Chapter 2 - The Stolen Life
Elara dropped the metal lockbox onto the thick Persian rug.
The heavy thud seemed to echo endlessly in the massive bedroom.
Victoria picked up the charred death certificate with perfectly manicured fingers.
She did not look angry or surprised by the intrusion.
Instead she looked like a predator playing with a trapped mouse.
Elara backed away slowly until her spine hit the cold stone wall.
She demanded to know why her face was in that hidden box.
Victoria let out a dry laugh that sent shivers down Elara's spine.
The golden child explained that the Harrington empire required a perfect heir.
Twenty years ago a terrible fire destroyed the east wing of the estate.
The real Harrington daughter was presumed dead in the blazing inferno.
Richard Harrington could not risk losing his family legacy or his investors.
He quietly adopted an orphan who looked remarkably like his lost child.
That orphan was raised to be the flawless Victoria.
Elara stared at the star-shaped birthmark in the photograph.
Her mind raced as she connected the terrifying dots of her erased past.
She realized that she was the baby who survived the fire.
She had been discarded into the foster system so Richard could mold a fake heir instead.
Victoria stepped closer and whispered that Elara was a threat to everything she had built.
Elara swallowed hard and asked what Victoria planned to do with her.
The golden child casually walked over to her antique vanity mirror.
She opened a drawer and pulled out a heavy silver revolver.
Victoria aimed the weapon directly at Elara's chest.
She stated that ghosts should stay dead.
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A loud knock suddenly rattled the heavy oak bedroom door.
Richard Harrington's deep voice boomed from the hallway demanding to be let in.
