Shattering Reality

The weekend morning at the villa was quiet, the kind of calm that had settled over Yvonne, Micheal, and the twins as they finally embraced a semblance of family life. The children’s laughter echoed faintly from the garden, mingling with the sound of distant birdsong. Yvonne and Micheal had spent the previous evening reading stories to Jack and Lily, drifting off together in a contented haze.

That peace shattered when a knock came at the door of the master bedroom, urgent enough to jolt them from sleep. Micheal's eyes flickered open, and Yvonne stirred beside him, rubbing her eyes in confusion.

“Mr. Langston, sir,” a deep voice called from the hallway. Micheal sat up, already feeling a thread of unease unraveling the morning. He knew his staff rarely disturbed him without good reason.

A guard, one of the villa’s longtime employees, stood just outside the door, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “There’s... a woman at the gate,” he said carefully, hesitating. “She claims to be... the m