Ethan’s phone buzzed on the table, the screen flashing with Dad’s name. A chill ran down my spine, freezing me in place. Ethan’s gaze flicked to Elijah, who nodded sharply.

“Answer it,” Elijah ordered. “And put it on speaker.”

Ethan’s face twisted in anger, but he did as he was told, setting the phone on the table, the line open. Silence hung for a beat before Dad’s voice crackled through, low and venomous.

“So, you think running away makes you brave?” His voice dripped with disgust. “You think taking her with you means anything?”

None of us answered, the silence stretching. I could feel the tension tightening in the air, every second heavier than the last.

After a beat, Dad’s tone shifted, mocking and cruel. “Miray,” he sneered, his voice sickly sweet. “You think hiding behind your brothers makes you safe? Poor little girl. You can’t pretend you’re anything but mine. Or have you forgotten?”

My stomach lurched, the words turning my blood cold. I could see Maxim’s fists clenching so tightly his knuckles went white, but Dad kept talking, his voice dropping to a chilling, filthy whisper.

“You can hide all you want, but we both know you’ll come back. You always do. Remember how sweet you used to be? So… obedient. My perfect little girl.” There was a cruel laugh, thick with insinuation. “You miss it, don’t you?”

Lorenzo’s face twisted with rage. “You sick son of a bitch! She’s your daughter, you twisted bastard. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

But Dad just laughed. “Oh, please. Spare me the bullshit hero act. She’s always been mine, and I don’t care how many of you stand in my way. Miray knows exactly where she belongs—right here, under my fucking control.” His voice turned cold, venomous. “And I’ll make sure she remembers it.”

A wave of nausea washed over me, my head spinning. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. His words felt like ice slipping through my veins.

Ethan, barely containing his rage, slammed his hand against the table. “You filthy piece of shit. You don’t ever talk to her like that again, you hear me?”

But Dad just sneered. “And what are you going to do, huh? You think you scare me? You’re nothing, you little shit. And Miray’s too weak to keep hiding forever. She’ll come crawling back, like the desperate little girl she is.”

A dark, twisted laugh echoed from the phone, and I felt the ground sway beneath me, his words like knives in my mind. My breaths grew shallow, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

“Miray, you listening?” His voice slithered through the phone. “Go ahead, pretend to be scared. We both know what you’re really afraid of. That you need me, that you’ll never find anyone else who’ll tolerate your pathetic, needy—”

“Shut the hell up!” Elijah’s voice was like a gunshot, raw and furious, as he leaned over the phone. Elijah leaned forward, his voice a lethal growl. “If you ever try to come near her again, you sick fuck, I swear to God, I’ll end you. Do you hear me?”

Dad’s laugh was cold, dismissive. “Empty threats. Miray knows the truth. And when you’re out of the way, she’ll remember exactly where she belongs.”

The world around me started to dim, his voice a dark, endless echo, twisting deep into my mind. I could barely hear Lorenzo yelling my name, barely feel Maxim’s hand reaching for me as I stumbled, the panic too much to bear. The last thing I heard before everything went black was Maxim’s furious shout.

“You’re dead, you bastard. Fucking Dead.”

 Third person's pov

M

iray’s face went pale, her knees buckling as she collapsed, falling limp in Maxim’s arms.

“Miray!” he shouted, his voice filled with panic as he eased her to the floor, his hand steady on her shoulder as he checked her pulse.

Ethan was already sprinting to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water with shaking hands. Elijah crouched beside her, his face etched with worry as he gently brushed the hair from her face, murmuring her name, trying to bring her back. “That asshole pput her through this,” he muttered, a dark fire in his eyes.

“Come on, Miray,” Lorenzo whispered, his voice raw. “Open your eyes.”

Ethan rushed back, passing the water to Elijah, who carefully sprinkled a few drops onto her face. Slowly, Miray’s eyelids fluttered, and her gaze unfocused before she recognized each of them.

“You’re okay,” Elijah said, his voice steady but soft as they helped her sit up, guiding her onto the couch.

Miray took a shaky breath, glancing at each of them, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion and fear. “ I'm sorry, I… I didn’t mean to worry you.” she murmured, guilt flickering across her face.

“Don’t apologize for any of this,” Maxim cut in firmly, his voice hardening with anger. “He’s the one responsible, and he’s not going to get away with it.”

Elijah exchanged a look with Lorenzo, his expression grim. “He’s already talking about filing for custody, so we don’t have much time. If we’re going to expose what he’s done, we need evidence—and it has to be airtight.”

Ethan’s fists clenched, his jaw tight. “We’ll need everything. Photos, messages, any record of what he did to you.” He met Miray’s gaze, his face tense. “It won’t be easy, Miray. Are you ready for that?”

She nodded, her face pale but resolute. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t want to live under his control anymore.”

