Chapter 3: The Boy Who Came Back From The Dead
1020 Words
Some people survive tragedies; others become them.
Aria lay awake in the darkness, sleep eluding her as if it feared the nightmares lurking within her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, vivid images flooded her senses: the grainy footage replaying relentlessly, her father’s panicked face, her mother’s trembling voice, and those dark, penetrating eyes staring at her through the rain-soaked window.
The words echoed loudly in her mind, a cruel mantra she couldn’t escape: "The child died in the fire." It haunted her—replaying endlessly, each repetition chiseling away at her resolve.
By 3:17 a.m., exhaustion finally overwhelmed her, and she surrendered to the silent darkness. Slipping quietly from her room, her oversized hoodie hanging loosely off one shoulder, she moved through the mansion. The Vale estate was eerily quiet, the vast corridors and cold marble floors amplifying a sense of emptiness that felt almost supernatural.
As she passed her father’s office on the lower floor, a sudden murmur of voices halted her steps. She paused, ears strained to catch the words.
"This should’ve stayed buried," a stern voice hissed.
Carefully, Aria inched closer, her breath hitching. Inside the dimly lit office, another voice responded, calm yet heavy with underlying tension.
"The leak wasn’t random. Whoever released that footage wanted chaos," Marcus Reed stated softly, the weight of his words clear.
"And they succeeded," Adrian snapped, slamming a glass onto a nearby table.
Aria crouched low near the doorway, heart pounding. The conversation continued, Marcus’s voice steady and measured.
"This isn’t just about a leak. It’s about a boy. The one we should’ve dealt with years ago."
A cold shiver ran down her spine at the mention of his name. Her pulse quickened.
"He was only ten,” Vanessa said sharply from within the office, her tone icy. “Not a threat."
"Apparently, he is now," Marcus replied quietly.
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken threats. Then Marcus broke the quiet again.
"He’s been building dangerous connections in Bellmont’s underground scene—clubs, secret parties, dealers. And wealthy kids with powerful parents, too."
Aria’s stomach clenched. She could feel the weight of those words—intent, strategy, a dangerous game unfolding.
"He’s smarter than his father ever was,” Marcus added quietly.
Her father cursed softly under his breath, a rare display of irritation.
“Then eliminate him," Vanessa said, her voice icy yet commanding.
"We’ve tried," Marcus admitted, the words hanging heavily in the air.
Suddenly, Aria was struck by a horrifying realization: they weren’t afraid because Kael had exposed them; they were terrified because they had already tried and failed to eliminate him once.
A floorboard creaked beneath her foot. Silence. Then—a faint whisper.
“Someone’s outside."
Her heart stopped. The office chair screeched loudly as someone moved.
Without a second thought, she bolted, her footsteps echoing loudly as she ascended the staircase. Upstairs, her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"ARIA!" Her father's voice rang out, calm but urgent, just as she slammed her door shut. Heavy footsteps approached the hallway outside.
Minutes felt like hours before they stepped back, and her father’s measured voice eased through the door.
"We’ll talk tomorrow."
Not angry, not shouting—yet the calmness seemed almost colder.
Aria backed away slowly, her breath ragged, her mind spinning with questions. What had her family been involved in? Who exactly was Kael Rivers?
Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her hoodie pocket. The screen displayed an unknown number.
She hesitated, then answered cautiously.
"Hello?" she whispered.
A soft, unsettling melody blared from the speaker—laughter, party noises, faint voices. Then a low, smooth voice spoke, laced with menace.
“You should really stop eavesdropping on murder discussions.”
Her grip tightened around the phone. Fear prickled up her spine.
“How did you get this number?" she demanded, voice trembling.
A chuckle responded.
“That’s your first question?"
Her heart hammered wildly.
"You’re Kael. I know it’s you."
“You’ve been busy tonight,” he said lazily, almost amused. "Crying, panicking, discovering your parents might be monsters.”
"Who are you?" she demanded, voice strained.
Silence stretched before he responded, quiet but possessive.
"You already know."
Something was unsettling in his tone—an edge of calm that sharpened with years of hatred.
"You’re lying. My parents didn’t kill anyone," she whispered fiercely.
A soft, colder laugh answered her.
"That’s cute.”
Swallowing hard, she pressed on. "What do you want from me?"
The background music swelled briefly—shouting, glasses clinking—before his voice softened again.
"Honestly? First, revenge."
The honesty struck her like a blow.
"Revenge?" she repeated softly.
A long pause followed, laden with tension.
"Now? I’m curious," he said finally.
Before she could respond, the line went dead.
Aria stared at her phone, her heart pounding fiercely. Then, another message arrived instantly—a photo.
Tentatively, she opened it. Her blood ran cold.
It was a shot of her bedroom window, taken from outside, right at that very moment.
She spun around in terror. The curtains near her balcony fluttered in the wind.
Shaking, she stepped closer—carefully—then pulled the curtain aside. No one was there. The balcony was dark and empty, rain softly falling over Bellmont.
Exhaling shakily, her gaze landed on something resting against the balcony door—a black velvet box.
Her hands trembled as she reached for it. Inside was an expensive-looking silver lighter, engraved with a chilling message:
"Pretty girls should never trust boys with fire."
Beneath the lighter, there was a second photograph—older and more faded around the edges. It depicted a young woman named Vanessa Vale standing beside another woman whom Aria had never seen before. Both women were smiling warmly, their bodies visibly pregnant, hinting at the anticipation of new life. The back of the photograph bore a handwritten note in faded ink: "Vanessa Vale & Nora Rivers, Best friends forever."
Aria's breath caught as a wave of emotion hit her. Nora Rivers—Kael’s mother—her memory vivid and poignant, now connected to this intimate moment captured in time.
- Writer
