The reception had taken place in the great ballroom of the Blackwood estate, a lavish affair of crystal chandeliers casting shimmering light across polished marble floors. Leya swam through the crowd, accepting well-wishes from the guests she didn't know, nodding politely at their empty compliments. But all the while, she had the feeling that she was a ghost wafting through a life that wasn't hers.
She caught a glimpse of Harrison across the room, similarly flanked by his family and his business associates, wearing the same detached expression, his smile never quite reaching his eyes. A prisoner in this arrangement too, though his prison was one of power and expectation, not desperation. As the evening wore on, she found herself standing beside the big bay window, looking down into the sprawling gardens below. Laughter and clinking glasses faded through the background as she allowed herself for a moment to breathe in the weight of everything that happened. She felt her mother coming up to her, the softness in her eyes holding both pride and sadness. "You did well today, Leya," she says softly, laying a hand on her daughter's arm. "I know this isn't what you wanted, but. You've secured our future." She turned to her mother, her throat tight as emotion forced its way up. "What future?" she asked, barely in a whisper. "All I feel is trapped. Her mother's smile had faltered then, and in that split second, there was something beyond the veneer, the weight of guilt in her mother's heart. "I am so sorry darling," she whispered as her voice finally broke. "If your father were alive this wouldn’t have happened. Her father's mention made Leya's heart clenched. She had tried being strong, tried doing what needed to be done for the sake of her and her family, but at that moment, she felt like a prisoner in a cage, wondering if the price she had to pay was too high. Somewhere right now, she had lost herself along the way and she wasn't sure that one day she would find her way back. Harrison stood across the room, his back to the crowd, his mind as far away from festivity as possible. He heard congratulations, he heard toasts, but none of it mattered. He had done as his father had wished for, to be married to Leya; now he was consumed by bitterness, a disease he would have to suffer. Then there was his sister, Eleanor, beside him, her face as keen-edged as ever. "I must say brother, you did well to conceal your repulsion," she said with heavy sarcasm. Harrison had nothing to say; his jaw was clenched, his eyes fixed on his half-emptied glass of whiskey. How he detested this charade, this show, the whole sham of everything being right when it was not. "You are better at this game than you think," Eleanor teased further. "Father must be proud." Harrison's gaze met his father, who stood across the room, surrounded by guests, looking every inch the powerful patriarch. His father had orchestrated this whole thing—had him hog-tied, he was being forced into a union he did not want, bound to a woman he had already made his mind up to detest. I ain't playing any games, Harrison growled low, his resentment lacing his words. Eleanor queried a brow, the smirk deepening. "Oh, but you are, dear brother, whether you like it or not. You're in this neck deep now, and so is she. His gaze strayed to Leya, who stood by the window, her back to him bathed in soft, silvery light from the chandelier. For a moment, a strange sense of guilt washed over him, a guilt he hadn't wanted to feel, and yet he felt guilty because he had not asked for this marriage, nor had she. They were both mere pawns in his father's game, both trapped in a life they had never chosen. That didn't change the fact that he resented her, hated her for a part in this. Harrison tossed back the remaining whiskey, the fire churning in his stomach doing little for the storm brewing inside. From the minute his father had announced this arrangement, a silent vow was made that he would never let Leya Anderson in. She was no more than a means to his end, a tool to lock in his father's empire. And he would make sure she knew that. He watched her from across the room, standing alone, her shoulders tense with the weight of it all, a flicker of doubt crept onto his mind. Was she really the enemy he had convinced himself she was? Or was she just as much a victim in this as he was? Harrison shook the thought away, refusing to let it take root. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Finally, when the reception finally started to die down, Leya excused herself from the crowd, retreating to the quiet sanctuary of her new bedroom in the Blackwood mansion. It was a grand room, luxurious everything anyone could ever wish for. Still, to Leya, it felt cold and empty. She sat on the edge of her queen-sized bed, her fingers trailing into the edges of her gown as she stared into the magnificent wallpaper opposite her. This was her life now, married to a man who despises her more than anything, being trapped in a house that wasn't hers, bound to a family that would never accept her as their own. It pricked at the edges of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had promised herself she wasn't going to cry. Not here, Not in this house. The creak of the door opening behind her made her stiffen. She knew who it was without having to turn around. A sharp, cold Harrison's voice cut through the silence. "Don't get too comfortable," he said. Leya swallowed hard while letting her racing heart face him. He stood framed in the doorway, his face unreadable, but his eyes gleamed with something dark. Something dangerous. "This isn't your home," he went on, low and menacing. "And don't think for one second that I'll ever treat you like my wife." His words fell onto her chest one by one, each heavier than the last. She opened her mouth to speak, but words would not come. "I don't care why you agreed to this," Harrison said, taking a step closer so that he could stand directly in front of her, never once breaking his stare. "But let one thing be clear: you are nothing to me. Less than nothing." And with that, he turned and left, slamming the door shut behind him. She sat in the room, her breath under the silent desperation of the room choking her. It was no longer a matter of denial, it was the truth that had hit home, and the reality of her situation really sunken in. This wasn't a marriage of convenience; this was war. A war she isn't so sure she has the strength to win. But as she let her tears finally break through her defenses, escaping down her cheek, the action of wiping it away seemed to steal a resolve in her chest. She had survived the loss of her father. She had survived the collapse of her family's world. She would survive this too. But as it got quieter, a figure shadowed stood into the night. Mr. Samuel Blackwood sat in his personal study with a glass of brandy on the