Chapter Four: He Sees Everything

“Welcome home, Amara.”

I literally felt chills in my whole body. And I desperately searched round for the source of the voice, hoping I’d catch him.

But I was sorely disappointed. The voice disappeared immediately after that.

My heartbeat suddenly felt too loud inside my chest. My eyes moved instinctively toward the small cameras hidden in the corners.

Victor continued walking like nothing had happened. Like mysterious billionaire voices speaking through invisible speakers was completely normal behavior.

I huffed a breath, moving a strand of hair from my mouth as I stood straighter.

Psychopaths. Both of them.

I hurried after him quickly.

“Wait.”

Victor slowed slightly.

“That’s it?” I whispered harshly. “That’s all he says?”

“For now.”

I frowned. “Where is he?”

“Working.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one I can give.”

I glanced around again uneasily as we walked deeper into the mansion. Everything looked too perfect.

The floors gleamed beneath soft lights while massive glass windows overlooked darkness outside. Every single thing looked carefully placed like the house itself had rules.

Our footsteps echoed quietly through the hallway.

“How many people live here?” I asked.

“Staff members rotate.”

“That didn’t answer my question either.”

Victor glanced at me briefly.

“You’ll adjust faster if you stop asking the wrong questions.”

That somehow annoyed me instantly.

“What exactly are the right questions?”

“The useful ones.”

“Oh my God,” I muttered. “You people talk like villains.”

Victor ignored me completely. We turned down another hallway and I noticed something immediately. One of the corridors ahead remained completely dark unlike the others.

No lights, no decorations. Nothing. Just darkness stretching quietly ahead.

My steps slowed slightly. “What’s down there?”

Victor didn’t even look toward it.

“Restricted area.”

“Why?”

“No access.”

“That’s suspicious.”

“Most security measures are.”

I stared at the hallway a second longer before hurrying after him again. This mansion genuinely felt like the type of place where bodies disappeared. Which honestly should have made me run immediately.

Instead, curiosity kept growing inside me. That probably said terrible things about my survival instincts.

Victor finally stopped in front of massive double doors before pushing one open. My breath caught immediately.

Jesus Christ.

The bedroom looked bigger than Elena’s entire apartment.

Warm golden lights reflected softly against cream walls while massive floor to ceiling windows overlooked the distant lake outside.

The bed alone looked expensive enough to pay all my debts. There was a fireplace. A sitting area. A chandelier.

And the bathroom visible through the partially opened door looked like something rich women cried dramatically inside during movies.

I stepped inside slowly.

“What the hell…”

Victor stood quietly near the entrance watching my reaction carefully.

“This will be your room.”

My room.

I walked farther inside carefully like touching something wrong might activate alarms. The carpet beneath my feet felt ridiculously soft.

“People actually live like this?”

“Some people.”

I stared toward the giant bed again. The pillows alone looked emotionally supportive.

“This is insane.”

“You’ll find everything you need here.”

As if summoned perfectly, another woman entered silently pushing a rack of clothes behind her. I nearly jumped.

God.

Why did everybody in this house move like trained assassins?

The woman gave a polite nod.

“Good evening, Miss Glen.”

I blinked at the clothes.

“What’s this?”

“Your wardrobe.”

“My what?”

“Mr. Kane had clothing prepared in advance.”

Prepared in advance. Again with that phrase.

The woman rolled the clothes toward the walk-in closet while I stared after her slowly.

Victor adjusted his sleeve calmly.

“Mrs. Laurent will explain the household schedule tomorrow morning.”

“Schedule?”

“Yes.”

“Why does this place sound like rehabilitation?”

“That depends on perspective.”

I turned toward him flatly.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“Not particularly.”

Liar.

The woman disappeared into the closet briefly before returning moments later.

“Dinner will be served at eight, Miss Glen.”

I frowned slightly.

“With who?”

A tiny pause.

“Mr. Kane prefers private dining.”

Of course he did. Everything about this man screamed emotionally unavailable billionaire.

Victor handed me another folder with more papers. Wonderful.

“The official contract,” he explained.

I stared at it suspiciously.

“Why do I feel like signing this will accidentally sell my soul?”

“You’re not his type.”

I blinked. Victor immediately looked like he regretted speaking.

My eyes narrowed instantly.

“That sounded personal.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Mhmm.”

He ignored me again as I sat carefully at the edge of the bed while opening the contract slowly. The first few pages looked normal enough. Financial agreements, confidentiality terms, living arrangements. Then I noticed something strange.

Violation of privacy terms will result in immediate termination.

I frowned immediately. Termination? What kind of wording was that?

I looked up slowly. “Why does this sound threatening?”

“It’s legal language.”

“It sounds murder-y.”

“It isn’t.”

“You hesitated.”

“I didn’t.”

“You absolutely did.” Victor looked exhausted suddenly.

Interesting, he has a limit. Maybe Adrian wasn’t the only one suffering here.

I continued reading quietly while Victor stood near the door patiently. The amount of money listed still looked unreal.

Monthly allowance. Travel access. Medical coverage. My entire life could genuinely change because of this contract.

That was the dangerous part. Not Adrian. Not the mansion. Hope.

Hope made people stupid. I closed the folder slowly.

“When do we sign?”

“Tomorrow.”

I nodded once before glancing around the room again. Everything still felt unreal like I had accidentally walked into somebody else’s life.

Victor moved toward the door.

“You should rest.”

“Wait.”

He paused.

“Have you ever actually seen him?”

Victor’s expression remained unreadable.

“Yes.”

