HAZEL'S POV:"TELL ME, I'M I A CLONE?!" I asked. Silence. The bastard whom I called Father refused to speak. He couldn't even look me in the eyes. "Answer me," I raised my voice. "I need to know if my life has always been a lie."Father kept quiet. Then for the first time since we met, he met my gaze. "Clones have surgical marks on their chest," he said. "If you were a clone, you'd have one on you."Neither Nikolai nor I saw any need to check. We both knew I don't have surgical marks on my chest. "Now you have your answers," Father said. "You're my original daughter.""And how are we certain you're the original Arthur Flamecrest and not a clone?" Nikolai asked. Father unbuttoned his shirt and showed us his chest. "Take a good look."He was real enough. He wasn't a clone. I buried my face in my hands. My brains couldn't process the truth. "How could you," I didn't recognize my voice. It was filled with rage. "You hired Nikolai to murder our family just so you could keep the min
NIKOLAI'S POV:We've walked right into a trap. I could tell because the evidences were staring right at us in the face. Hazel was shaken, but I give her credit for remaining calm. "A bomb," Hazel said. "Why would anyone plant a bomb in the study of all places?""Because they knew we'll come here," I answered her question, my brain thinking fast. "This is probably the only room in the chateau that leads us right into the tunnel.""So if we attempt to force our way through the secret passage, the bomb gets triggered and explodes."I smiled. "You're incredibly smart for figuring that out. But if my hunch is correct, they're probably waiting for us to walk in the study, then they'll blow the entire place up.""We have to get out of here," she said, alarm jumping in her eyes. "And fast.""I couldn't agree more," I rushed up to her and picked her up in my arms. Before she could protest, I sprinted out of the study and ran down the stairs as fast as I could. We hadn't reached the landing
HAZEL'S POV:Nikolai had a somber expression on his face as he finished confessing to me. I stared at him for the longest time possible, my jaws ajar. The silence between us was grave and packed with tension. Nikolai pulled up before the rusty gates of the abandoned chateau. I had been so engrossed by his revelation I forgot we had arrived at my family's domain. "We're here," he said, killing the engine and leaning back on his seat. "If you've got something to say to me, say it."I had a million things to say but I couldn't find the words nor the voice. "You're not kidding about what you said about my father, right?" I asked in a crooked voice I didn't recognize was my own.He nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm not kidding."I exhaled the air I held in my lungs. It all made total sense now. I had been vengeful against the wrong man all these time. The true villian here was my late father. He orchestrated everything. The rain had built up more fiercer than ever but inside the car, it was
NIKOLAI'S POV:5 years ago....I arrived at Emberfalls with my father's two best men before dusk, and stayed at the local hotel. My instructions were simple; eliminate the Flamecrest family. Having a lot of time on my hands, I scouted the small town and interacted with the old men at the pubs. I learnt quite a lot about the Flamecrest family. There was a revolution about revoking the monarchy system in Emberfalls. Everyone wanted a fresh start with their mysterious ruler out of the way. Initially, I thought eliminating the Flamecrest family would be doing the people a big favour, and the client, whoever he may be, would benefit from their demise. Little did I know the client who wanted the Flamecrest family dead was none other than Arthur Benjamin Flamecrest. Just before sunset, I received a cryptic text message from the client to meet him at the forest. Following his directions, I met him after dark in the forest. There was a heavy rainfall but that didn't stop our meeting f
NIKOLAI'S POV:Hazel was awfully quiet as we drove away from Richard's resident. It was a full moon night but it looked like it might rain later. Dark clouds were forming, gradually obscuring the moon from sight. We were alone in the car; I had instructed Kwame and Vladimir to stay behind and wait for us. Where were we going? The Flamecrest chateau. A narrow road led deep inside the forest. The deeper we drove the more quieter and eerie it gets. "You know, now that I think about it," Hazel began, breaking the silence. "Lord Richard maybe right after all. I am a devil."I glanced at her. She was leaning her head against the window, her eyes sad. "What makes you say that?" I asked. "As far as I remember," she began softly. "I never had any friends. Mom and Dad never let me and my brothers play with the other kids. We were isolated from everyone else.""That must be hard," I managed to say. Hazel continued. "My brothers and I were home schooled. We had this big open field where w
HAZEL'S POV:Emberfalls, a small quiet kingdom was ruled solely by the Flamecrest family for ten generations. It's landscape was dominated by vast forests and planes surrounded by tranquil waters. It's populace were mostly farmers and fishermen with a modest number of just five hundred people. Deep in the hearts of the forest was my family's home— the Flamecrest domain. It's a chateau built by the first king of Emberfalls. The chateau had been standing there for ten generations without collapsing but now it's nothing more but an abandoned building. "A new Lord assumed control over Emberfalls days after your family's demise, isn't that right?" Nikolai asked as we drove into town. We had touched down into the UK after an eight hours flight."His name's Lord Richard," I answered. "He's been in a long-standing political conflict with my father for years over the kingdom's ownership."Nikolai lit up a cigarette. "Tell me what happened after that night?"I turned to stare at Nikolai