Chapter Five: The forbidden Door

The night passed on sluggishly. It’d taken me a while to fall asleep, considering the fact that it was a new environment.

I also had to change and call Elena after to let her know I was okay and it’ll take a while before I got back.

She tried to emotionally blackmail me to speak but I frustrated her enough to hang the call with a flat ‘love you’ from her.

As my eyes, adjusted to the lights, for a few seconds, I genuinely forgot where I was.

The bed beneath me felt too soft. The blankets smelled expensive. Even the air felt cleaner somehow. Then slowly, the memories returned.

The mansion, the cameras, Adrian’s voice, the contract. The fact that I had willingly moved into a rich man’s surveillance dungeon for money.

“Fantastic decisions all around.” I muttered into the pillow.

A soft knock came from the door and I sat up immediately.

“Come in?” I said.

The door opened smoothly and Mrs. Laurent stepped inside carrying a tray. Of course she did.

This woman appeared so quietly I was beginning to suspect she materialized from walls.

“Good morning, Miss Glen.”

I blinked toward the tray. Coffee. Toast. Eggs. Fruit.

This was the fanciest breakfast I had ever seen physically assembled for me.

“Uh… thank you.”

Mrs. Laurent placed the tray neatly on the table near the windows.

“You’re expected downstairs in thirty minutes.”

“Expected by who? The ghost in the speakers?”

Her expression didn’t change. Impressive honestly.

“Mr. Kane requested I show you around the estate today.”

“Requested or commanded?”

A pause.

“Mr. Kane rarely repeats himself.”

Yeah. That answered everything.

I climbed out of bed slowly while rubbing sleep from my eyes. The silk pajama pants nearly made me emotional again.

I hated how comfortable rich people were.

“Do you all work for him willingly?” I asked carefully.

Mrs. Laurent adjusted the tray slightly.

“Yes.”

“You answered that suspiciously fast.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You absolutely did.”

She ignored that completely. Again.

Everybody in this house ignored questions like they were trained professionally for it.

After getting dressed, I followed Mrs. Laurent downstairs while trying not to look too fascinated by everything around me.

Daylight somehow made the mansion look even more intimidating.

Massive glass walls reflected morning sunlight beautifully while the lake outside shimmered quietly beyond the estate.

The place looked less like a home and more like an architectural threat.

Mrs. Laurent walked ahead of me calmly.

“How long have you worked here?” I asked.

“Long enough.”

There it was again. That weird answer.

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

“That’s not a real amount of time.”

“It’s enough.”

“You know, normal people usually answer questions properly.”

“Normal people rarely survive in unusual environments.”

Okay. That was genuinely creepy.

I followed her through another hallway while silently deciding this mansion definitely had buried secrets somewhere. Or bodies.

Potentially both.

“This estate has three floors,” Mrs. Laurent explained calmly. “The west wing contains guest suites and private offices.”

“Private offices for what exactly?”

“Business.”

“What kind of business?”

“Mr. Kane’s.”

I sighed dramatically. “You’re exhausting.”

“So I’ve been told.” She replied flatly.

We entered another massive room that looked like a library designed by billionaires with abandonment issues. Floor to ceiling bookshelves stretched across the walls while sunlight poured softly through tall windows.

I froze slightly. “Oh my God.”

Mrs. Laurent glanced toward me briefly. “You enjoy reading.” She said

It wasn’t a question and i blinked in surprise.

“How do you know that?”

“Mr. Kane prepares thoroughly.”

There it was again. Prepared.

Everything in this house was prepared. Even me apparently.

I walked toward the shelves slowly, dragging my fingers across the books carefully.

“These are real first editions.”

“Yes.”

“People own these privately?”

“Yes.”

“Rich people genuinely live differently.”

Mrs. Laurent said nothing.

I turned toward her again.

“So what exactly does Adrian do all day?”

“He works.”

“Doing what?”

“Managing his company.”

“From inside a surveillance mansion?”

No response. I sighed.

“You know what? Fine. Keep your mysterious little billionaire secrets.”

She continued walking again and I hurried after her. We passed more rooms. An indoor pool. A private theater. A dining hall bigger than my entire childhood foster home.

The entire mansion genuinely felt endless. And still, I noticed something strange. Nobody talked loudly here. The staff moved quietly like everybody understood something I didn’t.

The realization unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.

“Are they scared of him?” I asked suddenly.

Mrs. Laurent slowed slightly.

