The Hearth's Unholy Secret

The Hearth's Unholy Secret

Ardisj Matthies

5.0
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My best friend Chloe and I were drawn to The Hearth, a mountain valley sanctuary promising peace and belonging. We sought healing, desperate for a new start, believing in its vision of harmony and finding our true selves. But The Hearth was a gilded cage. After a decade of apparent bliss, I accidentally overheard a chilling conversation between Marcus, my husband and leader, and Julian, his second-in-command. They were discussing how they had orchestrated the brutal "cleansing" I endured years ago, merely to "test" me for Seraphina, the community's revered oracle. My world shattered. My spiritual abilities, my very 'Blossoming,' weren't nurtured but exploited. Chloe' s empathic Soul-Echo had been deliberately siphoned, a shard of it now a "charming little poppet" for Seraphina's raven. Marcus had faked an illness to manipulate me into draining eight of my nine Wellsprings, not for his safety, but to forge a mighty "Shield of Warding" for Seraphina. Even my nascent spiritual pregnancy was intentionally aborted by Marcus to preserve Seraphina's "primacy." Everything was a calculated lie, a cruel manipulation. The love, the care, the decade of peace – all for Seraphina's sake. How could we have been so blind, so stupidly grateful? The people we loved, the community we built, was nothing but an elaborate stage for their monstrous scheme. Chloe, pushed to her breaking point, unleashed her entire Soul-Echo in a desperate "Soulfire" against Seraphina, only for it to be blocked by the very shield made from my stolen power. She vanished, consumed by her own essence. My best friend, gone, and they dismissed it as mere theatrics, demanding more from me. In that moment, grief turned to an unquenchable, silent fury. They would pay. Every single one of them.

Introduction

My best friend Chloe and I were drawn to The Hearth, a mountain valley sanctuary promising peace and belonging.

We sought healing, desperate for a new start, believing in its vision of harmony and finding our true selves.

But The Hearth was a gilded cage.

After a decade of apparent bliss, I accidentally overheard a chilling conversation between Marcus, my husband and leader, and Julian, his second-in-command.

They were discussing how they had orchestrated the brutal "cleansing" I endured years ago, merely to "test" me for Seraphina, the community's revered oracle.

My world shattered.

My spiritual abilities, my very 'Blossoming,' weren't nurtured but exploited.

Chloe' s empathic Soul-Echo had been deliberately siphoned, a shard of it now a "charming little poppet" for Seraphina's raven.

Marcus had faked an illness to manipulate me into draining eight of my nine Wellsprings, not for his safety, but to forge a mighty "Shield of Warding" for Seraphina.

Even my nascent spiritual pregnancy was intentionally aborted by Marcus to preserve Seraphina's "primacy."

Everything was a calculated lie, a cruel manipulation.

The love, the care, the decade of peace – all for Seraphina's sake.

How could we have been so blind, so stupidly grateful?

The people we loved, the community we built, was nothing but an elaborate stage for their monstrous scheme.

Chloe, pushed to her breaking point, unleashed her entire Soul-Echo in a desperate "Soulfire" against Seraphina, only for it to be blocked by the very shield made from my stolen power.

She vanished, consumed by her own essence.

My best friend, gone, and they dismissed it as mere theatrics, demanding more from me.

In that moment, grief turned to an unquenchable, silent fury.

They would pay.

Every single one of them.

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The first thing I felt after waking up from surgery was a dull ache and the annoying beeping of a machine. My eyes fluttered open to a sterile white ceiling. I didn' t know where I was, and I couldn't recognize the woman in a sharp business suit standing by the window-Chloe Davis, my wife. The doctor said the surgery was a success, and that I, "Liam," would make a full recovery. Liam? I had just donated a kidney, but not to myself. It was for her ex-fiancé, Liam, a fact she didn't even acknowledge. "The press is waiting outside," she said, spinning my near-death experience into PR for her company, hoping it would help with Series B funding. I stared at her, my mind blank. The past seven years, gone, erased by a surgical complication. I was twenty-two again. The man who had sacrificed a part of his body for her ex was a stranger to me. I grabbed a clipboard and wrote two words: DIVORCE AGREEMENT. Then I signed my name. "I want a divorce," I told her. She laughed, a short, ugly sound. "Don' t be ridiculous, Ethan. Is this some new way to get my attention? It' s pathetic." The pitying glances from the nurses and other patients' families made me sick. They saw a devoted husband, a hero. Chloe, seeing their sympathy, leaned in. "You think this stunt will work? You've been trying to guilt me for years. It won't work now." Then, as if discussing the weather, she said, "You' re fired, by the way... Think about your mistakes, Ethan. When you' re ready to apologize, you know where to find me." But it wasn't a mistake. "I just woke up," I said to her retreating back. My voice was stronger now. My friend Mark burst in, "Chloe' s assistant called me. A kidney? For Liam? Are you insane?" I looked at him. "I don' t remember... I don' t remember the last seven years." A seven-year chunk of my life, just… gone. Now, that memory, and all the others like it, felt like they belonged to someone else. It was like reading a sad story about a character I didn't know.

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The silk sheets felt too soft, the air too clean. I sat up quickly, my hands flying to my stomach. It was flat, but not with the emptiness of starvation. It was the familiar flatness of the night before my wedding. My past life wasn\'t a nightmare. It was a memory. And today was my wedding day. Again. A sharp cramp seized my stomach, and cold sweat broke out across my forehead. That feeling was horribly familiar. It was happening again. In the grand hall of the Stone family estate, filled with the city\'s most powerful, the air was thick with fear that kept them silent. No one wanted to upset the Stones. Next to me, Brittany whimpered softly. We were both on our knees, captives in the middle of my wedding reception. Whispers started to ripple through the crowd, quiet but sharp. "Who will Liam choose?" "Chloe is probably done for. Liam never wanted this arranged marriage anyway. Maybe he' ll use this to get rid of her for good…" Liam stood before us, his handsome face a mask of stone. His eyes never left Brittany. "I want both," he said, his voice level. A cruel joke. The blade pressed deeper into my back. Brittany cried, "Liam, save me!" Without hesitation, Liam said, "Chloe, Brittany is different. She only has me. So I have to save her." He paused. "If something happens to you today, I' ll take care of your parents. I' ll repay you in the next life." My heart stopped. He was offering my family' s company as compensation for my life. I stared right back at him, the man who had killed me. "Why do you think the Kingston Corporation would still partner with the Stone family if you don' t choose me today? Liam, you overestimate yourself. And who the hell wants a next life with you?" His face darkened. "Chloe, are you pushing me?" he asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. The old Chloe would have fallen silent. That Chloe died in a cold basement, her baby dead inside her. I was awake now. "I wouldn' t dare push you, Mr. Stone," I said. "But today is our wedding. The security is extremely tight. If Brittany' s presence here was your doing, then tell me, how did this kidnapper get in with a knife?"

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