Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates-Chapter 679-A Twin Must Die

Altan:

"You are a stupid little boy!" my father yelled, slapping me again and again. My mother sat on the ground, bawling next to my brother’s dead body. It was too late. Nobody could save him now. He was attacked and I couldn’t do anything. I felt worthless and my father yelling at me didn’t help either.

"I was trying—trying to come to you," I hiccuped, sadness flooding my chest. It hadn’t been easy to run back to the warriors and lead them to where my brother had been. I cried endlessly after they told me my brother had been brutally killed. Half of his limbs had been eaten. He would have survived had it not been for a loser like me to delay getting help for him.

"Why did they do that? Why? Why my innocent little son?" my mother let out another cry, and my body trembled. Every time she cried, I squeezed my shoulders up and sniffled hard. I had a feeling she would hate me too now.

"Why did you let him walk out of the border?" my father shouted, grabbing my arm and shaking me. "Why didn’t you stop him? And what took you so long to come seek help?"

He was yelling when my mother suddenly snatched me away from him, hugging me tightly.

"Leave him alone!" she screamed at my father.

"He must answer! Why did it take him so long?" he shouted again.

"I was—trying to reach the bushes first— then I realized I couldn’t save him from whatever monster was hiding there—" I whispered through sobs, shaken and mourning my brother’s death.

"Now what? What are we going to do now? How are we going to bring him back to life?" my mother asked, her voice trembling. The question made my father’s face pale.

"Baby, we’re not going to bring him back. It’s not possible. We have to bury him–somewhere close," my father said, his voice cold. His words made my skin crawl.

That’s when Rocky jolted me awake by slamming the door shut. I guess I had blacked out again.

"Altan," he said, walking toward me. "Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"I was here the whole time," I replied, watching him fill a glass of water for me. He looked at me like he didn’t believe me.

"I don’t think you were. I’ve been calling for you," he said, handing me the glass.

"Forget about that. What is it? Why were you looking for me?" I asked, watching him stare at my face for a little too long before shaking himself back to the crisis at hand.

"Remember how you wanted to invite Helanie and Emmet for a stay-over? Guess what—they’ve come. Unannounced." For a moment, I didn’t even understand what he was talking about or why he was upset.

"They showed up and said they’ve decided to stay here for a while. And guess what, they’re acting mad suspicious," Rocky said, as I stood up and walked over to the mirror to fix my hair.

"Altan, she’s not here for you. You know what? Just don’t focus on her. Focus on why they’re really here. After what she did to her rapists, don’t you think she might be planning your downfall for not helping her that night? What if they’re up to something?"

He was panicking over nothing, spinning paranoia out of thin air.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, doubtful. Helanie wasn’t the type to strike from behind, she attacked head-on. frёeωebɳovel.com

"They’ve been asking around about your whereabouts," Rocky informed me, and I suddenly began to sweat. That was odd. Why would they be investigating me when they were here for a different case?

"Where are they right now?" I asked.

Rocky gestured toward the door. "Literally in the living room."

I nodded and walked with him toward the door. And just like he said, they were there—Helanie and Emmet—sitting comfortably with some files in their laps. The moment they saw me, they exchanged a look.

"Where have you been, Altan?" Emmet asked, his tone making me immediately wary of their intentions.

"What do you mean? I’ve been here all along," I replied, trying to calm my nerves.

"Well, then sit down. We have something important to speak with you about," Emmet continued, while Helanie just stared at me like she knew something I didn’t.

"What is it that brought you two here?" I asked as I sat on the sofa opposite the table.

"I’ll be upfront with you, Altan," Emmet began. "The other day, when I was interviewing everyone, some things came to my attention. At first, I didn’t pay them much mind, but I remained cautious."

As usual, he had a way of dragging things out, building suspense before finally hitting you with the truth like a bullet.

"I collected dust from the missing child’s bed. That same dust has been found at every scene of a child abduction," he said, crossing one leg over the other. The way he stared at me, unblinking, that made my stomach drop.

"I have no idea what you’re getting at," I said, glancing at Rocky, who looked just as confused. Then at Helanie, who clearly already knew where this was headed.

"The results came in this morning," Emmet continued, leaning forward. "It’s an exact DNA match to you, Altan."

My breath caught in my throat.

It felt like someone had slammed a hammer into my skull. I couldn’t speak. For a moment, everything went silent. The room dimmed, the air thickened, and cold shivers rippled through my body. Before I could slip too far into the darkness, Rocky’s voice snapped me back.

"That’s not possible," Rocky objected.

"The results say otherwise," Emmet replied flatly. "So, we’d like to know– why was your DNA found on a missing child’s bed?"

My heart was pounding violently in my chest.

"Someone’s been coming in," Emmet muttered, narrowing his eyes, "giving these kids hope before snatching them away."

He paused, then asked firmly, locking eyes with me.

"What’s going on, Altan?"

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