Chapter 1: The Face Beneath the Floor
The screen flickered beneath the piano.
Emma froze.
Her stepmother’s face filled the hidden display—calm, composed, almost bored—as if she weren’t standing in a mansion being looted.
“Proceed to the east wing,” the stepmother said into a phone. “She’s under the piano. Confirmed.”
Emma’s breath caught.
Outside, footsteps shifted direction immediately.
They weren’t searching randomly anymore.
They knew exactly where she was.
“Daddy…” Emma whispered, voice trembling.
Her father’s response came through the hidden speaker beneath the piano—steady, controlled.
“Don’t move. Don’t make a sound.”
A crash echoed through the hallway. A vase shattered. Men were getting closer.
Emma pressed herself tighter into the shadows under the instrument.
On the screen, her stepmother turned slightly—and smiled.
“She’s smarter than I thought,” the woman said. “That means we end this faster.”
Emma’s father finally spoke again, colder this time.
“Emma. Listen carefully. You are not the target.”
Emma blinked.
“What?”
“The safe is already empty,” he said. “They were never here for money.”
A heavy silence fell in the line.
May you like
Then—
“For you.”
