Chapter 9 - The Twin Paradox
"Stay back, Julian!" the woman with the canister screamed, her voice echoing frantically above the crackle of the blaze. "She took my life five years ago! She took my name, my identity, and then she took you!" Julian took two slow, cautious steps up the burning staircase, keeping his hands visible through the haze of smoke. "Elena... drop the lighter," he pleaded, trying to guess which sister was holding the flame. The bound woman in the chair struggled against her ropes, her gagged cries muffled by the roar of the fire. The woman holding the fuel paused, a tear cutting a clean track through the soot on her cheek. "You don't even know which one of us you fell in love with," she sobbed softly, resting her finger on the lighter's ignition wheel.
