Chapter Nine: The House of Locked Secrets

The smile on Mrs. Evelyn’s face didn’t reach her eyes. It remained fixed, tight and fake, completely erasing the gentle woman who had brought me tea and blankets just days before.

I stood frozen in the dim corridor outside Silas’s study, the half-medallion clenched tightly inside my trembling fist while watching Evelyn with the new face she suddenly switched on me. Gone was the warmth. This woman looked cold.

You shouldn’t be here, Madam,” Evelyn repeated softly, the heavy ring of iron keys clinking against her palm as she slowly stepped closer. “Mr. Vane gave very clear instructions not to let you out”.

I instinctively closed my fingers tighter around the medallion and slipped it deeper into my pocket.

She noticed. Her eyes flickered downward for only a second, but it was enough.

A cold chill slid down my spine.

Behind the office doors, complete silence had fallen. They knew someone was outside. The heavy mahogany doors groaned as they were opened from the inside.

Silas stepped out first. His dark hair was slightly messy, the top buttons of his black dress shirt undone, and the corporate mask he wore so effortlessly was instantly replaced by a look of lethal alertness.

Behind him, Elias emerged, his gray eyes darting between me, Evelyn, and the tight posture I was holding.

“Well… this is bad.” Elias said.

"Vienne," Silas rumbled, his gaze instantly locking onto me. His eyes swept over my bare feet, the oversized cream sweater, and the unmistakable shaking of my hands.

"What are you doing down here?"

"She was looking for breakfast, sir," Evelyn answered for me. Her voice had returned to that flat, soft and kind manner, masking her true face so quickly it made my skin crawl. She didn't look at Silas; her eyes remained pinned to my pocket where my hand was still submerged. "I found her wandering the West Wing corridor. I was just reminding the Madam of your instructions."

A lie. She had caught me right outside his door, eavesdropping on every word.

I opened my mouth, about to fire back that Evelyn was lying, but Silas caught my eye and gave me a sharp, commanding look that screamed: Don’t.

"I asked her, Evelyn, not you," Silas snapped, his voice cutting like a razor.

“I’m sorry sir”. she murmured, lowering her head.

He walked toward me, his massive frame instantly blocking out the pale winter light filtering through the glass bridge. "Go back to the kitchen. Now."

Evelyn bowed her head slightly, the heavy ring of iron keys clinking against her apron. With one last, empty look in my direction, she turned on her heel and glided down the corridor, her footsteps making absolutely no sound against the wood.

The second she rounded the corner, the tension in the hallway snapped.

"How much did you hear?" Elias asked quietly, stepping forward. The easygoing facade was entirely gone. He looked at me with a heavy, professional seriousness.

Oh no-this time I was deeply scared, especially because that cold intensity was coming from Elias, who was usually so relaxed.

"Enough," I whispered, my voice cracking before I forced it to steady. I stepped out from the shadow of the pillar, refusing to let Silas corner me against the stone. I looked directly into his dark, unreadable eyes. "A medical team, Silas? A trauma block? You didn't just inherit my family's debt. You altered my mind."

Silas didn't flinch. His jaw flexed, his expression hardening into stone. "It was done to keep you alive."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" I yelled. My voice echoed sharply against the high ceilings of the glass bridge.

“You knew someone forced their car off that bridge. You and Aunt Marissa let me believe it was an accident.”

"Vienne, calm down," Elias warned softly, glancing toward the stairwell. "The staff…”

"Let them hear!" I snapped, turning on him. "Let everyone in this twisted house hear it. My family was murdered, and the man I’m legally bound to is the one holding the eraser."

Silas moved in an instant. Before I could step back, his large hand gripped my upper arm; not hard enough to bruise, but with an absolute strength that anchored me to the spot. He pulled me into the study, throwing the heavy double doors shut behind us. The lock clicked into place automatically, sealing us inside.

"Let go of me," I hissed, jerking my arm out of his grip.

He let go, but he didn't retreat. He stood between me and the exit like a fortress.

"The suppression was necessary, Vienne. When the medical team found you in the wreckage, your vitals were failing because of psychological shock. If we hadn't suppressed the trauma of that night, the stress would have killed you before you ever left the hospital."

"And the second medallion?" I pulled my hand out of my pocket, holding the heavy silver triangle up between us. The narrow, microscopic groove in the back caught the gray morning light.

Elias was startled, his eyes widening. Silas looked furious. Very Furious.

“Where did you get that?” He asked, his voice dropping low.

“You know exactly where I got it,” I shot back. “You threw it at someone’s face last night, remember?”

Elias said you're hiding the vault key in your bedroom. This isn't a key, Silas. It's half of something. Where is the rest of it?"

Elias let out a low whistle from the corner of the room, leaning against the desk. "She’s sharp, Silas. I told you she'd figure out the alignment."

Silas stared at the silver piece in my hand, his eyes darkening until they looked almost entirely black. A heavy, suffocating silence filled the office, broken only by the low rumble of distant thunder outside.

Silas stepped toward me slowly, his expression darkening. “Give it to me.”

“No.”

Elias looked like he was physically preparing for an explosion.

“Vienne,” Silas said carefully, dangerously calm now. “Give me the medallion.”

“You haven’t answered my question, Silas! “I say where is the rest of it?”

He let out a deep, heavy breath, his chest rising against the fabric of his shirt. Finally, he broke.

"The second half is exactly what the Overseer is looking for," Silas said, his voice dropping to a low, vibrating register. “And it is the only reason you are still breathing inside this house. If they get both halves, the Caelthorne vault opens, the Board liquidates the Vane shares, and you become completely useless to them alive."

"So I'm just a shield for your assets," I said, a bitter, hollow laugh escaping my throat. "A contract to keep your shares safe right?”

"No! You are my wife," Silas rumbled, stepping closer until his shadow completely enveloped me. The scent of cedarwood and cold rain rolled off him, thick and intoxicating. "And until I say otherwise, your safety belongs to me. Do not look for the other half, Vienne. If you force the block to break completely, the memories won't just give you answers. They will break you."

"I'm already broken, Silas," I whispered, holding his gaze, refusing to look away even as a sharp, familiar throb began to pulse behind my eyes. "You made sure of that when you locked me in."

Before he could answer, a sharp, rhythmic buzzing cut through the room.

Elias pulled his encrypted tablet from his pocket. The screen wasn't glowing blue anymore-it was flashing a violent, bright amber. His gray eyes scanned the data rapidly, his face draining of whatever he was seeing.

"Silas," Elias said, his voice dropping into an urgent, military whisper. "We have a problem. The server lockdown didn't fail from the outside."

Silas turned his head sharply. "Explain."

"The internal garage security logs from last night—the ones detailing who had access to your vehicle's brake lines," Elias said, looking up with a look of absolute fear. They weren't wiped by a hacker. They were cleared using a master administrative keycard from inside the residential wing."

My breath hitched. A master keycard.

Images of the corridor flashed in my mind; the heavy ring of iron keys, the cold, unfeeling smile, and the thin, black plastic rectangle resting securely in the housekeeper's hand.

"Evelyn," I whispered soundlessly.

Before Silas could move toward the door, the lights inside the study flickered once, twice, and then died completely, plunging the entire room into total darkness.

And from the speakers embedded in the walls; the house's internal security feed—a long, high-pitched electronic whine screeched through the dark, followed immediately by the sound of heavy, industrial iron gates below us grinding open.