Chapter 2: Going back

A quiet click echoed around the room. Estella's eyes widened when a portion of the wall shifted and slid open, revealing a dark corridor. Her mother turned back to her.

"Every room in this house has hidden escape routes, known only to me and your father." Her expression clouded. "And Victor doesn't know about them." For the first time that night, Estella sensed a ray of optimism."Then let's go."

Estella's pulse hammered as she followed her mother down the covert escape path. The tight tunnel was damp and cold, but neither of them paused. They had no time.

When her mother reached the end of the passage, she pushed open the hidden exit and stepped into the dimly illuminated hallway leading outside their home. Estella followed closely, her breath weak from terror.

As soon as they stepped out, her mother took the lead, quickly turning a corner. However, as soon as she emerged, she encountered a demon wolf.

The beast was gigantic, its bright red eyes staring at her mother with predatory glee. Its mouth curved into a nasty smile, with jagged yellow teeth gleaming in the moonlight. The stink of decay lingered on its breath as it talked.

"Going somewhere?" It rasped, its voice resembling nails on stone. Estella's mother pushed her backward, driving her into the shadows before the thing could see her.

Estella clenched her lip to avoid gasping as she stared in horror. The demon wolf lunged out and grabbed her mother by the hair, pulling her close. Her mother winced but did not cry out. The thing grinned, its claws clamping brutally into her hair as it dragged her forward.

Estella's hands tightened into fists. Every fiber of her being shouted for her to rush out and aid her mother. But as she moved ahead, her mother caught her eye. Don't. Her lips formed a whispered word.

Her eyes, intense despite the anguish, begged Estella. Run. Don't you dare come out. Estella felt her breath catch. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, but she remained immobile and did not make a sound. Once the demon wolf dragged her mother away, she turned and left.

Estella skidded to a halt, her legs quivering from the exhausting dash through the dark woodland. The night air was thick with the aroma of damp earth, and her heart was racing in her chest.

She had escaped as instructed, sprinting as far and as quickly as her legs could carry her. But now, standing alone beneath the canopy of tangled branches, she realized something unbearable: she had no idea what had happened to her mother.

Her fingers dug into the bark of a nearby tree as she squeezed her eyes shut. Keep running. That was what her mother would have wanted. If she went back and got caught, her mother's sacrifice would be in vain. She knew this. Knew that turning around was foolish.

And yet…

The image of her mother's angry and determined visage blazed in her head. The thought of never knowing, of leaving her behind without even a farewell glance, tore at her insides.

She was unable to do it. She would not do it. With a sudden intake of air, she turned on her heel and rushed back the way she had come, her motions quieter this time, her thoughts sharper from fear and desperation.

She braced herself against the solid trunk of a fallen tree as a pair of demon wolves approached dangerously close, their brilliant red eyes scouring the darkness. "She couldn't have gone that far," one of them growled. "Find her."

Estella swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain still. As they proceeded on, she glided through the underbrush, her steps light and precise. Every rustling leaf and crack of a twig seemed loud, yet she refused to stop.

Estella knelt low in the foliage, her breath scarcely audible as she watched another patrol of demon wolves slink by her house.

Their bright crimson eyes probed the darkness, looking and waiting. The aroma of blood lingered in the air, a terrible reminder of what had transpired here.

She forced herself to remain still until they left, then crept closer, brushing against the cold stone wall of the house.

She entered the house's hallway right away, and the shadows hugged her as she stroked her fingertips down the uneven surface, searching.

She put her palm against an almost imperceptible indentation. A soft click echoed, and a portion of the wall quietly slid open, showing the narrow tunnel she had previously used to escape.

"Moon Goddess, if you have never listened to me, listen now. Please, let her still be locked in her room and not taken somewhere worse."

She swallowed hard, pushing away the suffocating fear that clawed at her throat. Steeling herself, she reached for the hidden mechanism embedded in the wall.

With careful precision, she pressed her fingers against the right spot, hearing the faintest click as the secret door opened. Her pulse quickened as she prepared to step in, but then a voice froze her in place.

"…You know what will happen if you don't tell me what I want, don't you?" Estella's blood ran cold. That's Victor's voice.

She could hardly breathe as she held the door open just a crack, straining to hear. "I told you," her mother said, her voice hoarse but defiant. "I don't know where she is." Victor gave a slow, amused chuckle. "You're a terrible liar."

Estella crouched in the cramped darkness of her hiding place, her breath shallow as she listened intently. The voices beyond the walls were clear—Victor's deep, simmering tone and her mother's tense silence.

"Do you know why I hated Joan?" Victor's voice was eerily calm, yet there was an edge to it, sharp as a dagger poised to strike. Estella's mother gave no response. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.