Chapter 6

Karen's POV

It was as if darkness closed in around me from every side, heavy with fear and uncertainty. My heart battered itself against my rib cage as he stepped into the light-deliberate, measured, as if he had all the time in the world. I'd steeled myself for anything-some faceless stranger, a masked intruder-but when the light fell upon the person standing before me, the breath left my lungs in one sharp gasp.

It was Laura.

Of all the things that I could expect, it wasn't her. Her eyes shone with an unhealthy light, and a chill smiled twisted on her lips. I didn't know what to say. The words caught in my throat, and suddenly the room was too little, the air too thin. My whole body yelled at me to run, while I stood utterly incapable of movement.

"You look surprised," she said, her voice little more than a silky whisper that set my nerves on edge. "Did you really think I wasn't watching?"

She'd been watching me all along, lurking in the shadows feeding my paranoia, prodding my fear. I remembered footsteps, the message, the way she spoke of me behind my back. It all clicked now, finally-the pieces fitting into a sinister picture I had not previously been able to see.

Why?" I made myself whisper-low and barely audible. "Why are you doing this?"

Her smile only broadened, the dancing sparkle in her eyes cruel. "Because you don't belong here. You're a distraction. A weak little pawn in a game you don't even understand.

I stared at her, staring, at the venom in her words. For one wild moment, I almost wondered if she was only trying to intimidate me-to scare me away from Devon's life like she had always wanted. But it wasn't jealousy or spite in her expression-it was something much darker. What are you talking about? I asked, anger overriding my fear. What game?

Suddenly, she hunched closer, her warm breath dancing across my skin. "Devon has plans, Karen. Big plans. And you… well, you're just in the way."

My stomach curled at the mention of his name. I knew there was something not quite right with Devon, that he wasn't a man which I thought him to be; but this? What could he possibly have that involves keeping me locked in prison of his making? And why was Laura so entrenched in it?

No sooner would I ask another question, when Laura sat upright, her gaze darting toward the door. "He's coming," she whispered, and with that, she vanished in thin air out of the room, leaving me to my own again.

I was paralyzed, my mind reeling with questions. What the hell was going on here? What did Devon plan for me, and more importantly, why was his own sister so ready to play a part in it? My heart, which had been racing with fear only moments before, began to shift, to morph into something else. Something sharper. Determination.

I needed answers. And I wasn't going to get them cowering in the shadows.

Those were all days of vague blur after that, for my mind furiously raced to piece together the fragments of truth Laura had hurled upon me. And Devon continued being aloof, cold, and remote. He didn't seem to notice how different I had become-how I watched him more closely now, paid closer attention to every word he said, every movement he made. Of course, I couldn't let him know that yet.

Nor did it take me long to find out fragments of Devon's history. First, there was the overheard conversation of two of the house staff, in which their hushed tones spoke volumes of apprehension, if not fear, when mentioning Devon's father-a man of whom I had heard very little. Apparently, he'd been just as dominating and cutthroat as Devon was now, if not even more so. It wasn't until he had said something more sinister that really caught my attention-something about his father "cleaning up" after mistakes.

The echo of those words remained in my mind, as I turned my back to them and moved further away, running goosebumps down my arm. What mistakes had Devon's dad cleaned up? And besides his cold demeanor, did he inherit anything else from his father?

I began digging, asking indirect questions whenever I could, and listening in when people spoke around me as if I wasn't there. What I found out was more radical than I had imagined: Devon's family wasn't rich; it was powerful-the kind of power one got from involvement with things nobody spoke about. Illegal things. Dangerous things.

And now I was a part of it-a player in whatever warped game it was that Devon and Laura were playing. But I was not going to let them win.

In the days that followed, the antagonism from Laura became overt. Racing down the corridors, she would knock her shoulder against mine with enough force to bruise. Wherever I was, her eyes seared with hatred. I had known Laura wanted me gone, but now I realized that it wasn't a matter of disliking me, it was because I was some sort of threat to whatever they were planning.

Lying in bed one night, I heard a noise outside my door. Instantly, my heart was in my throat, and I bolted upright, listening intently as the doorknob rattled and I steeled myself for yet another harrowing encounter. But instead of Laura, or even Devon, the door creaked open to frame a figure swathed in shadow.

It was only as they stepped closer that the face registered: he was the one that had been watching me, leaving me that chilling message. But now they stood before me, and in their eyes was a flicker of fear. This wasn't an enemy; this was someone just as caught as I was.

It had been one of the housemaids-a girl called Sofia whom I had seen about but never spoken to. Terrified, she quivered like an aspen leaf as she closed the door behind her.

"I haven't much time," she whispered, looking around the room in a trepid manner, as though to suggest that someone might be listening. "But you have to be told the truth. Devon… he is not what he seems.

I swallowed, my heart racing in my chest. "What are you talking about?"

Sofia hedged a moment before taking a deep breath. "His family-they're into things, Karen. Bad things. And Devon's a part of it. They use people, Karen. And when they can't anymore, they discard them."

I felt a cold lump take shape in the pit of my stomach. "What am I saying? I'm just. a means to an end?"

Sofia's eyes clouded with sympathy. "Yes, that is what you are. Devon does not love you. He never did. He is using you to advance his family's plans. And Laura… she has been keeping an eye on you, making sure you are out of the way.

It felt like a kick in the gut, but all at once it was something that hit deep inside of me. I'd suspected as much, but confirmation of it all to hear of it put everything crystal clear: Devon wasn't just a cruel, controlling fiancé-he was part of something so much greater, so much larger, than I hadn't begun to understand.

Sofia was inclined forward, her voice barely above a whisper. "You have to be careful. They won't let you leave. Not alive."

The weight of her words dropped on me like a dark cloud. Trapped, worse off than I'd previously thought. But I didn't want to give up. Not now. Not when finally the truth seemed to be within my grasp. Whatever the cost, I'd find a way out.

"I'll help you," Sofia said suddenly, in urgent seriousness. "But you have to trust me."

Trust. The word was alien to me now, after all I'd been through. But in that instant, as our eyes met, I saw the echo of my own fear, my own despair staring back at me. I nodded, hardened.

"I'll do whatever it takes," I whispered. "I'm getting out of here."

This time, the shadows would not prevail.