Lorenzo’s face softened slightly, and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll handle the hard parts. All you need to do is tell us where to look, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

A tense silence settled over the room as they began strategizing, the weight of their plan pressing down on each of them.

Elijah leaned forward, his voice low. “He’s going to try to twist everything, paint us as the ones in the wrong. We need to get ahead of him.”

Maxim nodded, his face set in determination. “We make sure he has nowhere to hide. By the time this goes public, everyone will know exactly what kind of monster he is.”

---

The morning light filtered dimly through the windows, casting a cold glow over the table covered in files, laptops, and scattered papers. The silence in the room was thick as Miray’s brothers sifted through every document, determined to find anything that could sever their father’s grip on her once and for all.

Ethan sat in front of his laptop, his face tense as he navigated through layer after layer of encrypted files. “I’m in,” he muttered, eyes focused. “He’s got several files here—looks like he went to great lengths to bury them.”

Maxim leaned over his shoulder, his gaze hard. “So, what’s he hiding? Let’s see it.”

With a final click, the laptop screen filled with a series of hidden folders, each labeled with old dates, stretching back years. They all exchanged a quick look, then Ethan clicked on one of the files, opening it to reveal a document listing a series of payments. It was all there—names, amounts, dates—a record of Dad’s cover-ups, his attempts to control and silence everyone involved. Doctors, therapists, legal contacts… all paid to keep quiet.

“Motherfucker’s been buying people off,” Lorenzo said, his voice a low growl. “Anyone who could’ve helped her.”

Maxim’s fists clenched as he read each name, each payment. Miray, seated beside them, looked down, her expression a mixture of shock and hurt. Her brothers knew she’d been through hell, but seeing the extent of their father’s manipulation laid out in black and white made it brutally clear just how deep it went.

Ethan, his fingers flying over the keys, suddenly paused, his face paling slightly as he stared at a file folder labeled with Miray’s name.

“What is it?” Elijah asked, noticing the change in his brother’s expression.

Ethan clicked on the folder, his jaw tightening. “There’s… photos. All marked private.”

He opened the file, and an array of images filled the screen. It was Miray, but not the photos of family outings or birthdays. These were different. Unsettling. A mixture of grainy, dimly lit photos showed Miray asleep in her room, her hair sprawled across her pillow, her expression peaceful but vulnerable. Each shot seemed calculated, capturing her from angles that felt intrusive, almost predatory. There were dozens of them.

Maxim’s expression twisted in anger as he scanned the photos. “What the fuck… he was taking these while she slept?”

Lorenzo leaned over the screen, his face darkening as he took in the images. “He was watching her. Making sure she had no idea… this bastard’s beyond twisted.”

Miray had gone pale, her eyes wide as she stared at the screen, her hand covering her mouth. “I… I didn’t know he… how could he…”

Lorenzo placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, though the fury in his eyes was unmistakable. “You had no way of knowing. He made sure of that.”

Just then, a new alert appeared on the screen: Password Change: Successful.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “He’s changing passwords—he knows we’re in.”

Without another word, he started working to regain access, but the laptop let out a sharp beep as the screen went blank. Another message popped up, stark against the empty background.

“ Enjoyed the show, boys? Nice try, but you’re not out of my reach. Miray, I’ll see you sooner than you think.”

The color drained from Miray’s face, her hands trembling slightly. The threat felt closer, more real than ever, his words twisting into a dark promise.

Elijah let out a curse under his breath. “That son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill him.”

But before anyone could respond, all of their phones buzzed simultaneously, his number flashing across each screen. Lorenzo’s gaze darkened as he held up his phone, jaw set.

“Answer it,” Elijah said grimly.

The voice that came through was smooth, mocking. “Well, well. Playing detectives, are we? How adorable.”

Maxim’s tone was ice-cold. “This ends here. We know everything you’ve tried to hide.”

Their father let out a dark chuckle. “Oh, really? You think a few files will make any difference? You don’t know who you’re dealing with. You’re a bunch of children, playing at being heroes.”

Ethan gritted his teeth. “We know enough to bury you. Every lie, every bribe, it’s all here.”

The laugh that followed was cold, amused. “Do you really think you’re a threat to me? You’re pathetic. And Miray…” His voice softened, laced with menace. “Don’t think you can hide. I’ve spent my life making sure you’ll never slip away. And your brothers… they don’t have a damn clue what I’m capable of.”

Elijah’s hands curled into fists, his voice deadly. “You come near her, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

“Please. You think I’m afraid of you? You have no idea what’s coming.” The call ended abruptly, leaving them all in silence. Then, as if to punctuate his threat, another ping sounded on Ethan’s laptop.

They looked at the screen, and a new message loaded, the words stark against the background:

“I know where you are.”

And before anyone could react, there was a loud knock on the door.