CHAPTER 8 — SHATTERED
1709 Words
Ellie could no longer hold back the tears.
The moment she turned away from Darius’s classroom, she broke into a run.
The hallway blurred around her as students stepped aside, startled by the sight of her racing past them.
She didn’t stop.
She couldn’t.
His words echoed relentlessly in her mind.
“They were looking for a way out of poverty.”
“She’s only here for my father’s money.”
“I could never accept someone like her as my sister.”
Each sentence struck harder than the last.
By the time she reached the school entrance, tears were streaming freely down her face.
She wasn’t thinking.
She wasn’t looking.
She only wanted to get away.
As she rushed outside, she collided with someone.
“Ellie!”
Jayden grabbed her arm instinctively, but she pulled away before he could stop her.
Ethan frowned as he watched her stumble forward.
“Ellie, wait!”
But she didn’t turn back.
She kept running.
Past the school gates.
Past the crowded sidewalks.
Past the curious stares.
She had no destination.
Only pain.
⸻
The wind rushed against her face as she ran, her vision blurred by tears.
Her heart ached with every step.
She had entered the Walters Mansion hoping for a fresh start.
Instead, she found herself being judged for a life she had never chosen.
She thought of her mother.
She thought of her father.
She thought of all the nights she had dreamed of a place where she would finally belong.
Maybe she had been foolish to believe such a place existed.
She kept running.
Not noticing the road ahead.
Not noticing the approaching headlights.
Not noticing the horn that echoed through the air.
Until it was too late.
The screech of tires shattered the silence.
A vehicle swerved sharply.
The impact sent Ellie stumbling violently toward the edge of the roadside.
The loose ground beneath her feet gave way.
Her body slipped over the steep embankment.
As she fell, the world around her seemed to slow.
The sky above grew farther away.
Her thoughts became strangely quiet.
No anger.
No fear.
Only exhaustion.
She closed her eyes.
And surrendered herself to the darkness.
⸻
Back at the school, Jayden and Ethan hurried toward the senior building.
They found Darius standing outside his classroom, his expression as unreadable as ever.
Jayden looked around.
“Where’s Ellie?”
Darius remained silent.
“We’ve been looking everywhere,” Jayden continued. “She ran out of the school crying. What happened?”
For several seconds, Darius said nothing.
Then he simply replied,
“Let’s go home.”
Jayden stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s it?”
Before Darius could answer, one of the students who had witnessed everything spoke up.
“He said she and her mother were only after his father’s money.”
The corridor fell silent.
Darius’s eyes hardened instantly.
He stepped forward, grabbed the boy by the collar, and pulled him close.
“Mind your own business,” he said in a cold, controlled voice.
“If you enjoy spreading other people’s conversations, don’t expect anyone to protect you from the consequences.”
The frightened student nodded quickly.
Darius released him and walked away without another word.
⸻
Hidden around the corner, one of Tyla’s closest friends had overheard the entire exchange.
Without wasting a second, she hurried across the campus.
She found Tyla, Mandy, and Lia waiting near the parking area.
“You won’t believe what I just heard.”
The three girls listened carefully as she repeated every detail.
When she finished, Tyla let out a quiet laugh.
“So that’s the truth?”
She exchanged amused glances with Mandy and Lia.
“Seems our mysterious new girl isn’t so mysterious after all.”
Mandy folded her arms.
“I guess money really does make people do anything.”
Lia smiled coldly.
“No wonder she looked so desperate, she’s actually a church rat.”
The three girls walked away, completely unaware of the storm their words would soon create.
⸻
Meanwhile, Jayden stood beside the car, his jaw clenched.
“I can’t believe you said those things.”
Darius looked out toward the school gates.
“I didn’t know she was there.”
Jayden shook his head.
“That doesn’t change what you said.”
Darius’s expression remained calm.
“If she hadn’t been listening to a conversation that wasn’t meant for her, she wouldn’t have heard any of it.”
Silence followed.
Then Ethan finally spoke.
His voice was quiet.
But firm.
“You better hope she gets home safely.”
Both brothers turned toward him.
“Because if something happened to her…”
He paused.
“You won’t be able to live with it.”
For the first time that day, Darius had no reply.
Jayden opened the car door.
“We’re wasting time.”
“Let’s go home.”
The driver started the engine.
As the car pulled away from the school, none of the three brothers noticed the growing sense of unease settling between them.
Somewhere beyond the city…
Ellie was still missing.
