The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 353

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Chapter 353 Be Brave

Ethan

Victoria was pacing again, talking fast about phone calls and demands and making people pay for what they’d done. The fake Mia kept checking her watch and looking nervous, like she was starting to realize this plan wasn’t working the way they thought it would.

I was trying to listen and figure out what they really wanted, but mostly I was watching the room and thinking about exits. There was the door we came through, which was locked. There was the window, which Madison said was too high up. And there was another door on the far wall that Madison said connected to the next room.

If we could get to that door, maybe we could get to those servants‘ stairs Madison remembered. Maybe we could get to a phone and call real Mama, or maybe we could just get outside and run. But we’d have to wait until Victoria and the fake Mia weren’t watching us so close.

“The first call will be simple,” Victoria was saying. “Madison tells Mia that she’s safe but that she needs to follow instructions. No police, no calling Kyle, no trying to trace the call. Just do what we say and everyone stays safe.”

“And if she doesn’t?” the fake Mia asked.

Victoria’s smile was sharp and mean. “Then she loses more than just the children.‘

11

Alexander was sitting very still beside me, his eyes big and scared. He was finally starting to understand that this wasn’t a game or an adventure, that these grown–ups weren’t safe like the grown–ups we were used to.

“When do we make the call?” Madison asked in her small voice.

“Soon,”

“Victoria said. “But first, I need to make sure you understand how important this is. This is our chance to get back what was taken from us. Our chance to make things right.”

She knelt down in front of Madison, grabbing her shoulders too tight. “Madison, do you want Mommy to be happy again? Do you want us to have enough money to live in a nice house and buy pretty things and not worry all the time?”

Madison nodded, but I could see tears starting in her eyes.

“Then you have to help me. You have to be a good girl and do exactly what I say, even if you don’t understand why.” Victoria’s voice was getting higher and more desperate. “Because if you don’t help me, we’ll lose everything. Everything! And it will be your fault, just like it was your fault that your father got sick and-”

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Chapter 353 Be Brave

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“Don’t.” I said it before I could stop myself. “Don’t tell her that.”

“You little brat! You three little brats are going to disappear. Forever. And when people find out what happened, they’ll know it’s because Kyle Branson and his family are too selfish to help people who need it.”

Madison was crying now, quiet tears running down her cheeks. Alexander had moved so close to me that he was practically sitting in my lap.

“You’re scaring them,” the fake Mia said from her place by the window. “Victoria, this isn’t helping.”

“I don’t care if they’re scared!” Victoria shouted. “They should be scared! Do you know what I’ve lost because of their family? My house, my money, my reputation, my freedom! I spent months in jail because of them!”

She was pacing again, her movements jerky and wild. “Thomas chose her over me. Everyone chose them over us, over what’s right and fair!”

Madison was shaking now, still clutching her backpack. “Mommy,” she whispered, “I want to go home.”

“This is your home!” Victoria screamed. “This is all we have left!”

She grabbed Madison’s shoulders again, shaking her. “You don’t have another home! You don’t have anyone else who loves you the way I do! Those people just felt sorry for you!”

“Stop it!” I jumped up from the bed, my hands clenched into fists. “You’re hurting her!”

Alexander was making small scared sounds, and Madison was crying harder now. The fake Mia was saying something about calming down, about sticking to the plan, but Victoria wasn’t listening to anybody.

“You know what?” Victoria said, her voice getting cold and sharp. “Maybe you need to understand exactly how serious this situation is.”

She walked to the door, then turned back to look at us. “No more nice room. No more toys. You want to act like ungrateful little brats? Fine. Let’s see how you like spending the night in the basement.”

The basement was dark and cold and smelled like old water and mice. There was one tiny window way up high that didn’t let in much light, and the walls were made of stone that felt damp and slimy when you touched them.

Victoria had pushed us down the wooden stairs, then slammed the door at the top and locked it with a loud click. We could hear her footsteps walking away, leaving us alone in the scary dark.

“I can’t see anything,” I whispered.

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“Hold my hand,” I said. “Madison, take my other hand. We’ll stay together.”

Alexander

“I can’t see anything,” I whispered.

“Hold my hand,” Ethan said. “Madison, take my other hand. We’ll stay together.”

Madison was still crying, but quieter now, like she was trying to be brave. “I’m sorry,” she kept saying. “I’m sorry she’s so mean. I’m sorry she hurt you, Ethan.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ethan said, and I could tell he was trying to sound brave even though his voice was shaky. “None of this is your fault.”

We found a corner that felt a little warmer and sat down together on the cold floor. Madison sat between me and Ethan, and we shared our body heat like penguins in those nature movies.

“Ethan,” I said, “my face is scared.”

“Your face?”

“It feels scared. Like it’s making a scared face even though I don’t want it to.” I touched my cheeks, which felt hot and tight. “Is that normal?”

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “That’s normal. Being scared makes your face feel funny sometimes.‘

“Are you scared too?”

“Yeah. But being scared is okay. Mama told us that, remember? She said being scared just means you understand that something is dangerous, and understanding danger helps you stay safe.”

That made me feel a little bit better. If being scared was normal and okay, then maybe I wasn’t being a baby.

“Madison,” I said, “are you okay?”

“No,” she whispered. “I’m not okay. My mommy is sick, and when she gets sick like this, she does really bad things.”

“What kind of bad things?”

Madison was quiet for a long time. When she finally talked, her voice was so small I had to lean close

to hear her.

“She makes people disappear,” Madison said. “When I was really little, before Daddy got sick, there was a man who worked for Daddy who made Mommy angry. She said he was stealing money and that Daddy was too trusting to see it. But then one day the man just… wasn’t there anymore. And

Chapter 353 Be Brave

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when I asked Daddy where he went, Daddy looked really sad and said sometimes people have to go away when they make big mistakes.”

“Maybe he just moved to a different city,” I said, because that seemed more normal than the scary thing Madison was thinking.

“Maybe.” But Madison didn’t sound like she believed it.

Ethan was being very quiet, which meant he was thinking hard about something important.

“Madison,” Ethan said finally, “do you remember how to get to those servant stairs you talked about?”

“From here?” Madison looked around at the dark basement. “Maybe. There used to be a door down here that connected to the kitchen storage room. But it might be locked.”

“Can you find it?”

Madison stood up carefully, feeling her way along the wall with her hands. Me and Ethan followed her, staying close so we wouldn’t get lost in the dark.

“Here,” Madison said after we’d walked around most of the room. “There’s a door here. But it’s

locked.”

I felt around the door with my hands. It was old and wooden, and the metal handle was cold and rusty. But there was a little bit of space between the door and the frame, like maybe the wood had gotten warped from all the dampness.

“Maybe we can push it open,” I said.

“Alexander, you’re too little,” Ethan said. “Let me try.”

But I was already pushing against the door with my shoulder, using all my strength. It didn’t budge at first, but then I felt it give just a tiny bit.

“It moved!” I said excitedly. “It moved just a little!”

Ethan came over and pushed with me, and Madison pushed too even though she was the smallest. We pushed and pushed until finally, with a loud crack, the old lock broke and the door swung open.

On the other side was another dark room, but this one smelled different–like old food and cleaning supplies instead of dampness and fear.

“This is the storage room,” Madison whispered. “The stairs to the kitchen are right over there.”

We felt our way across the room, bumping into shelves and boxes, until we found another door. This one wasn’t locked, and when we opened it, we could see a little bit of light coming down from

Chapter 353 Be Brave

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