THE FAKE HEIRESS and Her OBSESSIVE BROTHER

"Vivian, darling, where are you hiding?"Damian's voice drifted up the staircase, smooth as honey and twice as sweet. Vivian paused with her hand on the attic door, her heart stuttering for reasons she couldn't name. She'd been exploring the old part of the mansion again, the sections her brother had sealed off years ago."Up here," she called back, her voice steady despite the strange flutter in her chest. "Just looking through some old things."She heard his footsteps on the stairs. Slow. Deliberate. The rhythm of a man who never hurried for anyone, least of all his little sister. Vivian turned back to the dusty boxes stacked against the wall, her fingers trailing over faded labels and forgotten memories.The attic had always been off-limits. Damian had made that clear when she was twelve, after she'd found an old photograph of their parents. He'd taken it from her, his expression unreadable, and locked the attic door for years. But the lock had broken last week, and Vivian's curios

"You look just like her."Damian's voice was soft, almost reverent. He stood in the doorway of Vivian's bedroom, his silver-grey eyes fixed on her face with an intensity that made her stomach tighten. She'd been packing her bag, preparing to leave, when he'd appeared without warning."Like who?" she asked, though she already knew the answer."Emilia." He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "The same hair. The same eyes. The same way you tilt your head when you're confused." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I thought I was losing my mind when I first saw you. I thought she'd come back to me."Vivian's grip tightened on the bag. "I'm not her, Damian. I never was.""I know that now." He walked toward her, slow and deliberate. "But when I first found you, I convinced myself you were a gift. A second chance. A way to undo what I'd done.""What you'd done?" She stepped back, her spine hitting the wall. "What did you do?"He stopped a few feet away, his expression un

"You've been busy, Vivian."The voice came from behind her, smooth and cold. Vivian's blood turned to ice. She spun around, her heart slamming against her ribs. Damian stood in the doorway of the library, his silver-grey eyes fixed on her face. He was holding something in his hand. A photograph.Her photograph."I was just—" she started, but the words died in her throat."Looking for answers?" He stepped into the room, his footsteps slow and deliberate. "I told you not to open that door, Vivian. I warned you what would happen if you kept digging.""You didn't warn me about anything," she said, her voice shaking. "You just told me to stay away from the attic. You never told me why.""Because you weren't ready." He stopped a few feet away, holding up the photograph. "You found these, didn't you? The photographs."She didn't answer. She didn't need to."Who are they?" she asked instead. "Who are all those women?"Damian's expression didn't change. "You always ask the wrong questions, Viv

"Hello, Vivian."Damian's voice slithered through the payphone receiver, smooth and cold. Vivian's blood turned to ice. She gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles went white. Her mind raced, searching for an escape, a way to disconnect, a way to disappear into the night before he could find her again."How did you find me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible."Did you really think a hidden passage would stop me?" His voice was almost amused, as if she were a child playing a game she couldn't win. "I've known about that passage since I was young, Vivian. I've known every secret in this house. Every hiding place. Every escape route." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "I'll let you find it."Her stomach dropped. The world tilted beneath her feet. "You let me escape?""I wanted to see if you'd actually go through with it." His tone was soft, almost tender, like he was speaking to a frightened animal. "I wanted to see how badly you wanted to leave me."She pressed her palm to