“And?” A small silence followed as he looked at me.

“He notices everything.” Before I could ask another question, he walked out. The door shut softly behind him.

And suddenly, I was alone. The silence returned almost immediately. I sat there quietly for several seconds before finally standing again.

Then slowly, I walked toward the windows. The view outside looked beautiful. The entire estate sat isolated from everything else. Cut off and private.

A strange feeling settled quietly inside me then and it was not fear exactly. It was omething dangerous.

Comfort.

I hated that immediately because for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t feel financially terrified.

No pretending everything was okay when it wasn’t. I swallowed hard suddenly.

God, this was exactly how rich people trapped people.

With comfort.

I rubbed my arms slowly before deciding I needed a shower before my thoughts became more embarrassing. The bathroom nearly humbled me spiritually.

A bathtub big enough for emotional breakdowns and arranged neatly beside the sink were skincare products. My skincare products.

I froze.

Slowly, I picked one up. Same brand, same moisturizer, same everything.

My stomach tightened slightly.

Okay, that was creepy. Not romantic creepy. Like actual creepy.

“How much research did these people do?” I muttered.

I glanced upward instinctively and I was relieved to see no cameras. At least none visible.

That somehow didn’t help. After showering, I changed into soft silk pajamas already laid neatly on the bed for me.

I dried my hair slowly while walking around the room afterward. The more I looked around, the more details I noticed.

A cup of tea already waiting on the nightstand, steam still rising slightly from it.

I froze again.

No, that’s not possible. I walked toward the tea carefully before touching the cup and it was still warm.

“But nobody entered the room…” At least not that I noticed.

My eyes slowly lifted toward the corners of the room again. “This is insane.” I whispered.

“They’re only there for security.” I nearly screamed. The voice came smoothly through hidden speakers again.

Adrian.

I spun around immediately.

“What the hell?”

“My apologies. I startled you.”

“You think?”

I looked around the room wildly despite knowing I wouldn’t find him. “Are you seriously watching me?”

He paused before he replied. “Yes.”

That was disturbingly honest. I crossed my arms tightly. “That’s creepy.”

“You’re inside my home.”

“That doesn’t make it less creepy.”

Another pause followed. “You seem calmer now.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Earlier,” Adrian continued calmly, “your heartbeat was faster.”

Every single hair on my body rose instantly. Excuse me?

“You can hear my heartbeat?”

“Not directly.”

“That somehow doesn’t make this better.”

A low sound came through the speakers then.

A soft chuckle.

I raised a brow at that. His voice was unfairly attractive.

That was actually…not bad. But it genuinely irritated me.

I walked toward the middle of the room slowly.

“Okay,” I said carefully. “Since apparently you’re everywhere… can I ask questions?”

“You’ll ask them regardless.”

Fair enough.

“Why won’t you see me?”

Silence stretched briefly. “I prefer observation first.”

“That sounds serial killer-ish.”

Another soft amused sound. Definitely amused this time.

“I assure you, Amara, I’m not planning to kill you.”

“That’s comforting.”

“You don’t sound comforted.”

“Because rich mysterious men aren’t usually trustworthy.”

“And poor strangers are?” I opened my mouth and closed it.

Okay rude.

“I still think this entire thing is weird.”

“It is.”

That answer surprised me slightly. “You admit that?”

“I rarely insult my own intelligence by denying obvious things.”

I stared toward the ceiling suspiciously.

“You always talk like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like you escaped from a psychology textbook.”

He went silent for a while. “You’re interesting.”

My stomach did something deeply annoying. Absolutely not. We were not reacting to voices now.

I walked toward the tea again mostly to distract myself.

“You know,” I muttered, “normal people usually introduce themselves properly.”

“I know who you are already.”

“That’s not the point.”

“You’re uncomfortable.”

“No shit.”

“You curse often when nervous.”

I froze again. Then slowly lowered the teacup.

“Oh my God.”

Another soft pause.

“You observe people like experiments.”

“No,” Adrian said quietly. “Only important ones.”

The room suddenly felt smaller. And warmer.

Which made absolutely no sense because the man wasn’t even physically there.

I hated that.

“So what now?” I asked quietly.

“You rest.”

“And tomorrow?”

“You adapt.”

That sounded vaguely threatening and before I could ask anything else, the speakers went silent again.

I stood there for several seconds staring upward as I rubbed my temples.

“This man is insane.”

No response came this time. Good.

Because my heart was already behaving stupidly enough.

Dinner felt even stranger.

Mrs. Laurent escorted me into an enormous dining room with one long table sitting beneath dim lights.

One plate, one chair occupied.

Mine.

I stopped walking immediately.

“You people do know this looks cultish, right?”

Mrs. Laurent remained perfectly calm.

“Mr. Kane prefers privacy during meals.”

“Does Mr. Kane prefer literally anything normal?”

I got no answer so I nodded to myself. I sat slowly while servants appeared quietly with food before disappearing again almost immediately.

The entire thing felt ridiculously formal. I picked up my fork carefully then paused.

“Wait.” Mrs. Laurent stopped near the doorway. “Is he watching me right now?”

A tiny hesitation.That tiny hesitation answered everything.

“Oh my God.”

Mrs. Laurent lowered her gaze slightly and I stared at her for a second before asking the question that had been bothering me since arriving.

“Why won’t he see me?”

This time Mrs. Laurent looked at me fully and for the first time since meeting her, she looked almost uncomfortable.

Then quietly, carefully, she said, “Mr. Kane sees everything.”

And suddenly, every camera in the dining room turned slowly toward me at once.