Fire and confessions
1357 Words
The mansion fell silent after the stranger’s voice echoed upstairs.
Sophia’s heart pounded violently inside her chest.
Thompson immediately moved in front of her protectively, every muscle in his body tense.
“How many?” Sophia whispered.
He listened carefully.
“Five. Maybe six.”
Fear crawled through her stomach.
Below them, footsteps spread through the manor slowly, deliberately, like predators enjoying the hunt.
The man in gray laughed softly from downstairs.
“You can’t hide forever.”
Thompson grabbed the files from the safe quickly and shoved them into his coat.
“Sophia, listen carefully.”
She looked at him.
“There’s a back staircase behind the library downstairs. When I tell you to run, don’t stop for anything.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll handle them.”
“No.”
His eyes met hers sharply.
“This isn’t negotiable.”
Before she could argue again, another crash echoed through the house. Someone had kicked open the study door downstairs.
They were getting closer.
Damien scanned the room quickly before pulling open another drawer inside the desk.
Inside rested a handgun.
Elena froze.
“You carry a gun?”
“In this city?” he muttered darkly. “Always.”
Fear mixed with something else inside her chest now.
Not fear of him.
Fear for him.
The stranger’s footsteps reached the staircase outside.
“Sophia,” the man called mockingly, “your father begged for his life before he died.”
Rage flashed across Thompson’s face instantly.
Sophia grabbed his arm before he could move.
“Don’t,” she whispered desperately.
But Thompson already looked dangerous.
Deadly calm.
“He’s lying,” Thompson said quietly. “He wants you angry.”
“How do you know?”
His expression darkened painfully.
“Because I was there the night your parents died.”
The confession hit her like ice.
“What?”
Before she could ask another question, the study door burst open.
The man in gray entered smiling coldly while two armed men followed behind him.
“Well,” he said softly, “this reunion is emotional.”
Thompson stepped forward immediately, shielding Sophia behind him.
“You should’ve stayed away from her.”
The stranger laughed.
“You know that was never possible.”
Sophia stared at the man.
“Who are you?”
His smile widened slightly.
“Samuel Vale.”
The name meant nothing to her.
But Thompson’s reaction did.
Pure hatred filled his eyes.
Samuel noticed.
“Oh, Thompson,” he mocked softly, “still blaming yourself after all these years?”
Sophia’s heartbeat quickened.
“What does that mean?”
Thompson remained silent.
Samuel sighed dramatically.
“She deserves honesty.”
“Shut up.”
“But secrets are exhausting, aren’t they?” Samuel continued calmly. “Especially when you loved her even back then.”
Sophia froze.
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
Samuel smiled at her.
“Did he never tell you?”
Thompson’s voice turned deadly.
“Another word and I kill you.”
Samuel only laughed.
“There it is again—that tragic devotion.”
Sophia looked between them in confusion.
“What is he talking about?”
Thompson didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation said enough.
Shock spread through her chest slowly.
“You… loved me?”
The words barely came out above a whisper.
Thompson finally looked at her.
And for the first time since meeting him, all his walls cracked completely.
“Yes.”
The honesty in his voice stole her breath.
“Even before your parents died,” Samuel added cruelly. “Poor Thompson watched the entire car explode and still couldn’t save them.”
Sophia’s world shattered.
“What?”
She turned toward Thompson in horror.
“You were there?”
Pain flashed across his face instantly.
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you already lost enough.”
Samuel smirked.
“He followed your parents that night hoping to protect them. Instead, he watched them burn.”
The image alone hurt too much to imagine.
Thompson’s hands clenched tightly.
“I said enough.”
For the first time, Sophia noticed guilt in him so deep it looked unbearable.
“You blamed yourself all these years,” she whispered.
“I failed them.”
“No—”
A gunshot exploded suddenly.
Everything happened at once.
Thompson shoved Sophia sideways as glass shattered behind them. One of Samuel’s men fired again, but Thompson tackled him violently into the bookshelf.
The room erupted into chaos.
Samuel grabbed Sophia’s wrist hard.
“Come with me.”
“No!”
She struggled desperately while Thompson fought the others across the room.
Another gunshot echoed.
Wood splintered nearby.
Sophia slammed her elbow into Sammy’s chest hard enough to break free temporarily, but he caught her again almost instantly.
“You’re more like your mother than I expected,” he muttered angrily.
Across the room, Thompson looked up.
And saw Samuel holding her.
Something terrifying changed in his expression.
Cold rage disappeared.
What replaced it was worse.
Fury.
Within seconds, Thompson crossed the room and punched Samuel hard enough to throw him against the fireplace.
Samuel crashed painfully to the floor.
Thompson immediately pulled Sophia behind him again.
“You okay?”
She nodded shakily.
But before either of them could move, flames suddenly spread across the curtains near the broken window.
Fire.
One of the gunshots had ignited the old fabric.
Smoke filled the room rapidly.
Samuel cursed loudly.
“Move!”
The manor erupted into panic.
Fire climbed the walls quickly while burning wood cracked overhead. Thompson grabbed Sophia’s hand tightly and pulled her toward the hallway.
The heat became unbearable almost instantly.
Behind them, Samuel shouted furiously as parts of the ceiling collapsed.
“Thompson!” Sophia cried.
“This way!”
They raced through smoke-filled corridors while flames consumed the surrounding manor. Downstairs, the grand staircase had already partially collapsed.
“We can’t get through!” Sophia shouted.
Thompson scanned the burning hallway desperately.
Then pointed toward a nearby window.
“Trust me.”
Without waiting, he wrapped an arm around her waist and crashed through the glass with her.
Cold air hit violently.
They landed painfully outside on wet grass as shattered glass scattered around them.
Sophia coughed hard, struggling for breath.
Behind them Ashford Manor burned against the dark sky like a dying memory.
Thompson immediately checked her for injuries.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
His hands trembled slightly while brushing ash from her face.
For a moment, neither of them noticed the fire anymore.
Only each other.
Rain began falling again softly around them.
Sophia looked at him through smoke and darkness.
“You loved me all this time.”
Thompson’s expression softened painfully.
“Yes.”
“Even after I forgot you?”
“I never expected you to remember.”
The honesty in his voice broke the last wall inside her heart.
She stepped closer slowly.
“You should’ve told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
His blue eyes met hers.
“That if you got close to me, you’d die too.”
Emotion tightened painfully in her chest.
Without thinking anymore, Sophia reached up and touched the cut near his eyebrow gently.
“You can’t protect everyone alone, Thompson.”
For once, he looked lost.
Not powerful.
Not dangerous.
Just tired.
So unbearably tired.
Then Sophia did something neither of them expected.
She kissed him.
Softly.
Briefly.
But enough to silence the storm between them.
Thompson froze completely.
The rain fell harder around them while the manor burned behind their backs.
When she pulled away, both of them breathed unevenly.
Then suddenly—
Sirens echoed through the forest nearby.
Thompson’s expression changed instantly.
Danger returned to his eyes.
“What is it?” Sophia asked.
He stared toward the burning manor.
“The
files.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What about them?”
Slowly, Thompson reached inside his coat.
Empty.
The evidence was gone.
And somewhere inside the burning mansion, Samuel Vale was still alive.
- Writer
