Chapter 4

I floated behind my three sisters, feeling nothing but a cold numbness.

Furious, they marched down to the basement door.

"Ethan! Stop hiding in there! You can't escape your punishment!" Victoria yelled.

Inside, there was only dead silence.

Melanie's face darkened.

"Ethan, stop acting! Get out here and kneel!"

"Don't think turning off your phone and ignoring us will make this go away!"

Serena was practically vibrating with rage.

"You've really outdone yourself, Ethan. You hate seeing us nice to Miles so much that you'd rather rot in there to spite us? Do you honestly think we'll beg you to come out?"

Still, silence.

Victoria turned to the shivering servants, her voice dripping with ice:

"Why are you all shaking? Tell me the truth. Did this brat bribe you? Did you let him out behind our backs?"

Melanie sneered:

"With his weak character, he probably couldn't handle the cold basement for more than an hour. He definitely paid them to let him out."

Serena looked thoroughly disgusted.

"He almost killed Miles, and now he won't even face the consequences. Is this the brother I grew up with? Does he think he's our only brother?"

Finally, the housekeeper stammered:

"No, Miss Victoria... we wouldn't dare disobey you. Master Ethan... he really has been inside for three whole days."

Serena looked at the silent basement door, and a sudden flicker of unease crossed her eyes.

She stepped forward and yanked on the latch, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Ethan, enough! I unlocked the chain! Stop holding the door from the inside!"

I looked at the warped, dented metal door and smiled sadly.

When I was suffocating, I had thrown my body against that door, desperate to survive. But it was too solid. I couldn't even make a crack. I was left to suffocate in the dark.

Sisters, once you see my body, will you show me a shred of love? Will you bury me next to our parents?

Victoria grew impatient. She raised her foot and kicked the door hard.

The warped door bent further, leaving a gap. Suddenly, a horrible, sickening stench wafted out.

The housekeeper gagged, trembling violently. "That... that smells like a corpse!"

Melanie and Serena marched up, still angry.

"What corpse? He probably escaped and left a dead rat in there to scare us!"

"Ethan, do you think we are fools?"

Furious, the three sisters kicked the door together. With a loud "CLANG", the door flew open.

A wave of putrid, suffocating rot blasted out, exposing the dark, cramped basement to the light.