yn's

t room. If she finds out, everyth

fr

ing? What was behind the locked door? And why d

ything I had witnessed, something secret, something sinister lay just beneath the surface. But w

y last few minutes. And then all at once, like a thunderclap breaking through the ga

thing into a phone. His muffled conversation with the butler faded into the darkness before I became the ghost in the room and waited, silently, for

lps, reason for appetite temporarily satiated. Once more back on the bed, I retur

beams chased the remaining shadow of the previous day quickly away. Howe

er but also clothed myself in something comfortable, ready to go out and

and gentleness. Through her lips, the woman announced, "Good morning, madam. I

be there soon," I n

, but the weight of the doubt that lived in the back of my mind wa

our eyes met. No words were exchanged as he quietly ate his breakfast. "Is this real

ice broke the silence, cutting thro

t even as I tried to steady myself, I could sense Liam getting read

ling my nervousness. He met my gaze with a cold star

a deep breath and looked at the locked door. I felt a surge o

of resolve lighting up my gaze. "I wil

oud in the hall. Each step made

so different from the warmth of my skin shocked me. I had a firm grip in my hand, I turned the kno

g breath at the anticipation of what lay beyond

ilence, icy and accusatory.

nob, my voice shaking as I tried to come up with

whose doubt hung in the air. "Is that so?"

odd

his tone taking on a dangerous edge. A shame i

ly worsen the circumstance. Bowing meekly, slunk away from the door

yself, my determination set firm by the experience.

swimming from the failure in trying to find out what lay behind that locked door. The white

important message. "Hey, how have you been?" Justin's words

ry about it." My finger hovered over the send button for a second before I let it go wit

that everything wasn't going to go the way I wanted it to. I slung the ph

g remembered itself to me: the garden! It had felt so serene and inviting that day when I did my rounds in the mans

r the door handle, my phone jingled into life. Lowering my eyes to the screen, t

ring from the screen as I silenced the ca