Reborn to Burn Them All novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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In the Chandler family’s memorial hall, Sophia sat cross–legged on a cushion against the wall, flipping through photos of long–gone ancestors.

She grinned and scratched her chin. “You guys got lucky dying early,” she muttered. “If you saw what Jonathan and the rest of the family are up to now, you’d probably be rolling in your graves.”

She looked around the room, talking to the empty space. “I’ve been here a bunch of times, but you’ve never once shown up. Kinda rude, don’t you think?”

She shook her head after a moment. “Nah, forget it. I’m not wasting my breath arguing with ghosts. I’ll take it up with your deadbeat descendants.

“I won’t let you down. I’m gonna shake things up around here. Big time.

“And it’s not just the Chandlers. I’m going after Yvette’s pursuers too. I’ve been through hell and back, and now it’s their turn. I’m gonna tear their families apart and leave them in the dust.”

Without waiting for any response from the empty hall, Sophia muttered to herself, looking oddly pleased, “Just killing them once? Maybe I’m being too nice. Don’t you think?”

The Shelton, Lynn, and Foley families would all become Yvette’s supporters in the future.

This new chance had given Sophia the perfect opportunity for revenge. Her first priority was to destroy several key figures and ensure some of them ended up behind bars–an excellent beginning to her plans.

Sophia took a moment to process everything, then yawned and stood up. She tossed the photos onto the table and said seriously, “Chandler ancestors, I’ve thought it over. You don’t deserve my forgiveness.”

She went to the kitchen, grabbed some cooking oil and a lighter, then

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returned to the memorial hall and set the ancestor photos on fire.

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The flames cast an eerie glow on her pale, blank face as she stood before the burning photos. “You’re the reason that bastard Jonathan exists,” she said under her breath.

Watching the fire consume the photos, she said coldly, “Useless scraps. If you really had any power in the afterlife, you’d still side with Jonathan.” Done with the memorial hall, she retreated to her room to wash up and sleep.

*****

Meanwhile, in the study at the Chandler residence, Jonathan rubbed his temples. The pleasant banquet had been ruined, and now he demanded answers. “Sean, what exactly happened today?”

Sean’s calm expression faltered for a moment, his eyes filled with disgust. “Sophia pushed Yvette into the pool.”

Howard jumped in, adding fuel to the fire. “Dad, Sophia’s gone way too far this time. Instead of owning up to her mistakes, she hit Yvette and even

turned on Elliot and me.

“And today, she publicly humiliated the Shelton, Lynn, and Foley families right to their faces.

“If those families come after her, you can’t protect her this time, Dad. She needs to learn her lesson the hard way. Otherwise, she’ll just keep getting

worse.”

Jonathan had only caught a few details from the butler. He knew Sophia had stirred up trouble, but he didn’t realize just how bad it was. Howard’s version made it crystal clear–this could explode if they didn’t handle it carefully.

Taking a deep breath, Jonathan forced himself to stay calm. “I’ll make her think about what she’s done tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to

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apologize in person.”

He knew saying sorry might not fix everything, but it was a necessary first step.

Jonathan’s fist tightened on the table. “That’s too much,‘ he thought. ‘She’s making a fool of our entire family.’

Howard’s expression darkened. “Dad, Sophia caused all this trouble. Why should you take the blame?” he argued. “If it were me, I wouldn’t forgive her. I’d call the police–she can’t just spread rumors and get away with it.”

Jonathan’s voice turned stern. “Howard, she’s still a Chandler. We’re done discussing this.” The last thing they needed was the disgrace of arresting one of their own.

“Sophia, open up! You can’t hide from this,” Howard’s voice demanded through the door.

Eyes bloodshot and looking thoroughly wrung out, Sophia dragged herself to the door and wrenched it open.

Howard glared at her, his voice thick with sarcasm. “How convenient. The moment Dad sent you to the memorial hall, it mysteriously burned down.

“While we’ve been up all night cleaning up your mess, you’ve been

sleeping peacefully. You’ve made enemies of three families–did you think this would just blow over? You-”

Before he could finish speaking, Sophia suddenly grabbed Howard by the

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throat and slammed him against the wall. “I warned you,” she hissed. “Keep bothering me and I’ll kill you.”

Her eyes glowed an unnatural red, cold and frightening like a monster’s.

Howard stared in shock, only snapping out of it when he couldn’t breathe. “You-” he gasped weakly.

He tried to fight back but couldn’t break free. The more he struggled, the tighter her grip became until his face turned purple and his eyes started rolling back.

“Howard!” Heather screamed, rushing forward to pull at Sophia’s arm. “What the hell are you doing? Let him go!”

Sophia finally released him with an annoyed sigh. “Get out if you value your life,” she warned.

When Heather looked like she might argue, Sophia cut her off with a deadly glare. “Keep talking and you’ll be next.”

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