Victoria kicked off her uncomfortable high heels and ran barefoot through the damp grass toward the cabin's front porch. Lily ran close behind her, holding onto her aunt's hand with total trust. The wooden front door was locked tight from the outside with a heavy iron padlock that had been freshly installed.
"Sarah! Sarah, can you hear me?" Victoria screamed, slamming her fists repeatedly against the thick wooden door. "It's Victoria! I'm here with Lily!"
For a few terrifying seconds, there was no answer at all except the sound of the wind blowing through the dark trees. Then, a faint, weak thud came from inside the house, followed by a quiet voice calling out from behind the heavy wood.
"Victoria? Is that really you?"
Victoria looked around wildly for something to break the lock. She spotted a heavy iron tire iron near the side of the porch, grabbed it with both hands, and slammed it against the padlock with all her strength. On the third hard strike, the rusted metal latch snapped open and fell into the dirt. Victoria threw the door wide open and stepped into the small dark living room.
Lying on an old mattress on the floor was Sarah. She looked thin and pale, her wrist bound to a heavy wooden radiator with thick plastic ties. Beside her sat a stack of legal documents and a pen. Richard had been slowly starving her, trying to force her to sign away her half of the vast family inheritance before anyone ever discovered she was still alive in the city.
Victoria dropped to her knees and immediately used the sharp edge of the tire iron to slice through the plastic bindings. The two twin sisters fell into each other's arms, crying uncontrollably as they held each other for the first time in fifteen years. Lily threw her arms around both of them, burying her small face between their shoulders.
Suddenly, the bright headlights of another car flashed through the front window, blinding them with harsh white light. The sound of a fast engine shut off right outside the cabin, followed by the heavy sound of angry footsteps stomping up the wooden porch stairs. Richard stood in the doorway, his face twisted in absolute fury as he held a thick leather envelope in his hand.
"You shouldn't have come here, Victoria," Richard hissed, stepping into the dark room. "You are ruining everything I spent years building for us! That trust fund belongs to our family, not to this ghost!"