“No.”

That answer came too quickly.

“Are you?”

It took her a while to reply but she finally did.

“Mr. Kane protects the people loyal to him.”

Interesting. That wasn’t denial.

I folded my arms.

“That sounds dangerously close to a threat.”

“It’s reality.”

Yeah. Definitely cult behavior.

We continued through another hallway before I noticed a small security keypad beside a large elevator door.

Unlike the others, this one required fingerprints too.

My curiosity immediately woke up.

“What’s down there?”

“Restricted access.”

“Again with the restricted access.”

Mrs. Laurent looked toward me calmly.

“Curiosity creates problems inside this house.”

“So does secrecy.”

“That depends.”

“No,” I corrected. “That definitely creates problems.”

She pressed the elevator button anyway and nothing happened. The elevator remained locked.

I noticed her expression tighten slightly before she turned away quickly.

As we walked farther, my mind drifted back toward the dark hallway from yesterday.

The one Victor refused to explain. The one that looked abandoned. My curiosity had been itching about it since last night.

Which honestly said terrible things about my survival instincts.

Mrs. Laurent continued speaking calmly about household schedules while I half listened.

My brain was already forming plans.

“Miss Glen?” She called me, snapping me from my train of thought.

“Hm?”

“You stopped listening.”

I smiled innocently.

“No I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“Maybe a little.”

Mrs. Laurent looked exhausted suddenly. Maybe dealing with me counted as punishment here.

We eventually entered the kitchen area where staff moved quietly preparing lunch.

The smell alone nearly healed my financial trauma.

One of the chefs smiled politely at me.

“Good morning, miss.”

“Good morning,” I answered carefully while staring at pastries nearby.

Rich people really ate like happiness was guaranteed. Mrs. Laurent checked her watch briefly.

“I need to speak with the house manager.”

Opportunity. Beautiful beautiful opportunity.

I blinked toward her innocently.

“Oh. Should I wait here?”

“Yes.”

“Like… right here?”

“Yes, Miss Glen.”

“I won’t get lost.”

“That isn’t my concern.”

Rude.

Mrs. Laurent disappeared through another doorway moments later and the second she vanished, I moved.

Immediately.

Nobody tells me entire hallways are forbidden and expects me not to investigate. That was psychologically impossible.

I slipped quietly from the kitchen before hurrying down the hallway. My heart already beat faster.

Not fear exactly. Excitement. Which again was a deeply concerning personality trait.

The mansion felt quieter during the daytime somehow.

The silence stretched around me heavily as I moved farther away from the occupied sections of the estate.

Then finally, I reached it.

The dark corridor. There was no way for light to come through. Unlike the rest of the mansion, no sunlight reached here.

I hesitated briefly.

“This is how white people die in horror movies,” I whispered.

I pulled out my phone before turning on the flashlight. The beam cut through darkness slowly. Dust floated visibly through the air and cobwebs stretched across corners untouched for what looked like years.

Okay.

Now this genuinely looked haunted. My footsteps echoed softly as I walked deeper into the corridor.

The farther I went, the less the mansion felt alive.

No cameras here either. That realization stopped me briefly.

No cameras? Impossible.

Adrian watched everything. Unless…this place wasn’t meant to be watched.

My stomach tightened slightly at that thought.

The hallway stretched farther than I expected.

Old portraits lined sections of the walls now unlike the modern design throughout the rest of the estate.

One painting hung crookedly. Another had scratch marks across the frame.

Weird. Very weird.

I kept walking anyway because apparently survival instincts no longer applied to me.

At the very end of the corridor, I finally saw what looked like a door. It was made of old wood.

Unlike everything else in the mansion, this looked ancient.

My flashlight trembled slightly in my hand as I stepped closer.

Something about the door felt…one kind of way.

Not scary exactly. But like secrets sat behind it physically.

I swallowed carefully as I inspected it. The lock was broken like somebody forced it once.

“Oh that’s comforting.” I whispered.

My heartbeat quickened. I should leave. Immediately.

Every smart decision I had ever made in my life pointed toward turning around. But instead, I reached for the handle slowly.

The metal felt freezing cold against my skin.

“Miss Glen!” I gasped violently as Mrs. Laurent’s voice echoed sharply behind me.

I spun around instantly to find her standing several feet away breathing harder than I had ever seen before.

Actual panic filled her face.

“Dont.” she said quickly.

But it was too late.

I had pushed the door open already.