And none of them knew that her life had already taken a tragic turn.
The black SUV rolled through the gates of the Walters Mansion just as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon.
The atmosphere inside the car was painfully silent.
No one spoke.
Jayden kept glancing out the window, his mind replaying the image of Ellie running out of the school in tears.
Ethan sat quietly beside him, his jaw clenched, while Darius stared straight ahead, his expression unreadable.
The moment the car stopped, the three brothers stepped out.
Jayden looked around instinctively.
Ellie was nowhere to be seen.
He hurried inside.
“Has Ellie come home?” he asked one of the housekeepers.
The woman shook her head.
“No, Young Master.”
Jayden frowned.
He asked another servant.
Then another.
Each answer was the same.
“No, sir.”
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Something wasn’t right.
At that moment, Darius walked into the living room and casually removed his coat.
“She’s probably somewhere,” he said indifferently.
Jayden looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Darius shrugged.
“Maybe she’s used to running away.”
He let out a dry laugh.
“People from that kind of background usually know how to survive on the streets.”
The room fell silent.
Before anyone could react—
Punch!
Ethan’s fist connected with Darius’s face.
The force of the blow sent him stumbling backward.
Everyone froze.
Darius slowly touched the corner of his lips before looking up at his younger brother in disbelief.
“You hit me?”
His voice was low.
Cold.
Ethan stepped forward.
His eyes burned with anger.
“Watch your mouth.”
Darius scoffed.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
“You never liked her before.”
“So what’s your problem now?”
“I practically did all of us a favor.”
Before he could finish—
Punch!
Ethan struck him again.
Harder this time.
Darius lost his balance and crashed into the couch.
“Enough!” Ethan shouted.
“For once in your life… just keep quiet.”
Jayden immediately stepped between them before another fight could break out.
“Stop it!”
The tension in the room was suffocating.
None of them noticed that upstairs…
The mansion’s artificial intelligence system had already detected an unusual emergency.
A calm mechanical voice echoed through the empty hallway.
“Warning. Resident Ellie Carter has not returned home within her expected arrival time.”
“Abnormal family distress detected.”
“Emergency notification initiated.”
Within seconds, a call was automatically placed to Mr. Walters.
⸻
Almost twenty minutes later, the front doors opened.
Mr. Walters and Sarah rushed inside.
The moment Sarah realized Ellie wasn’t home, panic spread across her face.
“Where is my daughter?”
No one answered.
Mr. Walters looked from one son to another.
“What happened?”
Jayden lowered his head.
Before he could speak, Ethan glanced toward Darius.
Mr. Walters understood immediately.
“What did you do?”
Darius remained silent.
Jayden quietly explained everything that had happened at school.
Every word.
Every insult.
Every accusation.
By the time he finished…
Sarah was already in tears.
Mr. Walters slowly walked toward Darius.
His face showed nothing but disappointment.
Then—
Slap!
The sound echoed through the mansion.
The entire room froze.
Jayden stared in shock.
Ethan blinked.
Even Darius looked stunned.
In all his years…
Their father had never raised a hand against any of them.
Darius slowly turned back to him.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
“Dad…”
“You slapped me…”
“For her?”
Mr. Walters looked him straight in the eye.
“No.”
“I slapped you for forgetting what kind of man I raised.”
His voice was calm but carried immense authority.
“Ellie is your sister now.”
“Whether you accept it or not, she is family.”
“And no member of this family will ever be judged by their past or by the amount of money in their pocket.”
Sarah wiped away her tears, unable to stop crying.
Mr. Walters turned toward the center of the living room.
“Atlas.”
The AI system immediately responded.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Track Ellie’s registered mobile device.”
A blue holographic interface appeared above the glass table.
“Scanning…”
The room became silent.
Seconds felt like hours.
Then the AI spoke again.
“Device detected.”
A digital map appeared across the massive television screen.
A blinking red dot flashed on the outskirts of the city.
“Resident Ellie Carter located.”
Everyone stared at the screen.
Sarah covered her mouth.
Mr. Walters grabbed his car keys immediately.
“We’re leaving now.”
The brothers exchanged uneasy glances before following him outside.
As the engines of several vehicles roared to life and the mansion gates slowly opened…
None of them knew what they were about to find.
But for the first time since Ellie entered their lives…
Fear had replaced pride.
And deep inside Darius’s heart…
Regret had begun to take its place.
- Writer
