“You’re delusional.” Noah told him. “After all this time, you still think my mother loves you, that she wants to be with you? You should know better than anyone, Thomas, Lilian Reaney would never marry a beta and she most certainly would never lower herself to marry a servant. You were nothing but a pawn to her, another piece to manipulate and move around the board. You are nothing to her, nothing but a tool to be used and then discarded when you’ve served your purpose. Wake up. You’re a beta that dreamed of being alpha but now that dream is over and it’s time to face reality.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes, his fists clenched at his sides. His smile faded, replaced by something much more sinister. “Lilian does love me.” He hissed. “She told me she loves me. She said we’d be together forever.”
“She lied to you.” Riley told him. “She’s been lying to you for years. And, like the pathetic little lap dog that you are, you believed her. I almost feel sorry for you.”
“You’re the pathetic one.” Thomas growled. “The both of you. Did you honestly think I’d let either of you leave here alive?”
Riley glanced at the tea again, certain now that it had been poisoned. “Looks like your plan failed.” Riley taunted. “I had a feeling not to trust you the moment I sat down. The way you kept pushing the tea on us, trying to get us to drink it. You gave yourself away.”
“I’m not a simpleton.” Thomas said. “I always have a back up plan.” Riley’s pulse quickened as Thomas’s hand disappeared into his pocket. He knew what was coming before he saw it–a gun.
“Thomas, think about what you’re doing. Do you honestly think that my mother will thank you for killing me? She loves me. I may be the one thing she loves more than herself. If you kill me, she will despise you. You’ll lose everything.”
Noah tried to reason with him but it was too late. The cold, gleaming barrel of the gun was already aimed directly at them. “No.” Thomas said, the desperation clear in his voice. He was on edge, uncertainty clouding his judgment as the fantasy he’d woven around himself began to unravel. “She’ll be heartbroken, lost in her grief but like always, I’ll be there to comfort her. She’ll fall into my arms and I’ll keep her safe. I’ll protect her. I always have.”
“Protect her from who?” Noah furrowed his brow as he stared at Thomas. “Protect her from you? Have you lost your mind?”
Riley’s mind raced, he couldn’t believe this was happening. Thomas must have lost his mind and now, he planned to murder Noah and Riley, putting an end to the Reaney line for good. Riley thought of his unborn child and he knew he had to do something. He couldn’t let this be the end, couldn’t let the life inside of him be snuffed out before it even got the chance to live. He was at a loos though, consumed with fear and incapable of rational thought but then–movement. His heart skipped a beat as he saw her. El’s ghost, standing in the corner of the room. Her eyes, hollow and haunting, met his, and she raised a bony finger toward Thomas, her lips moving without sound.
“Noah,” Riley whispered, his eyes fixed on El. “We need to move. Now.”
Noah didn’t have time to ask. Riley, following El’s silent instructions, grabbed the teapot from the table and, with every ounce of strength he could muster, hurled it at Thomas. The hot tea exploded in a scalding spray, hitting Thomas square in the face. Thomas let out a roar of pain, staggering back, rubbing his eyes, as he began firing the gun wildly into the air.
“Get down!” Noah shouted, diving to the floor as bullets flew over their heads.
Riley’s breath came in ragged gasps as he crawled behind an armchair, heart pounding in his ears. Thomas, blind and furious, flailed with the gun, his face twisted with rage.
Noah, in a moment of pure instinct, launched himself at Thomas. They collided with a sickening thud, the gun falling from Thomas’s grasp and skittering across the floor. The two men struggled, fists flying, as Riley watched in horror. Thomas, despite his age, fought with a terrifying strength born of desperation. For a moment, it seemed he might overpower Noah.
But then, from the shadows, a figure emerged–Stephen’s ghost. His presence was unmistakable, a cold, spectral image of the man he once was. He was joined by El’s decaying, withered form, her bony fingers stretched out toward Thomas. Their eyes, glowing with an otherworldly light, fixed on him.
Thomas froze, terror flooding his features. “No… it can’t be” he whispered, his voice breaking. He stared at the ghosts, his grip on Noah loosening.
It was all Noah needed. With a final burst of strength, he picked up the gun and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the room like a death knell. Thomas collapsed to the floor, his eyes wide, his chest stained with blood.
Noah stood there, breathing hard, his hand shaking as he dropped the gun. Riley scrambled over to him, wrapping his arms around Noah in a fierce embrace, both of them trembling with adrenaline and shock.
As they held each other, Riley looked up. El and Stephen’s ghosts were still there, watching. Riley’s throat tightened as he met El’s hollow gaze. “Thank you,” he mouthed, tears filling his eyes.
Slowly, the ghosts began to fade, melting into the shadows from where they had come, leaving Riley and Noah alone in the silent aftermath of their sudden and harrowing escape from death.
Three months later…
Noah and Riley stood hand in hand before the Reaney family mausoleum, the towering stone edifice etched with the names of those who had come before. This was Eleanor’s final resting place, where, at long last, she would be laid to rest properly after years of being hidden away in the shadows. The weight of the moment was almost too much to bear.
Riley gently placed a bouquet of red roses in a vase outside the mausoleum’s entrance. The petals caught the waning sunlight, casting a soft red hue over the cold stone, the color symbolizing both love and loss. He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of everything they’d been through–the secrets, the danger, the revelations–and yet, standing here now, there was peace.
Noah’s gaze was locked on the stone vault where El’s body now lay. “She can rest now,” he whispered, his voice filled with both sorrow and relief. “She’s finally at peace.”
Riley nodded, his throat tight. He had never known El personally, but he had come to understand her through Noah’s grief and through the ghostly presence that had haunted them both. She had been a mother robbed of her life, but she had fought for her truth, even in death. “She’s free,” Riley added, his voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly would disturb the finality of the moment.
Noah’s hand slipped to Riley’s slightly swollen belly, resting there as a soft, hopeful smile curved his lips. “And she’ll live on in another way,” he said, his voice low, tender.
Riley smiled through the tears gathering in his eyes, placing his own hand over Noah’s. “Our baby,” he whispered. “A new beginning.”