Mavis woke to the sound of shouting.
His body ached from sleeping on the thin cot. For a moment, he lay still, staring at the cracked ceiling of the servants' quarters. The events of last night felt like a nightmare. The divorce announcement, Charlotte's ring hitting the floor and Lugar's arm around her waist.
But the shouting downstairs told him it was all real.
He sat up slowly, every muscle protesting. His head pounded. He hadn't slept more than an hour, his mind churning through questions that had no answers. How long had Lugar been alive? Why had he hidden? What did he want?
The shouting grew louder. The voice clearly sounded angry.
Mavis pulled on the only decent clothes he owned—a pair of dark slacks and a button-down shirt, both worn thin from years of use. His hands shook as he buttoned the shirt. Something felt wrong. The energy in the house was different today.
He needed to talk to Knuckles Sonar. Charlotte's father had always been cold, yes, but he'd shown Mavis small moments of decency over the years. A nod of acknowledgment, an occasional "good work." Maybe he could reason with the man, explain that the divorce didn't have to be this hostile.
Mavis descended the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last. The voices were coming from the living room. He recognized Enid's sharp tone, Charlotte's cold voice, and then, Lugar's laugh.
He stepped into the doorway and froze.
Everyone was already there, arranged like they'd been waiting for him. Charlotte stood by the fireplace, her arms were crossed. Enid sat on the sofa, her expression was smug, Lugar leaned against the wall, looking relaxed and entertained.
And Knuckles Sonar stood in the center of the room, his face twisted with an anger Mavis had never seen before.
"Mavis Donard," Knuckles said, his voice was low and menacing. Each word dripped with venom. "You've gone too far."
"Sir, I…"
Lugar pushed off the wall and approached the coffee table. He spread a series of documents across its surface with deliberate care, like a dealer laying out cards. Transfer slips, Bank statements, Ledgers with highlighted numbers.
"These," Lugar announced, his voice carrying fake sympathy, "show that you've embezzled fifty million dollars from Sonar Corporation over the past six months."
Mavis blinked. The words didn't make sense. He stepped closer, looking at the papers. His signature was on several documents. Transfers to offshore accounts, falsified invoices. All of it pointing to systematic theft.
"What?" His voice came out strangled. "That's insane!"
Enid scoffed loudly. "We gave you a roof over your head, food in your belly, and this is how you repay us? By stealing?"
"I didn't…." Mavis started, his eyes darting between the documents and Knuckles. "I would never…."
Charlotte's voice was now filled with anger and fury. "Don't lie, Mavis. The evidence is all here. You've been stealing from us for months. You thought we wouldn't notice?"
"But I didn't do this!" Panic rose in his chest. He turned to Knuckles, the one person who might listen. "Sir, you know I'd never steal from you. I've worked for three years without…"
Knuckles slammed his palm on the table so hard the documents jumped. "Enough! I believed in you! Against my wife's advice, against my daughter's protests, I defended you. I told the board you were trustworthy, and this is how you shame me?"
"I didn't.."
"You've made me look like a fool!" Knuckles's face had turned red. "Do you understand what this means? The board is questioning my judgment. Our investors are nervous. My reputation is damaged because of you!"
"Please, just listen…"
"I have no choice." Knuckles stepped back, his voice hardening. "Guards!"
Two security guards appeared from the hallway. Large men in dark uniforms. Mavis recognized them, they'd worked at the house for years. He'd served them coffee during their shifts.
Mavis took a step backward, his confusion waa now transforming into real fear. "Wait. Please. You can't,.."
"Charlotte, please." He turned to his wife, his voice breaking. "You know I wouldn't do this. You know me."
Charlotte examined her fingernails, not meeting his gaze. Her face showed nothing. No anger, no sadness. Just cold indifference.
Lugar moved closer, speaking just loud enough for Mavis to hear. "Your problem, cousin, is you still think honesty matters."
Enid stood from the sofa, smoothing her dress. "Beat him and get him out of my house."
The guards seized Mavis's arms. He tried to pull away, but their grips were iron.
"No, wait…"
The first punch landed in his ribs. It was sharp and brutal. Air exploded from his lungs, and before he could recover, another guard drove a knee into his stomach. Mavis doubled over, gasping.
"Stop," he wheezed. "Please…"
Another punch. This one caught his jaw. His head snapped to the side as blood filled his mouth.
Through the pain, he saw Knuckles turn away, unwilling to watch. Charlotte simply walked toward the staircase, her heels clicking on the marble. She didn't look back once.
"Sign this." Lugar shoved papers and a pen into Mavis's hands, and the divorce papers. "Make it official."
Mavis's vision blurred. His hands shook as he scrawled his name across the bottom, barely able to see through the pain and blood. Lugar took the papers, examining the signature with a satisfied smile.
"Perfect."
The guards continued their assault. One more to the ribs and another to his back. Mavis tried to break free, twisting in their grip, but two more guards appeared. Four men now, all landing blows.
"You set me up!" Mavis screamed through the blood and pain. "You framed me!"
Lugar just smirked, watching with detached amusement.
The world tilted. Mavis felt himself being dragged across the living room, through the kitchen, out the service entrance. The guards hauled him down the driveway, past the perfectly manicured gardens, through the gate.
They turned into a narrow alley between buildings. A dark filthy narrow alley. The kind of place the Sonars would never acknowledge existed near their pristine property.
The guards threw him forward. Mavis hit the dirt hard, his body screaming in protest. He tried to push himself up, but his arms wouldn't support his weight. Blood filled his mouth and spilled out onto the ground. His nose was bleeding, his lips were split and every breath felt like knives in his chest.
Rain started to fall. Cold drops that mixed with the blood and dirt.
Footsteps approached as expensive shoes stopped inches from his face.
Mavis looked up through swollen eyes. Lugar stood over him, perfectly dry under an umbrella. His expression was calm, and almost bored.
"You're pathetic," Lugar said conversationally. "You always were."
"Why?" Mavis gasped. "Why would you do this?"
"Of course I did. The embezzlement, the setup, all of it." Lugar crouched down, bringing his face level with Mavis's. "But that's not even the best part."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Didn't you ever wonder who sold your family out ten years ago? Who told the attackers exactly where everyone would be that night? Who gave them the security codes and the exit routes?"
Mavis's blood turned to ice despite the pain. "No..."
Lugar's smile widened. "I did."
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the alley in harsh white light. For a split second, Mavis saw something shimmer in the air around him, like static electricity, like pixels forming in his vision.
Then darkness again.
Thunder rolled overhead as the rain fell harder.
And in the darkness, something was about to be made.