chapter 5

I was hungry.

The scent of the amazing food stretched out in front of me made me salivate. It reminded me that I didn't have anything the previous day. And the day before that, I ate too little.

I reached for my fork, ready to dig in. But I stopped when another man walked in to the dining room.

"Mr. Smith..." The man called out, grabbing all of our attention.

The man was dressed all in black except for his shirt. He had sunglasses on and a wired earphone going up from the side of his neck and in to his left ear.

It doesn't take a genius to know that this man is a bodyguard. But unlike any other bodyguard I have encountered, this one looked dangerous.

Maybe it was his dark aura, or maybe it was the thick scar running up his left cheek and disappearing in to his sunglasses. Either way, the man's presence terrified me.

"Piglet is here to see you." The man informed, causing Elijah and Cane to frown.

"Send him away." Elijah ordered before he picked up his knife.

Piglet? Isn't that the same person who came to see Elijah last night, saving me from his wrath?

"Oh, you deeply wound me my friend." Another man's voice came from behind the bodyguard.

I glanced over to that direction to see a man dressed in plain gray t-shirt along with a black leather jacket and black jeans walking past the bodyguard.

The guard tried to stop the man from walking further in to the dining room but Elijah held his right hand up.

The bodyguard, seeing Elijah's raised hand, nodded his head before he left.

"Why are you here again?" Elijah asked, looking at the man with boredom.

Even though Elijah seemed unimpressed by the man's presence, his jaw was locked and his shoulders were tense. Clearly, he was bothered by the man's presence in his house.

It goes the same for the driver Cane.

With his arms crossed over his chest, he looked at the man they called 'Piglet' with a glare.

"I just wanted to meet your wife." The man replied.

I looked towards him as he slowly walked over to me, making the two men sitting at the dining table more tense.

"The name is Kevin. Detective Kevin Gustov." The man commented as he offered me his hand.

I looked at his hand before I looked up at him. I dropped my hand fork and hid my hand under the table, clasping both of them against each other.

The man, the detective, looked amused at my reaction. Unlike Cane, the detective didn't look confused or startled by my action.

Offering me a bright smile, he pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

"I would have introduced myself yesterday at the wedding but I wasn't able to come. I think my invitation got lost in the mail." He commented as he glanced at Elijah and then Cane.

"Or maybe, it was because you weren't invited." Cane shot back.

Kevin, the detective, smirked at Cane. It felt like the smile was to provoke the other man.

I glanced at the three men and I could tell that there was a history between them, a very messy history.

I, for good reason, did not want to find out what the history was.

I couldn't stop my shoulders from tensing up when the detective turned his focus back to me.

"So, I hear you're the youngest Williamson. I was good friends with your father..." The Detective commented, grabbing my attention.

"I'm very sorry for your loss..."

The detective didn't get to finish his words as Elijah forcefully dropped his knife on the dining table, interrupting him.

"We had a long night. I'm sure my wife is tried." Elijah commented.

I glanced at him and saw that his eyes were focused on the Detective but his words scream one thing, which was for me to get lost.

I've heard that excuse several times before. If my father or mother told guests that I was tired, it meant that they wanted me to go to my room because they didn't want me to be seen.

It used to offend me, make me feel like I was an outsider.

But here, I am an outsider surrounded by strangers. It gave me relief when he implied for me to leave.

Bowing my head as to excuse myself, I stood up from my seat and left the dining table.

"Why are you here again?" Was the last thing I heard Elijah say before I left the dining room.

Retracing my steps, I found myself standing in front of the wide stairs.

I raised my right foot up to climb the stairs but stopped. Glancing over my right shoulder, I stared at the front door.

Would it be easy if I just walk over to the door and open it?

Would I be able to just walk out of this life and disappear in to the streets?

Would I have a better chance at survival if I do manage to leave?

The thoughts made me frown because I knew that the answer to all of those questions was a big fat No.

Letting out a sigh, I turned back to the stairs and went up to Elijah's room.

Entering his bedroom, I closed the door behind me and leaned my back against it.

I looked around the room, not knowing what to do with my life anymore.

Sitting around all day doesn't seem fun. And without a proper sheet, I can't use my weapons to pass the time either.

I'd call my sister but I didn't bring my phone with me last night.

Running both of my hands down my face, I let out another sign before I pushed myself off of the door.

I made my way to the wall in closet and sat down on the carpeted floor in front of my suitcases.

Laying the first one flat on the ground, I opened it and swung one side over.

I was about to unpack and put my clothes in place when I heard the door of the bedroom open.

