Years Before the Tragedy
The sun poured warmly over the quiet private park—a hidden piece of paradise reserved for families with too much money, too much power, and far too many secrets. The air smelled of fresh-cut grass and blooming roses. Children's laughter drifted through the space like floating bubbles—light, innocent, and heartbreakingly fragile. It was the kind of peace that never lasted long in a world like theirs.
Two young girls—no older than ten—raced around the marble fountain at the center of the garden, their tiny shoes tapping rhythmically against the soft, grass-covered ground.
Gabriella Brooks ran ahead, her long dark curls bouncing wildly behind her. Her laughter rang across the open park—pure, carefree, and infectious—as she sprinted away from the girl chasing her in a game of tag.
Right behind her, Bianca Diggle tried to keep up, her light pink dress fluttering around her skinny legs as she stretched out a hand toward her friend to tag her.
"You're too fast!" Bianca huffed dramatically, though the laughter bubbling out of her mouth ruined any attempt to sound upset.
"That's because I'm the queen of the playground!" Gabriella spun around mid-run and stuck her tongue out, her smile bright as sunshine.
Bianca halted to a stop, folding her arms with a playful pout. "Not fair. My brother says I'm a princess."
Gabriella giggled, tilting her head proudly. "You can be the princess. I'll be the queen."
Bianca nodded as if this made perfect sense, then reached out and grabbed Gabriella's hand. Without another word, they ran together toward the swing set, their footsteps light and full of pure childhood excitement.
Near the edge of the park, Bianca's mother, Adele Diggle, watched them fondly. She sat gracefully on a wooden bench, a woman whose beauty remained flawless despite the exhaustion hidden in her soft hazel eyes. Two tall bodyguards in black suits stood behind her, their expressions hard and their gazes alert, scanning every corner as if danger could rise from the grass itself.
Adele lifted her sunglasses. "Girls, stay where I can see you!" she called in her warm, melodic voice.
"We are!" Bianca shouted back—even though she and Gabriella were already climbing the metal bars of the swing set like tiny rebels with crowns no one else could see.
Adele sighed and exchanged a look with one of the guards. In her world, danger was not a distant threat. If anything ever came for her children, it would come fast, without warning.
And Gabriella… Gabriella was a rare sight. Don Curtis Brooks normally kept his daughter far from the Diggle family, far from their name and everything it carried. Adele didn't know why today was different—why Curtis allowed his daughter to play here—but she welcomed it. Bianca needed a friend, someone who wasn't surrounded by guns, rules, and unspoken nightmares. Someone who lived outside the shadows.
The girls began swinging, pumping their legs furiously, trying to see who could fly the highest.
"My daddy says he'll take us to Italy one day," Bianca said breathlessly, hair flying behind her.
Gabriella beamed. "My daddy says I'm going to be a lawyer."
Bianca tilted her head. "What's a lawyer?"
"Someone who helps people," Gabriella said proudly, chest lifting as if the title already belonged to her.
Bianca gasped softly. "Then I'll be one too!"
"Nope," Gabriella teased. "You can't. You're a princess, remember?"
Bianca giggled, satisfied. "Oh. Right."
Their laughter carried across the park—sweet, genuine, perfect.
But the warm moment shattered when a sharp, urgent voice sliced through the air like a blade.
"Gabriella!"
The swing chains screeched as Gabriella abruptly stopped. Her small hands tightened around the metal bars.
Her father, Don Curtis Brooks, was striding across the pathway toward them. His normally tidy suit was slightly undone, his tie hanging crooked. His breathing was uneven, and his brown eyes—usually calm—were frantic with worry.
Gabriella blinked in surprise. "Daddy?"
Curtis reached her in seconds. He placed a trembling hand on her shoulder, bending slightly so their eyes met. His voice was low but tight, as though he were forcing himself not to panic. "We have to go," he said. "Right now."
Adele stood immediately, the color draining from her face. "Curtis? Is everything okay?"
Curtis forced a smile—a shaky, unconvincing attempt at charm. "Just a family matter. Something urgent came up."
Adele exchanged a look with the nearest guard. The man shifted slightly, stepping forward, sensing danger. But Adele raised a thin, elegant hand, signaling him to stay back. Her voice softened, genuinely concerned. "If it's urgent, Gabriella can stay with us. We'll keep her safe. She's welcome here—"
"No." Curtis's voice snapped like a whip. It was so sharp, so final, that even the guards stiffened. "She comes with me."
Gabriella's heart sank. "But I'm playing with Bianca…"
Bianca climbed off the swing, confusion clouding her young face. "But she just got here."
Curtis knelt in front of his daughter. His voice softened, though fear still trembled beneath every word. "Sweetheart, please. We need to leave now."
Gabriella didn't understand. She didn't understand the shadows in his eyes or the fear in his voice. She didn't understand urgency, or danger, or the invisible monsters creeping in from her father's world. But she did understand the way he held her hand—tight, protective, shaking.
And she understood that something was very wrong.
She nodded slowly. "Okay…"
Bianca rushed forward and held Gabriella's hands tightly, her lower lip trembling. "Will you come back tomorrow?"
Gabriella opened her mouth to say yes—because that's what friends do. They promise. They try. They hope.
But Curtis answered before she could speak. "We'll see."
His tone made the words sound like a lie.
He gently pulled Gabriella's hand away from Bianca's small fingers. Gabriella stumbled forward but kept looking back, waving with her free hand. Bianca waved too, though sadness clouded her pretty hazel eyes. She could feel something wrong—something heavy and cold—even if she didn't understand it.
Adele stood still, her gaze locked on Curtis and the little girl he clutched like a lifeline. She exhaled slowly, a chill crawling down her spine. She'd seen that expression before—on men who had made enemies, on men running from something dark.
Something had happened.
Something big.
Something dangerous.
Curtis didn't look back, but his hand never left Gabriella's shoulder. He hurried her toward the black car waiting at the edge of the park, her small legs struggling to keep up with his long strides. She tripped once, but he caught her without slowing down.
"Daddy, are we in trouble?" she whispered, frightened.
Curtis didn't answer.
He couldn't.
The moment they reached the car, he opened the back door, lifted her inside, and buckled her seatbelt with shaking hands. He paused then, his palm resting against her cheek, his eyes softening with the kind of love that carries both tenderness and regret.
"You're going to be okay," he whispered, though his voice cracked. "I promise."
She didn't understand why he sounded like he was making a goodbye he didn't want to make.
Before she could ask more, Curtis shut the door.
Adele Diggle watched the car speed off, dust rising behind its tires like smoke. Her bodyguards tensed, the atmosphere shifting from peaceful to dangerous in seconds.
Bianca ran to her mother, breathless. "Mama, why did Gabriella leave? Did something bad happen?"
Adele pulled her daughter close and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not sure, sweetheart…" She looked again at the empty park entrance, her heart tightening. "But I think we're going to find out soon."
Bianca hugged her mother, not understanding the weight of the moment.
But Adele understood.
The shadows were coming.
And none of them—not Gabriella, not Bianca, not Curtis—could see how deeply those shadows would one day swallow their lives.
How this moment, this day, this frightened goodbye…
would start a chain of events that would change everything.
Long before heartbreak.
Long before betrayal.
Long before anger, violence, and love twisted into something dangerous.
This was the beginning.
The first crack in a peaceful world.
The first whisper of the storm.
And the world that belonged to both the Diggles and the Brooks family…
was about to fall apart.