like they erased us.”
Merel squeezed her hand, her grip faint but warm.
Her voice barely a breath.
“My girl… some truths hurt too much for the world to look at.”
But her eyes glistened.
Every lie on that TV screen seemed to break her a little more.
Yet she still held Liana’s hand.
Still stayed.
Still endured every painful breath beside her.
Even as it hurt her too.
---
During those weeks, Liana cornered Isaac again and again.
“How many Morettis are there?”
“Who leads them?”
“What did they want?”
“Why destroy my family?”
Always the same answer:
“I don’t know enough. Not yet.”
So Liana dug alone—names.
Connections.
Criminal forums.
Court files.
Shadowed rumors.
Every night she fell asleep clutching her phone, rage and grief boiling under her skin like a second heartbeat.
---
Days passed...
The weather grew colder.
The house quieter.
One evening, rain tapped gently on the windows.
Liana walked into the living room—and froze.
Merel sat curled on the couch, body trembling, breaths sharp and uneven. Her eyes were shut tight, face twisted in pain.
“Merel?” Liana whispered, heart slamming against her ribs.
The old woman opened her eyes slowly.
“My girl…” she breathed, voice thin as a thread. “Come here.”
Liana rushed to her side, but before her hand even touched Merel’s, the woman gasped—
a raw, brutal sound—
and clutched her chest.
“Merel!”
Liana’s voice cracked into panic. “I’m calling Isaac—”
“No—” Merel rasped, clutching Liana’s wrist with desperate strength. “Listen… to me…”
“Merel, please—don't—”
“You survived fire,” Merel whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. “You survived hell. You must finish… what they tried to destroy… your father’s fight.”
Her voice broke as if her heart was shattering from the inside.
Liana's hands shook as she tried to call Isaac anyway.
“Please—breathe—stay—stay with me,” Liana begged, sobbing already, hands shaking uncontrollably as she tried to dial Isaac.
But Merel cupped her face with trembling fingers.
“They took everything… but they didn’t take you,” she whispered weakly. “You must live. You must rise… for all of us…”
“Stop talking!” Liana cried, almost screaming through tears. “Don’t say goodbye—don’t you dare—”
"Please, just stay with me..."
Merel’s eyes softened.
A small, fragile smile trembled on her lips.
“My little girl…”
Her hand slipped.
Her chest stilled.
Her head fell gently against Liana’s shoulder.
“Merel?”
Liana whispered, frozen.
No answer.
“Merel…? Merel—please—please open your eyes—”
Then the scream tore itself out of her chest.
“No—NO—MEREL!”
She clutched the old woman’s body, shaking her, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
“Don’t leave me—please—please don’t leave me—I can’t—I CAN’T—”
Her voice collapsed into raw, animal grief.
That was the moment Isaac burst into the room.
He stopped in the doorway, breath stolen from his lungs.
Liana was on the floor, rocking Merel’s lifeless body, her face twisted in agony, screams echoing off the walls.
“Liana…” Isaac whispered, voice shaking, breaking, collapsing. “My girl…”
She looked up.
The pain in her eyes destroyed him.
She let out a raw, broken sob and clung to Merel even tighter.
“She’s gone—Isaac—she’s gone—” she choked out, reaching for him with one trembling hand before falling back over Merel. “She left me—she left me too—why does everyone leave me—?”
Isaac dropped to his knees.
“No,” he breathed, tears stinging his own eyes. “No, no… my sweet girl…”
He gently pried Merel’s body from Liana’s grip. Liana fought him at first, sobbing, hitting his chest weakly with her fists.
“Bring her back!” she screamed. “Do something—Isaac, PLEASE!”
“I can’t,” he whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”
Her knees buckled.
Isaac pulled her into his chest as she collapsed in his arms, trembling violently.
“Hush…” he murmured, voice cracking. “I’ve got you. You’re not alone. I’m here—I’m here—”
But nothing calmed her.
Her cries filled the house, echoing down the halls, bleeding into the storm outside.
And with Merel’s last breath, the final warm light in Liana’s world went dark...
- Writer
