Chapter Three: A Life Under-Watch

**Amelia’s POV**

The voice is not of terror. Not uncertainty.

Rage.

My hand inches from the door, I froze. Nico had given me warning.

 That I should not leave. And stay away from all things.

 What if, though, this was a test? Or a trap?

 The hallway echoed with a loud grunt. “Arrggh!” I tightened my fists.

 Why did the universe continue throwing me into cages I never asked for?

 Deliberate, crisp, and closer heel clicking broke the quiet. Like marble claws.

 Whatever she was, she wished for me to hear her approaching.

 “Come on out, sweetie,” the voice teased from beyond the door. “I just want to have a little chat.”

 Sweetheart.

 It sounded like glass coated in sugar.

 My breath stopped. Something was off-kilter.

 Then…scrape.

 Metal crawled over the ground.

Heart pounding, I tripped back. That was a weapon rather than only a danger.

 Turning toward the window, I found no escape there either. Only blackness against thick, closed glass.

 My eyes turned toward the folder. It still lay half-open on the desk.

I leaped for it, fingers fumbling as I thumbed through notes, reports, photographs. Snapshots of my life. Doorways, sidewalks, cafes. Ordinary charted like a criminal profile.

But later on there. Written rapidly on the back of a ripped note is a name.

 Celina Russo.

 I gasped. The name struck a long-forgotten memory.

 I mumbled, “I’ve heard that name before… Placing my hand on my head.

 Then it struck me. My chest became stiff.

 “Oh yes…” I murmured. Realization sinking in. “Nico’s ex.”

Some termed her obsession. A makeup-equipped specter. The girl people whispered about only.

 Some claimed she vanished after deceiving him.

Others vowed she never left; she was only buried alive inside his realm.

 However the truth is?

Celina is here.

---------

 A ghostly lady with lipstick. The girl everyone only murmured about.

Some said she vanished following her treachery.

Others pledged she never departed; rather, she was buried alive inside his kingdom.

 But the truth?

 Celina was present here.

 And she was searching for me.

---------

 **Amelia’s POV**

 She step in.

 Not rushing. Not timid.

 She traveled as though she owned the walls.

 Celina.

She was not tall, but her presence dominated the room. Red lipstick, black boots, long legs. Though her makeup was strong, it couldn’t conceal the craziness dancing in her eyes.

 And in one hand,

 A smooth, silver blade.

 That is then what had been pulling.

 “Found you,” she purred, her smile too beautiful to be honest.

My back struck the desk’s edge as I staggered back. The wood penetrated my back.

 Celina moved up and gently clicked the door shut behind her, a sluggish, quiet finality.

She said, voice like velvet dipped in poison, He always did like his toys new. Pretty. Shaking. Obedient. Just like You.

 My voice came out broken. “Who… who are you?”

 Though I already knew.

 She laughed a sound that never reached her eyes.

Oh, sweetheart. You have no idea, I used to be you. Pretty. Shaking and Obedient just like you.

 I did not answer. My legs seemed like rock.

 You believe you are special? Her smile vanished. Her gaze sharpened.

Stepping closer to me. “You’re just another girl on his list. Just another… plaything.”

 The term made my skin crawl.

 “And trust me,” she said, pointing the blade closer to my cheek, “None of us last.”

 I closed my throat. “Why are you telling me this?”

 Her grin reappeared; but this time it twisted.

 To remind you of the consequences of touching something belonging to me.

 I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound never came.

SLAM.

 Behind her, the door blew open.

 Nico.

 Like a shadow, he filled the frame. He held his jaws tightly. His eyes; icy wrath.

 “Celina.” His voice was a low growl. “Set the knife down.”

 Celina did not flinch. “Relax,” she responded with a sinister grin. “I was simply saying hello.”

 She moved to the side deliberately but maintained the glistening blade in her hand.

 “You dong belong here.” Nico said. “Get out.”

 She remained still.

 “Not until you tell her the truth.”

 Silence thickened in the room.

 She sneered, “Tell her how her father didn’t simply offer her to you, he sold her like cattle, like garbage.”

 The blood left on my face felt like a drawing out.

 “Enough,” Nico barked, but there was a flash of remorse behind the wrath.

 Celina’s eyes flashed. “Tell her why you’ve been watching her since she was sixteen!” Inform her why her name is noted as advantage!

 My knees bent ever so.

 Tell her what she is truly here for.

 “Get. Out.” Nico’s voice tore the air.

 Rising the knife, Celina turned it toward me.

 I froze.

But Nico stepped in first.

 One instant he was across the room, grabbing her wrist, twisting it hard. The knife crashed to the ground.

 Celina screamed and fell back.

 She hissed, eyes fixed on him, “Keep lying to her.” “Let’s see what happens when she finds out what you actually did to her family.”

 Nico pushed her toward the hallway.

 She went this time.

 She turned back and gazed one final time before disappearing, though. A sight guaranteed more disorder to follow.

 She vanished afterwards.

 Nico exited and secured the door.

 ------

 The air was too thick to breathe.

 My neck dry, my body vibrating, my thoughts revolving.

 My dad sold me off.

 I am being leveraged here.

 The door unlocked.

 Slowly I spun around.

 Nico was present there.

 No indignation. No stinging words.

 Only silence.

He entered silently, the weight of his footsteps reverberating in my bones. He paused right in front of me.

 His eyes scanned mine.

 “Tell me the truth,” I whispered. “No lies.”

 He looked down, then back at me. “I will.”

“When?” I asked, scarcely audible.

 His hand rose, reaching towards my face… then stopped midway.

 “When you feel ready.”

 I shook my head and tears burned my eyes.

 “But I’m ready.”

 He watched me silently for a great long moment. Then stood straighter.

 “Then you’re not ready,” he murmured before going away.

 He did not turn around.

 My chest going up and down, I fixed my gaze on the open doorway.

 He was concealing something.

 No, guarding anything.

 Someone or something else.

 And even though a part of me wanted to run…to get away…

 I was unable.

 Not yet.

 Not until I find out the actual truth.