Traitors Begging In The Snow

In my past life, my brother Simon had a peta fragile, wide-eyed girl named Isabella who claimed she wanted to see a meteor shower. To satisfy her whim, Simon took every single one of our familys security detail and drove out to the countryside to curate a private celestial event just for her.

He didnt care that hed spent the last year ruthlessly dismantling a rival firm, leaving a trail of desperate, vengeful enemies in his wake. One of those enemies saw the opening. They broke into our estate, intent on a massacre.

My mother died protecting me. She took the blade meant for my heart, her life slipping away in my arms while I frantically called Simon. When he finally deigned to return with the guards, it was too late. The killers were caught, but then came the "tragedy" from the hills. Isabella had vanished, leaving behind a tear-stained suicide note.

In that letter, she blamed me. She claimed I had orchestrated the security withdrawal to "bully" her, that I had lured the killers to the house to spite her, and that she couldn't live with the guilt. Simon didn't cry for Mom. Instead, he coldly burned the letter and told me not to "overthink it."

He waited. He played the grieving son until my father, blinded by the loss of his wife, promised to hand the family empire to me. Then, on the night of my celebration gala, Simon walked into my bedroom. He didn't say a word as he ended my life. His face was a mask of ice.

"A monster like you deserves to stay dead," hed whispered as the light faded from my eyes. "The inheritance was always meant for me."

I died with my eyes wide open.

And then, I woke up. The sound of the heavy iron gates being rammed open echoed through the halls of the estate.

1.

The thunderous crash of the front gates being forced open jolted me out of the suffocating sensation of dying. I lunged forward, grabbing my mother just as she was about to rush into the hallway to investigate.

"Maddy, whats going on?" she gasped, her eyes wide with a terror she couldn't quite hide.

She didn't know yet. She didn't know that Simon had stripped the house bare of protection for the sake of his "precious" Isabella.

"Mom, Simon took the security. All of them. Its just us," I hissed, dragging her into my bedroom and slamming the door. I turned the deadbolt, my lungs burning as I shoved the heavy mahogany dresser against the door.

"What? Thats impossible," she stammered, her voice trembling. "Simon is sensible. He wouldn't leave us defenseless."

She didn't want to believe it. In her eyes, the Sterlingno, the Victorlegacy was built on safety and order. But she saw my face, pale as a ghost, and the way my hands shook as I strained against the furniture. The dresser screeched against the hardwood, leaving deep, ugly gouges.

"Call him! Tell him to get back here now!" Mom urged.

I didn't answer. I just stared at the door. My fingers flew across my phone screen, dialing 911. I gave the operator our address and a frantic summary of the situation. I couldn't rely on Simon. In my last life, he came back just late enough for Mom to bleed out.

My heart sank. A heavy blizzard had closed the mountain passes. We were in a secluded estate on the ridge; the nearest precinct was miles away through the snow.

Bang!

The bedroom door shuddered under a massive blow. I threw my body weight against the dresser, the tide of memories threatening to drown me. That was when Moms call to Simon finally connected.

"Simon! You have to come home! There are people in the housetheyre breaking in!" she screamed into the phone.

His voice came through the speaker, drawling and irritated. "Mom, stop the drama. Im in the middle of Isabellas birthday dinner. Ill be back tomorrow."

"Im not lying! Theyre at the door! Simon, if you don't come back, youll find us in body bags!"

His tone turned frigid. "I know you hate Isabella, but this is pathetic. Don't use fake threats to ruin her night. And tell Maddy to stop her little games. Im not falling for it this time."

The line went dead. My blood turned to ice.

He remembered.

Simon was reborn too. But in his twisted mind, the massacre of our past life was a "trick" I had played to gain favor. He truly believed I had faked the attack.

The footsteps outside the door grew heavier. A rhythmic, mocking thud hit the wood, and the dresser began to slide inward.

"Found you," a raspy voice laughed from the hallway.

I pushed Mom toward the bed, my palms sweating. I looked at the widening crack in the doorframe. We were unarmed. We were cornered.

The door was finally forced ajar, the dresser screeching like a dying animal as it was shoved aside. A pair of mud-caked tactical boots stepped into the room.

"Thought a little furniture would stop us?" The man smirked, his eyes yellowed and predatory. He flicked open a switchblade, the steel glinting in the dim light. His gaze crawled over me. "Well, well. Didn't expect the little heiress to be such a prize."

Mom let out a piercing scream. "Don't touch her!"

I gritted my teeth, leaning close to her ear. "Mom, no matter what happens, stay out of it. Get to the window. Theres a safety trampoline in the garden belowjump. The snow will cushion the rest. Run to the neighbors. Find Nathaniel. Tell him to bring help."

"Maddy, I can't leave you!"

I gripped her wrist hard. "Go! If you stay, we both die. If you live, theres a chance."

The man lunged. Mom didn't jump. Instead, she threw herself at him, her fingers clawing at his arms, trying to drag him away from me.

"Run, Maddy! Run!"

"Mom, no!" I screamed.

