Chapter 8: The Woman Behind the Curtain
Elena heard the explosion from upstairs.
She immediately grabbed Lily.
“Stay here.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
Elena opened the bedroom door.
A guard was lying unconscious in the hallway.
Her heart stopped.
Someone had entered the manor.
She pulled Lily behind her.
Footsteps echoed from downstairs.
Slow.
Calm.
Deliberate.
Elena’s instincts screamed at her.
Someone was coming.
She locked the door.
Then the lights went out.
Lily grabbed her hand.
“Mommy…”
“Don’t be scared.”
Elena searched for her phone.
Nothing.
Then she heard a voice from the hallway.
“Elena.”
Her blood turned cold.
She knew that voice.
It was impossible.
She slowly stepped toward the door.
The voice came again.
“You’ve been hiding for five years.”
Elena’s lips trembled.
“No…”
The door handle began turning.
“Open the door.”
Elena backed away.
Lily looked up at her.
“Who is it?”
Elena whispered,
“Your grandmother.”
The door burst open.
A woman stood in the darkness.
Older.
Pale.
But unmistakable.
Elena stared at her mother.
The woman smiled.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Elena couldn’t breathe.
“You died.”
Her mother stepped inside.
“I was never dead.”
“Why?”
“Because I was waiting.”
“For what?”
The woman looked at Lily.
“For my granddaughter.”
Elena pulled Lily behind her.
“You won’t touch her.”
Her mother laughed softly.
“Oh, Elena.”
She looked toward the hallway.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
The woman’s smile disappeared.
“Lily isn’t the reason they want you.”
Elena froze.
“Then what is she?”
Her mother looked directly into her eyes.
“She’s the key.”
—
