LOGINMr. Harris brought Mrs. Helen to a special security room in the basement of the Blackwood mansion.A small room without windows. Only a table, two chairs, and a CCTV camera in the corner of the ceiling.Usually used for interrogating staff suspected of stealing or committing serious violations.Mrs. Helen had never entered this room during her twenty years of work.Now she sat in a chair facing the table with two security guards standing behind her.Mr. Harris sat in the opposite chair. Stared at her with a cold expression."Mrs. Helen," he said in a formal tone. "Do you know why you were brought here?"Mrs. Helen lifted her chin. Tried to look calm though her heart pounded hard."No. I don't know.""Alright, if you want to make this drawn out. Let's start from the beginning." Mr. Harris opened a tablet in front of him. "This morning you brought breakfast for Mrs. Alina, but stayed there beyond the allotted time. What did you do while in the room?""Coaxing Madam to eat. Feeding her.
Mrs. Helen finished feeding Alina carefully.Half a bowl of porridge made it in. Better than nothing at all."Good, Miss," she said while placing the empty bowl back on the tray. "You must keep eating. To maintain your strength."Alina nodded slowly. Her eyes still puffy but slightly more focused now.Mrs. Helen stood. Took the tray."I'll be back later with lunch. Get enough rest."She turned toward the door.But before leaving, Mrs. Helen threw one last glance at Alina.The young woman had returned to curling up in the corner. Hugging her own knees. Staring blankly at the floor.Destroyed. Broken. Afraid.Mrs. Helen felt her chest tighten again.But she couldn't do anything more now.She'd already taken photos. Already got evidence.Now she just had to send them to Emma.Mrs. Helen left the room. Closed the door slowly.Mr. Harris still stood in the corridor. Staring at her sharply."Finished?""Yes. Mrs. Alina ate half the portion. I'll return later for lunch."Mr. Harris nodded br
The next morning, Junior woke up listless.He hadn't slept well last night. Nightmares kept coming even though Clarissa held him until morning.He went down to the dining room with lazy steps. His face gloomy.Clarissa, still upset and sleep-deprived from the whole night, tried to look cheerful. Smiled widely when Junior sat in his chair."Good morning, darling. Sleep well?"Junior shook his head slightly. Didn't answer with words.Clarissa suppressed a frustrated sigh. She pulled out a chair and sat beside Junior.The servants began serving breakfast.But Junior just stared at the plate in front of him without touching it.His eyes swept the large dining room.Empty.Usually his grandmother sat at the end of the table. His father in the head chair. And lately Alina in the farthest chair.But this time, only him and Clarissa.The long table felt too vast. Too quiet."Mama," Junior finally asked. His voice small. "Where is everyone?"Clarissa picked up her fork. Cut the egg on her own
Daniel did not sleep all night.He simply sat on the sofa, watching Alina cry through nearly the entire night. Doing nothing but looking. Listening to the sobs muffled by the blanket. Witnessing his wife's body tremble with each shuddering breath.Hour after hour passed in a silence that hurt.Dawn arrived. Around four in the morning.Alina's crying finally subsided. Her body stopped shaking. Her breathing slowed into the uneven rhythm of sleep.Daniel rose from the sofa with careful, deliberate movements. His legs were stiff from sitting motionless for hours.He approached the bed with cautious steps.Alina had fallen asleep curled into herself. Her face was still hidden beneath the blanket she had pulled up to cover nearly her entire body.Daniel drew the blanket back slowly. Easing it down until Alina's face came into view.Her eyes were swollen. Her eyelids puffy from crying too much. Her cheeks damp with tears that had not yet fully dried.Daniel touched that face with trembling
Daniel carried Alina back to the room after bathing her.The woman's body was limp in his arms. Like a soulless doll.He sat her on the edge of the bed. Took a clean towel and dried her hair carefully.Alina didn't react. Just sat still with an empty gaze fixed on one spot on the floor.Daniel opened the closet. Took out a clean nightgown. Returned to Alina's side and began dressing her.Lifting her hands one by one. Sliding them through the sleeves. Buttoning the front with slightly trembling fingers.Alina just let him. Didn't help. Didn't resist. Just... existed.Like a living corpse still breathing.When he finished, Daniel stepped back. Stared at his wife's pale face."You need to eat something," he said softly. "You haven't eaten since this afternoon."No answer.Not even a blink to show Alina heard him.Daniel walked to the table. Took the food tray a servant had brought earlier. Chicken soup and bread. Light food that was easy to digest.He returned to the bed. Sat beside her.
Emma's hands gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white."Mrs. Helen," she said, voice tight with controlled panic. "What happened? Is Alina hurt?""I... I don't know, Miss." Mrs. Helen's voice trembled. "But her door is locked from the outside. And when I asked if she was alright, she told me to go away. Her voice was—" She choked. "—broken, Miss. Like something terrible happened."Emma closed her eyes briefly.Every instinct screamed at her to drive straight to that house. To break down the door. To get Alina out.But Rachel's earlier warning echoed in her mind.*Don't go to the Blackwood house.*If Emma charged in now—without evidence, without legal backup, without a plan—Daniel could have her arrested for trespassing. Could call security. Could spin it as harassment.And Alina would be even more isolated.Even more trapped."Emma?" Mrs. Helen's voice was small. Frightened. "What should I do?"Emma forced herself to think.To be strategic instead of emotional."Mrs.
At four in the afternoon, Alina sat in the library with a book in her lap that hadn't been opened for the past half hour.She couldn't focus. Couldn't stop thinking about Junior. The little boy who hadn't spoken to her for three days. Who looked at her with eyes full of confusion and hurt every sup
"You have no right to be here at all."Clarissa's words landed in the waiting room like something final.Alina stood very still."I'm not leaving," Alina said quietly."Actually." Margaret rose from her chair with the slow deliberateness of someone who had been waiting for exactly this moment. "You
Daniel stood with his back against the closed door for a moment, as if he needed it for support.Alina watched him from the desk, hands still flat on the surface, posture revealing nothing."Junior's stable," Daniel said finally. "No changes yet. They're keeping him sedated through tomorrow at leas
Alina had not slept.She had sat on the edge of her bed through the small hours, watching the sky outside her window move from black to the particular dark blue that precedes dawn, then to gray, then to the pale uncertain light of early morning.Her mind had not been quiet. But it had been organize







