CHAPTER ONE:THE NIGHT EVERYTHING DIED
893 Words
My father was murdered…and the man who stood over his body is now my legal guardian.
My father was still warm when I realized he had been murdered. The blood on my hands hadn’t dried yet. I stared at them like they belonged to someone else. Fingers trembling, stained red, shaking so badly I could barely feel them. I didn’t remember touching him. I didn’t remember falling. I didn’t remember screaming.
“Dad?” My voice came out cracked. He was lying on the marble floor of the private hall, one hand still half curled like he had been reaching for something or someone. His eyes were open, but they weren’t looking at anything anymore.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as if denial alone could undo it. “No, no, no…this isn’t real.”
I dropped beside him so fast, that my knees hit the floor hard enough to cause a sting. Pain shot through me, but I didn’t care. I grabbed his shoulder, shaking him once again, lightly at first, then harder.
“Dad, please wake up,” I begged. “Please. Please don’t do this. Not like this.” Nothing… Not even a breath. The air felt wrong, like the house itself had stopped breathing.
Just minutes ago, there had been music downstairs, with people celebrating something I didn’t even care about. But now, everywhere is silent, except for my shaking breath. My vision blurred as I pressed my palm against his chest.
Still no heartbeat. My stomach twisted violently. That’s when the truth began to settle in. He was gone. And the world didn’t even stop him. Footsteps thundered behind me. Voices exploded into the room.
“What happened?”
“Oh my God…call an ambulance!”
Chaos erupted like fire behind my back, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t look away from him.
From the man who raised me. From the man who promised I would always be safe. Now lying on the floor like something discarded.
“I told him this would happen.” The voice cut through everything. Like it didn’t belong in the same room as death. My entire body went rigid. Slowly, I turned and I saw him. He stood in the doorway like he had been there the whole time. Tall and dressed in a black suit that made him look like he belonged to the darkness itself. Not a single wrinkle on him. Not a single sign of panic.
“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice was shaking with rage I couldn’t fully control. He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes moved past me towards my father. Then his eyes shifted to me and something in my chest tightened. Because his eyes didn’t look guilty.
“I’m the man your father trusted,” he said quietly. The words hit harder than a slap. “Trusted.” I let out a bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob. You’re standing over his body, I choked out. “And you’re talking about trust?”
“I didn’t say he made good choices,” he replied calmly. Something inside me snapped. “You’re lying,” I said, pushing myself up from the floor. My legs shook so badly I nearly fell back down, but I forced myself behind him, people rushed in. Security. Guests. Someone was screaming for answers.
“I will find out what you did,” I said, my voice breaking at the edges but still holding firm. And when I do, “I swear to you” My throat tightened. Tears blurred my vision again, but I refused to wipe them away.
“I will destroy you.”
“Revenge is a dangerous promise to make,” he said softly. “Try me.” Almost like a warning disguised as something else. It has a way of binding people together.
Sirens began to echo in the distance.
Finally… Help was coming. But it was too late. Nothing could bring back my father. Nothing could undo what I had seen. Nothing could erase the image of this man standing in my father’s doorway like he belonged to the aftermath.
Like he belonged to me. I don’t care who you are, I said, my voice shaking with so my hatred I could barely contain it. “If you had anything to do with this, I will make sure you regret ever being born.”
He took a slow step back. Like he was choosing to leave or like he had already said everything he came here to say.
“Careful, Mabel,” he said quietly. Hearing my name from his mouth made something cold crawl down my spine.
How do you know my name? I fired back.. But he didn’t answer, but rather he turned and walked away. Leaving me there. Kneeling in my father’s blood. As the world finally collapsed into chaos around me.
But even as I screamed for answers. Even as I swore I would ruin him… one thought refused to leave my mind. Why did it feel like he wasn’t finished with me yet?
And I was right. I just didn’t know it. Because the man I had just met in the ruins of my life, would soon become the man I was forced to live with.
Under the same roof…as my stepfather.
- Writer
