A blue lightning bolt cracked the sky and struck the ground with a boom, shaking the nearby trees. With great difficulty, the heavy rainstorm and the fire brigades put out the fire. But by the time they did it, the flames had already turned everything and everyone inside the house to ashes.
Isabella sat there paralyzed, staring at the burned house, not even flinching when loud, terrifying thunder sounds echoed around her. The fire had taken her family from her. Her mom, her dad, and her brother. Her precious family. It had taken everything from her. Everything.
The people around her were consoling her, but she didn't hear any of their words, since to her, their voices sounded like they were coming from under the deep ocean. The hollow in her heart was growing with each passing second, and darkness was slowly engulfing her.
A person sat beside her and put his ice-cold palm on Isabella's shoulder, but she didn't feel anything. He called her, but she didn't look at him as she couldn't hear him.
She couldn't feel, couldn't hear, couldn't move. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't do it either. He called her again but got no response. He shook her and screamed, his voice laced with desperation,
"Isabella."
The voice of the man shattered the barriers and reached Isabella's ear, making her breath hitch and her frozen heart beat again. Isabella stayed frozen for a few beats before slowly looking at the person with fear that she might have heard wrong.
And instantly, her eyes widened, and her heart trembled when she met a pair of blue eyes that were red from crying and anger.
She couldn't believe what she saw. The back of Isabella's eyes burned, and her breath stuck in her throat, burning and aching. She swallowed hard as she couldn't get the words to come out of her mouth, and with difficulty, she choked,
"Brother."
Isabella stared at her brother, not blinking, fearing her brother was just her illusion and that he would disappear if she blinked. Even though her eyes were begging for it because of the rain, she refused to blink.
Andrew stared at his younger sister with pain-filled eyes. Many emotions were running wild in his eyes, and among them the most visible ones were pain, sadness, grief, and anger.
"Izzy," Andrew whispered. His voice was hoarse from crying. He couldn't form any more words than her name.
Isabella gasped for air, and tears slid down her cheeks when she confirmed that Andrew was real and alive. Her brother was alive. He wasn't inside the house. The fire didn't take him. He was still with her.
A tiny hope blossomed in Isabella's heart, thinking her parents might be alive like her brother. They might not be inside the house like Andrew.
Even though the sadness and pain in her brother's eyes had already given her an answer, she still grasped at the burned rope of hope.
"Mom and Dad?" Isabella let out, hopefully, her heart thundering with fear.
Andrew tensed at his little sister's words. Isabella didn't need to say anything further for Andrew to understand what she meant.
The hope in Isabella's eyes squeezed Andrew's heart, and his eyes stung. He felt like he would break down at any moment. No, he couldn't be weak. He had to be strong. For his sister and for himself. He bit his lips to stop himself from breaking down before shaking his head. The little bit of hope Isabella had was crushed like a broken glass.
As the knowledge that their parents were no more settled inside her, her heart shattered and twisted. And in a second, her body seized, and she screamed in pain.
Andrew instantly wrapped his hands around Isabella and hugged her tightly on his chest. Tears slid down his cheeks along with the raindrops as he cried with his younger sister, mourning their parents' deaths. The people around them could do nothing other than only look at them with pitiful eyes.
Their parents were alive a few moments ago. They were laughing and preparing for his little sister's birthday surprise with him a few moments ago.
He would have been dead like his parents if he hadn't left in the morning. Or maybe he would have been able to save his parents if he had been inside the house.
When they were preparing for the surprise, their mom noticed Andrew had forgotten to buy Isabella's favourite chocolate, which she specifically liked to eat on her birthday.
Andrew said he would buy it later, but his mom forced him to go then. He went to buy the chocolate, leaving a happy house, but he came back to a mournful house.
He was numbed when he saw the burned house. He also thought he had lost everyone, like Isabella, and when he saw Isabella, he ran to her. He was relieved that at least his sister was alive.
His eyes blazed with anger, as he knew it was not an accident. This was all planned. And their parents knew that something like that would happen. They knew that, which was why they were prepared for it.
They had prepared for their children to be sent abroad, and they told Andrew about it. They told him that if something ever happened to them, they shouldn't wait even a second and should fly to Averna immediately.
Their father told him their lives would be in danger if they didn't leave the country. They firmly instructed him to leave for Averna with his sister without wasting a second. They would be safe there, and their parents had prepared everything there for them.
Andrew was confused and asked his parents for the reason, but they told him it would be better if he didn't know. He knew something was going on. And, curious, Andrew planned to find it all out, but before he could do that, his parents left him.
Their parents were murdered. Someone killed them. But he didn't know who he was or why he did that. Andrew wanted revenge, but in his current state, he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything.
The reason their parents planned to send them abroad to keep them safe meant only one thing: the person behind it was very powerful.
At present, Andrew and Isabella were powerless. They wouldn't be able to fight them. That was why he had to follow his parents' words and leave this country with Isabella right now.
Andrew cupped Isabella's cheek and made her look at him before whispering gently,
"Izzy, we need to leave."
Isabella looked at him with tear-filled eyes and asked, confused,
"What?"
"We need to leave this country now at this moment," Andrew uttered.
"What? No, we need to hold Mom and Dad's funeral. And why should we leave our country?" Isabella stated with a frown.
"Listen carefully, princess. This wasn't an accident. Someone set it up. Someone killed our parents, and Mom and Dad knew this would happen. That's why they prepared for us to hide in a safe place."
Andrew's words rang in Isabella's ear, and she stared at him in shock. What did he mean by their parents were murdered? It was not true. Why would someone murder them? They were the most sweetest and kindest person in the world. Then why?
"I won't leave whoever is behind this. I will make them cry blood. But we need to leave first. We will find the culprit behind this. And when we do, we will be back and make them pay for everything. Every single thing." Andrew promised venomously.
As Andrew finished, Isabella's eyes blazed with the same anger as Andrew's. Her brother's eyes told her he was telling her the truth. If her parents were really murdered, if the reason their parents weren't with them anymore was because of someone, she wanted revenge. She wanted to make them pay for their parents' deaths.
"Are you with me in it?" Andrew asked softly.
Isabella looked at Andrew and nodded while saying, with determination,
"Yes."
Andrew nodded at her before helping her to stand up. Andrew and Isabella stared at their burned house and promised to their parents.
He would get revenge. She would get revenge. They would get revenge. They would come back and start a blood war.