I watched, paralyzed, as the man raised his hand. The blade buried itself into her back with sickening ease. The world turned red. My mother gasped, her grip on the mans waist tightening even as her strength failed.

"Jump!" she choked out. "Maddy, jump now!"

2.

The adrenaline hit like an electric shock. I knew I couldn't win a physical fight against three of them. I scrambled onto the windowsill and threw myself into the dark, freezing air.

I hit the garden trampoline with a bone-jarring thud. A sharp, white-hot pain exploded in my ankle, radiating up my leg. I didn't stop. I couldn't. I forced myself upright and began a frantic, limping sprint toward the neighboring estate.

The snow was waist-deep in some places, grinding against my bare, frozen feet until they were raw and bleeding. The neighbors house was nearly a mile away. Every breath felt like inhaling broken glass.

When I finally collapsed against Nathaniels front gate, I pounded on the iron bars with the last of my strength. "Nathaniel! Open the door! Please! Someones killing my mother!"

The gate buzzed and groaned open. Nathaniel stood in the entryway, wrapped in a plush cashmere coat, looking down at me with an expression of profound boredom.

"Maddy," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Your acting has certainly improved lately."

"Nathaniel, Im not joking! My mother has been stabbed! Please, send your security"

He looked at my shredded feet and the blood on my nightgown, but his lip just curled in a sneer. "Simon called me. He told me youd try some elaborate 'home invasion' stunt because you were jealous of the attention he was giving Isabella. I have to admit, the commitment to the bit is impressive."

"Forget Simon! Look at me!" I roared, my vision swimming. "I called the police! Theyre on their way, but they won't make it in time! My mom is dying!"

He didn't move. He leaned against the doorframe, checking his watch. "Calling the cops as part of the play? Thats bold. A bit too much, don't you think? Simon warned me not to let you manipulate me tonight."

"Nathaniel, youre insane! Its real!"

I tried to show him my phone, the outgoing 911 call, but he just turned away.

"Nathaniel, please! If you don't go now, shell die! We grew up together! Don't you have any soul left?"

He stopped and looked back, his eyes like flint. "Simon was specific, Maddy. He told me to let you 'simmer' in your own drama. Hes tired of your thirst for power."

The cruelty of it shattered something inside me. Before Isabella appeared, Nathaniel had been my rock. We were engaged. He had promised to protect me. But since Simon brought that girl home, everyone had changed. It was like they were all under a spell, blinded by her "purity" and Simons ego.

Simon had even destroyed a whole company because their CEOs dog shared a name with Isabellas pet. That was why the killers were in our house tonight.

I prostrated myself in the snow, sobbing, my forehead hitting the frozen ground. "Ill do anything. Ill break the engagement. Just go. Please."

Nathaniels butler, an older man who had known me since I was a child, stepped forward, looking pained. "Sir, perhaps we should check. Miss Maddy isn't one for lying about blood."

Nathaniel hesitated for a second. I seized the moment, banging my head against the stones. "Please. Please. Save her."

"Fine," Nathaniel sighed. "Ill take a few men over. But Maddy, if this is a lie, Im done. Ill make sure you regret wasting my time."

He ordered his men to the cars. As we moved, his phone rang. It was Simon. Nathaniel put it on speaker.

"Nathaniel? Maddy hasn't crawled over to you yet, has she?" Simons voice was light, amused. "The lunatic actually used Moms phone to call me and pretend there were killers in the house. Its hilarious. Shes getting desperate."

I felt the world tilt. My own brother was laughing while our mothers life leaked onto the bedroom floor.

"Simon, you're a monster!" I screamed at the phone. "I saw her get stabbed! You saw it all beforehow can you do this again?!"

He let out a dry, cold laugh. "Ah, still sticking to the script. I checked with Mrs. Higgins, the housekeeper. She said the house is quiet. Give it up, Maddy. You're the one whos dangerous. If anything happens to Mom, itll be your fault for playing these games."

The line went dead.

Mrs. Higgins had been on vacation for a week. Simon didn't even care enough to know who was in the house.

Nathaniels face hardened. He looked at me with pure disgust. "You orchestrated this. You even lied about the housekeeper. Im done. Guards, break her legs. Lets see how well she 'runs' for help then."

The guards hesitated. They knew my father.

"I said do it!" Nathaniel snapped. He grabbed a golf club from the umbrella stand near the door. He walked toward me, the "charming" fianc I once loved replaced by a cruel stranger. "If they won't teach you a lesson, I will."

I tried to crawl away, but he was faster. He swung. The metal cracked against my already injured left leg.

"AGH!"

The scream was ripped from my throat. I collapsed, the pain so intense I nearly blacked out.

"That's for the lie," he said coldly.

Suddenly, his phone chimed. He frowned, picking it up. It was a call from a local precinct.

"Hello? Is this Nathaniel Victor? Were looking for Madeline. We just arrived at the Sterling estate. The suspects fled after a shootout. We found a woman, Catherine Victor, in critical condition. Shes lost a massive amount of blood. We need family on site immediately."