I leaned to the side without getting up and looked out of the walk in closet, praying that it would be anyone but Elijah.

My heart settled when I saw The old lady kick the door close with her right foot and stepped further in to the room.

The second she saw me sitting on the floor in the walk in closet, she shot me a smile and walked in.

"I noticed you didn't touch your food downstairs, so I thought I would bring you something to eat." She commented as she looked down at the covered tray she was holding.

I quickly stood up and took the tray put of her hands.

"You were going to unpack?" She asked, to which I nodded my head.

"I'll unpack for you while you eat." She commented.

Before I could shake my head no, she walked past me and gently lowered herself to the ground.

I looked down at her as she started picked my clothes out one by one by one to fold them.

Feeling bad for making her sit on the floor, I walked to the other side of the suitcase and sat down in front of her.

"Oh dear, you should go enjoy your breakfast..." She tried to shoo me away but I shook my head with a small smile on my face.

I couldn't understand how this old lady was making me smile.

I took the large cloth off of the tray and found a few slices of bread along with a plate of scrambled eggs. There was also a can of coffee.

"I know it's not the feast from downstairs but I hope you enjoy it." She commented.

I waved both of my hands, hoping she would know that I am grateful.

"Oh right, I forgot..." She said before she reached in to the front pocket of her pink apron.

The woman pulled out a pink mini notebook with a snap button and a small pen tucked in the gap of the strap.

"Here." She said as she offered me the notebook.

Accepting the book with both of my hands, I looked down at it with confusion.

"I thought it might come in handy. Besides it's small enough to fit in to a wide pocket so you can carry it anywhere." The woman said.

With my eyes still planted on the tiny notebook, I pressed my lips in to a tight line.

I could feel tears bubbling at the back of my eyes.

I have a notebook back at home, one I didn't use much often.

After what happened to me six years ago, my sister learned sign language for me. My grandfather and father already knew sign language before the incident. As for my mother, she couldn't careless.

Grandpa suggested that she learn the language for me as well but upon her refusal, they got me the notebook.

However, to this very day, there are only three pages I used on that notebook to communicate with my mother. And none of those pages hold light words.

"Dear?" The woman called out, forcing my eyes up to her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her face painted with worried expression.

Looking back down at the notebook, I pulled the pen out and popped the button open and flipped to the first page.

I scribbled down 'Thank You!' and turned it over for the woman to see.

The old lady squinted her eyes to read what I wrote before she smiled at me again.

"No need to thank me, Dear. I'm Dalinda by the way." She added.

'I'm Ella.' I wrote before I showed her the notebook.

"Alright Ella. Have your breakfast while I unpack for you."

Nodding my head, I placed the notebook down and picked up the tray. After placing the tray on my lap, I dug in while Dalinda carried on folding my clothes.

Dalinda organized my clothes in their types. I have to say it was quite embarrassing to see the large pile of scarfs I owned. Compared to the number of scarfs stuffed in the suitcase, my clothes were very few.

But they are very necessary to keep my ugly past hidden.

"You have too little clothes, my Dear. You should go out today, ask Elijah to have someone drive you." Dalinda commented as she stood up and started filling the empty shelves with my clothes.

Over my dead body, I thought.

I silently watched as she hung my hoodies and walked over to the second suitcase.

Dalinda opened the suitcase and picked out a single dress. It was a long beautiful gown with a slit on the side.

She held it up her height and look up and down at it before she turned her eyes to me.

"This looks too long for you." She commented, to which I nodded my head with an embarrassed smile.

I placed the fork on the tray before I picked up my little pink notebook.

'Most of it belongs to my sister and she's pretty tall.' I wrote before I gave the notebook to Dalinda.

The old woman read it before she laughed.

"You should definitely go shopping soon. Elijah goes to many dinner parties. If you are to go with him, then you can't wear something that's too long for you." She commented.

Before she dropped the long gown on the floor.

There was no way that I would ask anything from Elijah, let alone tell him that I want to go shopping.

Dalinda carried on tossing the dresses that were too long for me to the ground while she hung the dresses that originally belonged to me.

Dalinda made funny faces at the long dresses, forcing a silent laugh from my lips.

By the time she was done, there was a large pile of clothes dumped on the ground and only a few ended up getting hung.

When Dalinda got to the bottom of the suitcase she froze for a few seconds before she crouched down next to it.

Wondering what it was, I placed the empty tray down on the ground and stood up.

I looked in to the suitcase and my entire mood dropped so fast that it almost made me dizzy.