My fingers trembled as I slid the paper from under the mattress, holding it up to the dim light.I sat on the edge of my bed, the paper trembling in my hands, my pulse a frantic drumbeat.The handwriting was sharp, deliberate, like it had been carved with a knife. No signature, no clue, just a message that felt like it had been written in my own blood.I wanted to run to Leo, tell him and watch his face harden as he barked orders to his guards. But I didn’t. Not because I trusted him—God, no—but because I was tired of being the scared girl who needed saving. If someone in this house wanted me gone, I’d find out who. And why.The mansion was too quiet, the kind of quiet that hides a storm. I tucked the note into the waistband of my leggings, pulling my hoodie low over my face and made my way downstairs.Mrs. Thornton was my first thought. She’d been my anchor, the only one who hadn’t looked at me like I was a problem to be solved. But she’d betrayed me once, running to Leo with my secr
I woke up choking on air.My throat burned, my hands clawed at invisible walls. For a moment, I was still—there, in the dark, sealed in a box like a buried sin.But the walls were cream-coloured, not cement.The light was golden, not pitch black.And I was breathing.Barely.I pressed my palm to my forehead and sat up slowly. The blanket slid off my shoulders like silk. The robe clung to my sweat-soaked body.The familiar smell of broth made my stomach churn. “Good morning, honey.” It turned and saw Mrs Thornton next to me with a tray of broth.“Want to try a bit this morning.”She had been here since they pulled me out of the darkness—that cage. Her steady presence kept me tethered when my nightmares threatened to swallow me whole. Every day she brought warm broth, soft blankets, and a kindness I am still quite skeptical about.She never mentioned my scars even though she couldn't keep her eyes off them while she helped me take a bath.Had she told Leo about them?I reached for the s
"I hate you.”Then he stopped.“I know.” With that he left.Everything hurts…Not in the screaming, sharp kind of way, but in the dull, lingering ache of a body that's about to fall apart.My skin felt too tight, my breath too heavy, and my bones…hollow.The darkness I'd grown used to was gone.But the silence? That stayed.The tiniest ray of light made me close my eyes tightly. I didn't register Mrs Thornton's voice at first. It was muffled through a haze of exhaustion and terror.“Hurry up with the door.”I heard steps approach me and instinctively flinched when I felt hands touch me, recoiling with the little energy I had.“She’s burning up…she's barely breathing. My God, what did you do to her?” Mrs Thornton's voice cracked, not like anger, but disbelief.“Don't…” I rasped, my voice cracked and dry. “Just leave me alone…don't look at me.”Mrs Thornton crouched beside me. “Honey, easy, it's just me.” Her voice was low like she was talking to a wounded animal. “You're safe now, Lena
He didn't yell. He didn't slam the door. He didn't even look at me again.He just walked out.I stood there—numb, cold, rooted to the floor as if his words had physically shackled me in place. My heart pounded against my ribs, but my lungs refused to cooperate. What consequences? I didn't have to wait long to find out.It wasn't long before I heard footsteps. Marcello stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.“Come with me,” he said. No explanation.“I didn't do anything,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.“Not my call,” he said.I didn't scream or even argue when he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the office.I followed him down unfamiliar corridors I'd never seen before.I knew what was coming.The deeper we went, the colder the air grew. The marble gave away to concrete. Then stone. Then rusted iron. The walls looked like they hadn't seen daylight in decades.Marcello didn't say anything, he just unlocked a heavy door, shoved it open and stepped aside.I looked ins
I woke up late.I remember Mrs Thornton trying to calm me down in the hallway. “You're not as alone as you think.”The mansion was quiet again. My body ached, my head pounded, and the memory of last night clung to my skin like smoke. The flash of the gunshots the blood on Leo's hands and Marcello's voice.“It's not worth your life.”I stayed in bed until the sun reached its peak and shadows slanted across the floor.Then I got up.The halls were cleaner than yesterday. Like the blood and chaos had been scrubbed from the tiles overnight. But I still saw it. Not the stains, but the echoes. The moment it all changed.On my way downstairs to the kitchen, unsure of what I was looking for, I found Leo.He stood at the far end of the hallway near one of the arch windows, arms crossed, a faint bruise blooming across his jaw. He still wore a black shirt again but the highlights of the bandage wrapped around his sides could be seen.But he looked like none of it had happened.Our eyes met but n
The house reeked of gunpowder, sweat and blood.It was over…mostly.The last gunshot had echoed minutes ago, swallowed by silence. A few groans rang out from wounded men, and the guards who were still standing moved like ghosts, checking the pulses and dragging bodies into neat, morbid roes.I caused this.Some intruders had been taken…barely alive. Leo made sure of it.He hadn't said a word since the hallway, not when he led me back to his office, not when he stripped off his blood-soaked shirt and winced as he sat down.His skin was streaked in red, the wound at his side a deep, angry slash that ran along his ribs. The moment he sat, he grunted and leaned back, eyes fluttering for a second like the adrenaline was fading fast.“Sit still,” I sat softly, rummaging through the first aid box I'd brought in.He didn't argue. That in itself was concerning.I cleaned the gash with trembling hands and watched as he barely flinched.He was kinda vulnerable and still I couldn't bring myself t