The storm had passed by dawn, but its echoes lingered in the air. Rainwater clung to the windows in streaks that distorted the view outside, while the house itself felt strangely heavier, as though it too had absorbed the tension of the night. The silence was oppressive, filled with the kind of weight that made every sound sharper the tick of the grandfather clock, the faint creak of floorboards, the muffled rustle of curtains in the draft.Sierra sat perched on the edge of her bed, her knees drawn up, hair still damp from the shower she had forced herself into at sunrise. She hadn’t slept. Not a single hour. The photograph Vanessa had slipped her days ago was clenched tightly in her hand.Her stomach twisted every time she looked at it. Grainy, but clear enough: Damien’s hand gripping her wrist, his gaze fixed on her like fire and steel. Proof of their closeness. Proof of betrayal. Proof of sin. Vanessa didn’t need more than this she already had them pinned against the wall.Her ches
The morning after the dinner party, the house was unnervingly quiet.Sierra woke with a start, heart pounding, the memory of shadows outside her door still fresh in her mind. For a moment, she thought she’d dreamed it the lingering presence, the way the shadow had hesitated before retreating. But when she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she saw it.An envelope.Placed directly at her door.Her breath caught. She crouched, fingers trembling as she picked it up. It wasn’t sealed, just folded, and inside was a single photograph.Her and Damien.In the library, his hand on her wrist, his gaze burning into hers. The image was grainy, but the intimacy was unmistakable.No note. No signature. Just the proof itself.Sierra pressed a hand to her mouth, fighting a sob. Her pulse raced as the truth slammed into her chest Vanessa wasn’t bluffing. She had proof, and she was toying with Sierra like a cat with its prey.She shoved the photo back into the envelope and hid it beneath her pil
The Steele estate glowed with soft candlelight, the kind meant to make every corner seem warm and inviting. But to Sierra, it felt like a stage every polished glass, every glittering chandelier, every perfectly arranged flower a prop in Vanessa’s carefully curated illusion.Tonight was one of Vanessa’s infamous dinner parties. A tradition Damien tolerated, but rarely enjoyed. It was a performance, a showcase of wealth and control, where Vanessa could strut in her silks and diamonds, smile that poisoned smile, and remind the world and Sierra that she was the lady of the house.Sierra descended the wide staircase slowly, her black dress clinging to her in ways that made her feel exposed. Damien had chosen it earlier that day, his hand smoothing the fabric against her hip as he murmured, “I want them all to see what I can’t have.”Now, under Vanessa’s watchful gaze, Sierra wasn’t sure if that had been a reassurance or a threat.At the bottom of the stairs, Vanessa greeted her with a smil
The night had a strange heaviness to it, as if the air itself carried secrets. Shadows stretched longer than usual along the Bennett-Steele estate, and the house, usually buzzing with subtle movements maids, the creak of floorboards, distant music from Sierra’s mother’s suite seemed suffocatingly still.Sierra moved carefully through the hall, her silk slippers barely whispering against the polished floor. The silence pressed down on her chest. It was the kind of silence that wasn’t empty but crowded filled with unsaid words, buried threats, and the residue of Vanessa’s venom.From Damien’s study came the faint sound of his voice, low and clipped, carrying the weight of command. The door was ajar, just enough for the light to cast a narrow rectangle onto the hallway. Sierra stopped, her hand brushing the wall as though for balance. She hadn’t meant to listen at least that’s what she told herself but the pull of his voice was irresistible.“…I don’t care about excuses,” Damien said, hi
Shadows of DoubtThe morning after Vanessa’s dinner lingered like a bruise. Sierra woke with the memory of every glance, every too-long pause, every whispered word that had been meant to break her. Even now, with the sun piercing through the curtains, she felt as though the house walls were whispering back to her.At breakfast, Vanessa hummed while buttering her toast, looking as fresh as if she hadn’t orchestrated a psychological siege the night before. Damien, tense and silent, scrolled through his phone with one hand and tapped the table with the other, a steady rhythm Sierra knew meant calculation.When Sierra tried to excuse herself early, Vanessa’s voice stopped her at the door. “Oh, darling, don’t forget we’ve guests this afternoon. Old family acquaintances. I know how you love reunions.”The sweetness in her tone made Sierra’s blood run cold.Damien looked up sharply, but Vanessa had already returned her attention to the toast, as if she hadn’t just dropped a dagger between th
An Uneasy CalmThe mansion woke early, unusually bright with activity. The staff rushed through the halls, carrying trays, arranging flowers, polishing silver until it gleamed like mirrors. Sierra quickly realized this wasn’t ordinary bustle. Vanessa was planning something bigger than her small midnight games.Sierra pressed her ear to the banister and caught fragments of Vanessa’s voice, crisp and commanding: “The guests will arrive promptly… Champagne ready by seven… No mistakes tonight.”Guests. That meant outsiders. Strangers who didn’t yet carry Vanessa’s suspicions or worse, people she planned to draw into her web.Damien found Sierra in the library, staring blankly at the rain-smeared window. “She’s hosting tonight,” he said flatly, already anticipating her panic. “A dinner. Some business associates, a few old friends. She’s dressing it as casual, but it’s calculated.”Sierra turned, her voice unsteady. “Calculated how?”Damien’s green eyes hardened. “She’s going to test the wa