Chapter 2 - The Shattered Mirror
The air in the apartment seemed to freeze solid as Liam stared down at the white shape lying motionless in the snow-dusted grass below. His breath hitched in his throat, a ragged, suffocating sound.
"Nora!" he screamed, the sound tearing from his lungs and echoing off the brick walls of the neighboring buildings.
He didn't wait for the elevator. He bolted down the hallway, his bare feet slapping against the cold linoleum, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Gwen’s bedroom door flew open behind him, her voice calling out in a mix of irritation and sudden alarm, but he ignored her. Nothing mattered but the white shape in the dark.
He burst through the lobby doors into the biting November air. The frost bit into his skin, but he didn't feel it. He sprinted around the perimeter of the building toward the patch of grass beneath their third-floor balcony.
When he reached the spot, he threw himself onto his knees, his hands trembling violently. But as he reached out, his fingers didn't meet the cold skin of his wife. They met fabric.
It was Nora’s heavy white winter coat. It was soaked through with freezing water, arranged on the ground to look like a fallen body from afar. Tied to the collar with a piece of rough twine was her wedding ring, its diamond catching the dim light of the streetlamp. Tucked inside the band was a small, damp piece of paper.
Liam’s hands shook so badly he nearly tore the note as he unfolded it. The handwriting was unmistakably Nora’s, though the letters were jagged, written in haste and overwhelming distress.
Liam, You believed her. Without a second thought, you locked me out in the cold. You thought those $8,000 were a betrayal, but they were the price of your sister’s silence. Gwen knew what happened to my brother. She threatened to destroy my family if I didn't pay her. I gave her everything I had saved to protect them, and yet she still poisoned your mind. The water you see isn't from the sky—it's from the ice your sister carries in her heart. Do not look for me. You chose your blood. Now, I choose my survival.
Liam sat in the freezing mud, the note clutching tightly in his fist. The realization hit him like a physical blow. The transfers. The $8,000. It wasn't sent to Nora’s mother for some selfish whim; it had been coerced out of her. And the account he didn't recognize? It wasn't Nora's mother's account. It was a dummy account Gwen had set up.
A shadow fell over him. He looked up to see Gwen standing a few feet away, her arms crossed, a heavy coat thrown over her shoulders. She looked down at the coat on the ground, then at the ring in Liam's hand.
"Well," Gwen said, her voice tight but attempting to sound dismissive. "It looks like she staged a little drama to make you feel guilty. See? I told you she was manipulative."
Liam stood up slowly. For the first time in his life, he didn't see the protective older sister who had helped raise him. He saw a monster.
"You did this," Liam whispered, his voice dangerously low.
"Liam, don't be ridiculous—"
"You blackmailed her!" he roared, stepping into her space. The sheer rage in his eyes made Gwen take a step back, her confidence wavering. "The $8,000. It was for you. What did you do to her, Gwen? Where is my wife?!"
"I didn't do anything!" Gwen snapped, recovering her sharp demeanor. "She's a liar, Liam! She's trying to turn you against your own family!"
"You are not my family anymore," Liam said, his voice dropping to a deadly, cold calm. He picked up Nora’s wet coat, clutched the wedding ring tightly in his palm, and walked past his sister without looking back.
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He went back up to the apartment, his mind racing. The wet trail. The note said the water wasn't from the sky. He looked at the floor of the apartment again. The trail of water didn't start from the balcony and go out; it started from the bathroom, led out to the balcony, and then back toward the front door. Nora had deliberately soaked her coat using the bathtub, laid the trail to terrify him, and fled into the night while he was asleep.
She was gone. But more importantly, she was terrified—not just of him, but of whatever secret Gwen was using to destroy her.
