Novel & Cerita Silence Series Natasha Preston

"Let the sunshine find us" Silence envelopes the whole room, suffocating silence. I could feel waves of anger, radiating from Ophelia, it was too much to bear. The intensity was beyond a regular person's reaction. I peer at her, through my tear-soaked eyelashes. She wasn't moving from her seat, staring blankly into space. I could feel the wheels in her head rotating, the reality sinking in, the pain unfolding. "Tell me your lying." She finally whispered. I stay silent, scared of her outburst.

In my experience, the softer her tone, the heavier the blame she was about to place on me. I quickly gestured in sign language, "I haven't been near Stephen lately. Please, believe me." Phoebe smiled warmly and reached out as if to reassure me with a pat on the shoulder. The moment her hand came close, I instinctively flinched and raised my hands in a defensive push. She smirked, leaning into the motion before tumbling dramatically down the staircase. "Raelynn, what have you done?!" Stephen growled. I knew he had been watching from nearby. I wouldn't dare provoke Phoebe on purpose, but it didn't matter.

The sweet air was shattered by a recording and photos that no one expected, splashing across the screen for all to see. Whispers and gasps swirled around me, growing louder by the second. "The Wallace family sure knows how to put on a spectacle!" "He's marrying his brother's widow?" "Doesn't Emily see what's happening?" "Perhaps they've joined forces to kill Jeffrey so that there's more inheritance to go around." Chaos reigned on the stage. Emily's screams pierced the air, begging for the screen to be shut off, her earlier joy wiped away in an instant. Margaret, catching sight of the screen's contents, collapsed. This time, it was not for show.

Barely anyone on the team escaped her sharp tongue. Natasha roared in frustration, throwing a pair of scissors on the fragile window, then turned on her heels and disappeared into the hallway. She kept hissing at everyone like they were in charge of the work she was assigned. Ethan walked in, and the whole room went quiet like a graveyard. One of the staff pointed in the direction Natasha had just traded on a few seconds ago. He followed suit. “Hey. Slow down,” Ethan called Natasha from behind. Her swaying hips came to a halt.

And of course, she didn’t laugh back. We sat in silence, but it was loud. The kind of silence that clings to the windows, that drowns you in the unsaid. Natasha didn’t need to say it: she didn’t like me. She didn’t trust me. And if it were up to her, I’d be in the trunk, not the back seat. I stared out the window, heart rattling in my chest. If I survive this, I swear to God—I’m out for real. Natasha’s phone started ringing just as she switched lanes without signaling. She didn’t glance at the road—just reached for it like we weren’t speeding through traffic in a steel that could very well become our coffin.

she whispered. My heart jumped. Athena went alert and said, Listen. I moved closer and carefully peered through the keyhole. Natasha was standing near the window with her phone pressed to her ear. “All is going according to plan,” she said quietly. “Please be a bit patient.” Plan? What plan? My skin turned cold. “Yes, I understand,” she continued. “It will be done.” My breath caught. Done? What would be done? Athena whispered, She is dangerous.

Chapter 6: The Weight of Silence The car moved steadily through the quiet night. The city lights glared past the windows. The roads were less crowded now, the noise of the conference long left behind. Inside the car, the silence felt heavy. Marcus sat on the driver's seat. His hands rested firmly on the steering wheel, his posture straight, eyes fixed on the road ahead. He had learned over the years when to speak and when not to. In the back seat, Lucas sat slightly turned to the side.

I laughed in delight, and Ronan nearly dropped me in shock. “Clara, you laughed!” Ronan yelped. Nora smiled. “She drank some of my blood. Just a drop, and already she can make noise!” “Clara, that’s wonderful!” Ronan said. He smiled. “You have a beautiful laugh. I’ll have to think of something truly funny to say, so that I can hear it again.” Ronan, Nora, and Tracy worked together to help me learn to speak. Nora, whose father was also mute, had made a study of how sounds were formed. She was able to teach me how to position my mouth and tongue.

“Answers. And I want you to know, you can’t keep me quiet forever.” Natasha smiled faintly, unseen but unmistakable. Her voice remained cool. “I see. You want leverage. That’s ambitious.” “What do you mean?” Paul snapped. “You know exactly what I mean,” she said softly, almost teasing. “You were paid to stay silent before. You took it. You chose your part in what happened. And now you think you can renegotiate?” Paul’s grip on the phone tightened. “I...” “Let me be clear,” Natasha interrupted, calm and precise. “I know exactly who you owe. I know who’s been circling you for years. If you come after me, publicly or privately, you already know what I’m capable of. Don’t underestimate me.”

She stared at the blank screen, something tight and aching settling deep in her chest. Suppressing her needs had become second nature, an instinct sharpened by years of learning what mattered and what didn’t. She knew how to be quiet. How to be agreeable. How to fold herself into the life Jay had built and call it partnership. But beneath the routine, beneath the discipline of wanting nothing, fault lines were spreading. And one day soon, the weight of silence would be more than she could hold.