Chapter 4 - Breaking Open the Forbidden Door
He took the stairs two at a time, his boots pounding against the plush red runner with righteous, unstoppable momentum.
Behind him, the stepmother hurried up the steps, her breath coming in ragged, panicky gasps as she chased after him.
The father reached the second-floor landing and scanned the long, dimly lit hallway flanked by expensive oil paintings.
At the very end of the corridor stood a heavy oak door fitted with a modern industrial keypad and deadbolt lock.
That was the door where the heavy thud had originated just moments earlier, sealing away whatever secret she guarded so fiercely.
The father walked straight toward it, ignoring the stepmother as she grabbed his shoulder with desperate, clawing fingers.
“Don't touch that lock! You’ll regret opening that door!” she screamed, tears of sheer desperation spilling down her cheeks.
The father shrugged her off with a single sharp motion, spinning around to face her with absolute disgust.
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“You locked my son away, didn't you?” the father accused, his voice shaking with the effort not to commit murder.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, her guilt bleeding through every cracked defense she attempted to mount.
