Chapter 8: Reflections in the Glass
350 Words
The moonlight spilled through the shattered glass panes of the greenhouse, casting fractured shadows across the dusty floor. Ivy curled over rusted benches and broken flower pots. The air smelled of damp earth and long-forgotten memories.
Nora stepped inside slowly, each footfall echoing louder than her breath. She scanned the shadows, expecting a prank. A trap. Maybe even Serena and her venom-laced crew waiting to laugh in her face.
But then—
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” said a voice. Deep. Familiar. And yet, impossibly foreign.
She turned. There he stood—tall, sharp-featured, with eyes that mirrored her own so precisely it felt like looking into another version of herself. Only stronger. Angrier.
He stepped forward.
“My name is Nolan.”
“Nolan,” she whispered, confused. “Do… do I know you?”
He pulled something from his pocket—a smaller, matching locket. The same crest. The phoenix.
“We were born together. Nora and Nolan Belmont. Twins. You were taken when we were four. No ransom note. No trail. Our parents never stopped looking.”
Nora backed away. “No. That’s impossible. I’m not—”
He cut her off gently. “You are. You’ve been hidden for so long you forgot who you were. Or maybe someone made you forget.”
Her head spun. She wanted to scream. To cry. But the world tilted under her feet, and for the first time in years, she didn’t know who she was anymore.
“Why now?” she asked. “Why are you here?”
“Because I finally found you,” Nolan said. “And because the girl who lives in your place—Serena—knows everything. She’s not just your bully. She’s the imposter who was raised in your home.”
Nora’s breath caught. Her heart thundered.
No.
It couldn’t be.
But the locket around her neck felt heavier than ever.
“Come with me,” Nolan said softly. “I’ll help you remember everything.”
Behind them, the wind howled.
And somewhere in the shadows, someone else was watching.
- Writer
