CHAPTER 3 — The Truth Beneath the Marble Floor
Night.
The ballroom was empty now.
Only footsteps echoed through the hall.
The man walked with the girl beside him.
She held his sleeve tightly.
Girl: “Are you really my brother?”
He looked down at her.
For the first time, his voice softened.
Man: “Yes.”
She hesitated.
Girl: “Then… why didn’t you come before?”
That question stopped him completely.
He knelt.
Eye level with her.
Man: “Because I didn’t know you existed.”
Her eyes trembled.
Girl: “Mom said you were gone too.”
His jaw tightened.
Man: “Mom…?”
He closed his eyes for a second.
Then whispered:
Man: “They lied to all of us.”
Behind them, footsteps echoed again.
Security rushed in.
But not for protection.
For containment.
A deep voice came from the top of the stairs.
Voice: “Bring her to me.”
The man slowly stood.
His expression changed.
Cold again.
Controlled again.
Dangerous now.
Man: “So you’re alive.”
The girl gripped his hand tighter.
Girl: “Who is that?”
He didn’t look away from the shadows above.
Man: “The man who buried our family alive.”
The lights flickered.
And for the first time—
May you like
the truth was no longer a secret.
It was a war starting.
