Chapter 3 - The Ghost of the Past
Emily stared at the older woman in sheer confusion.
"Before who finds me?" Emily asked, her voice echoing in the massive foyer.
Julian quickly grabbed his mother’s arm and pulled her into an adjacent parlor room.
"Daniel, take Emily and Lily to the grand library and lock the doors," Julian commanded sharply.
Daniel nodded and quickly escorted them down a long, dimly lit hallway.
The library was massive, featuring a roaring fireplace and thousands of leather-bound books.
Lily eagerly pulled Emily toward a comfortable velvet sofa near the fire.
"Don't mind my grandmother, she is always grumpy on holidays," the little girl smiled.
Lily reached under a heavy wooden coffee table and pulled out a dusty leather photo album.
"I want to show you pictures of my mom," Lily said proudly.
Emily sat down, grateful for the innocent distraction from the terrifying events outside.
Lily flipped open the heavy pages, revealing dozens of photographs of a beautiful, smiling woman.
Emily’s breath completely stopped in her throat.
Her hands began to shake so violently that she dropped the album onto the floor.
The woman in the photographs was not a stranger.
It was Emily’s older sister, Sarah, who had vanished without a trace exactly ten years ago.
"This is impossible," Emily gasped, falling to her knees to pick up the picture.
The door to the library suddenly unlocked, and Julian walked into the room.
He saw Emily crying on the floor, clutching the photograph to her chest.
"Emily, what is wrong?" Julian asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.
Emily looked up at him, tears of anger and shock streaming down her face.
"Your dead wife was my missing sister," Emily choked out.
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Julian’s face went completely blank with shock.
Before he could even respond, the reinforced glass windows of the library violently shattered inward.
