Semua Bab Step Brother: I'll be your Regret : Bab 11 - Bab 16

(MALDIE POV)*************************************I barely managed to slip through the side entrance of the estate, my lungs burning from the sprint through the fog………… The silver key was still biting into the palm of my hand, a cold reminder of the vault and the nightmare I’d just escaped……. I just needed to get to my room…….I needed to lock the door and breathe.But the house wasn't empty.A hand, thick and calloused, shot out from the darkness of the West Wing corridor. It clamped around my throat…………not squeezing, but firm enough to kill my scream before it could leave my lips…... "Going somewhere, Maldie?"David. He didn't wait for an answer….. He hauled me backward, his fingers digging into the silk of my sleeves as he dragged me deeper into the shadows, far from the light of the main foyer. He moved with a predatory silence that made my skin crawl and tingle all at once. "David, let go! You’re hurting me!" I hissed, clawing at his forearm………... It was like trying to scratch

(MALDIE POV)***********************************The fluorescent lights of the Forestwood Academy cafeteria hummed with a predatory energy. I sat at a corner table, my fingers tracing the scarred wood, trying to keep my breathing steady. After the morning I’d had with Richard, the school was supposed to be a reprieve. It wasn't."Oh, look, the charity case is hungry," a voice drawled.I didn't have to look up to know it was Olive. She stood over me, flanked by her usual entourage of girls who smelled like expensive perfume and elitism. Olive reached down and snatched my brown paper bag—the meager lunch I’d packed myself because I didn't trust the staff at the mansion."Give it back, Olive," I said, my voice tight."This?" She held the bag up between two manicured fingers as if it were a biohazard. "Maldie, honey, you live in that massive hand-me-down mansion now. Surely Richard provides better than... What is this? A peanut butter sandwich?""It’s none of your business. Give it to me.

(MALDIE POV)The morning air felt like lead. Ten years. Ten years since the bridge, the water, and the silence that followed. I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the locket—the empty, bugged locket—and stared at the wall. My father’s birthday. The anniversary of his death. To the world, it was a tragedy. To me, it was the day the lights went out.I expected silence. I expected a day of mourning. Instead, I found a circus.When I walked downstairs, the mansion was buzzing. Caterers were scurrying through the halls with silver trays. Huge floral arrangements—lilies, his favorite, but arranged in a way that looked corporate and cold—lined the foyer."What is all this?" I asked, my voice sounding small against the clinking of crystal.Richard appeared, looking sharp in a bespoke suit. He smiled, that practiced, fatherly beam that now made my skin crawl. "Maldie! You’re finally up. It’s a big day. A celebration of life for your father. I’ve invited the board, the press, and the local e