rocks, his mind as far away from the plush wedding celebration as his thought could get. He pulled open a drawer in his desk retrieving a file marked with one single name: Anderson.Mr. Samuel Blackwood sat back in his dark leather chair. The poor light from the desk lamp cast sharp shadows across his face. His fingers drummed around the edge of the thick file labeled Anderson while his eyes were hard and calculating. He swirled the glass of brandy in his other hand, eyes narrowing while weighing his next move. That wasn't some list of debts and bankruptcies. This dug a little deeper than that. For years, Samuel had been keeping tabs on the Anderson family, way back before Leya's father died in that tragic accident, before their business went belly-up. He knew fully well it would only be a matter of time before the bottom fell out from under them, and he was positioned just right to make the most of it. Yet even more Leya did not know: secrets safely laid to rest, secrets her father had taken to his grave. Samuel's eyes strayed to the picture inside the folder, the same framed smiling family photo that had once hung in the Anderson house. He touched his fing
Leya sat alone in her room, the soft light from the lamp casting enough glow to chase away the shadows that seemed to cling to the walls. The air was thick and suffocating as if the mansion itself were alive, pressing down on her from all sides. She sat down leaning against the headboard, her fingers straying aimlessly across the embroidered patterns of the bedspread while her mind fell back to recollections of the time past. The nights had become her only solace, those scant times when she could be left to her thoughts alone, away from the freezing stare of Harrison, the chain of belittling remarks from Vivian, and the constant prying eyes of Eleanor. It was in this quiet that she remembered what it had been like to be herself, before marriage, before the death of her father, before the walls of this mansion closed in on her as though in a prison. And as it was the case, her thoughts took her back to her father's study. She could almost envision him now, sitting behind the desk, h
Leya's breathing ceased at that door. There was a mass that had rested there on her chest. The door had been creeping and reeling on the opposite side, but whatever lay there was bearing against no segment of the door. It's not screaming. It's waiting. She shook with fear. Her head spun. It wasn't Harrison, for he'd have already flung open the door, firing piercing asides like barbs. But this one had a brooding air—brooding as if he survived her confusion. The silence continued. And then— The handle was turned. Leya sat up in bed, her heart pounding so hard she was certain she'd lost hearing. The door groaned, the inch or so of door to frame allowing only the darkness of the hall beyond. Then the whisper. Low. Gentle. Chilling. "You don't belong here." Leya's insides knot. Her fists were wrapped around the blanket, knuckles whitening. The whisper hadn't been Harrison's. Nor Eleanor's, nor Vivian's, nor even Samuel's. It was someone else. A man shot through
The air had been thick and stagnant out there like a coiled spring, and Leya braked hard, Harrison's last words in the empty room echoing in her head.Goodnight, wife.She bit down hard on her cheek and took a breath. Her flesh was taut underneath where he was pressed atop hers, his pressure digging into her skin. She wasn't sure if the chill on top of her spine was fear or anger.Or both.Harrison was aware of it. Had been strewn about how his eyes had rested on her, imposing defective stubbornness over him. And he'd fought more fought against it—he'd risen up in protest. He had swirled her about like some plaything that revolved within his brain, unaware as to whether or not she would go back to it.Her hands trembled and she hated it. Hated thin, hated being trapped in her own boudoir. She fought just to get herself out of bed, lead legs, shambling into the room to the window. In the mansion window outside, the mansion lawn spreads and stretches, glimmering in dark moonlight. Iron
Leya breathed deep, she stamped the spasm of fear beneath her in quiet. The notebook was heavy between her fingers, leather wrinkled under her hand pressed against it. She desired the attic desolate of her before person and beast could encounter its door. She took the journal and floated to the door, hesitant hand around the doorknob so as not to squeak. She jumped at a jump because squeaking back hinges were caught in the quiet of their silent turn. She floated out and closed the door quietly. She floated down creaking wooden stairs silently with no noise whatever through the black mansion halls. She had to find somewhere where she could sit and read the journal—a spot where they'd never think to search. The servants' block? No, too probable. The library? Too probable. Her mind ran in circles until she recalled one spot that might be beyond their reach. The greenhouse. It was towards the house, on the east side of the east wing—unmown and unpicked since Samuel died. Nobody ever we
Leya leaned against the stone wall for a moment after Harrison departed, attempting to catch her breath. The air now felt colder with him gone, his scent-scented, clean-pervading still clinging around the greenhouse. She forced the notebook into her palm, her mind spinning at what he'd stated. He doubted that she did believe him—he was good with that. She never thought that he would, though. But how that he spoke, in which he seemingly could not accomplish that which was happening, shook her to the core of herself more than she ever would concede. Harrison was ever capable, ever hard and unstoppable. And this evening, she glimpsed something—a fear or uncertainty. She wasn't going to sit around waiting for him or anyone else to make a move, She must attempt to get something out of Samuel regarding what he had been holding back and why it mattered to him. Slipping unnoticed out of the greenhouse, Leya crept unseen back into the mansion. She did not go through the front door and glided
Harrison rested against the courtyard's rim, cigarette burning low in his hand, its ember shining like the final reminder of authority he could hold onto. The cold night wind swirled against Blackwood Mansion's walls and brushed against him, but he did not tremble. He never did. He rested and glared at the greenhouse. She was in there. Leya. He had witnessed the light move from the soiled glass, observed her slip in like a phantom to its source. What did she read in Samuel's notebook? Which page had she turned that altered the very nature of her existence? He could not have stopped her. Could have. Hadn't. And that—that doubt—was what had Eleanor pursuing him like a wolf scenting weakness. She was on one thing correct: Leya was dangerous. But not that she had envisioned. Not for defying. For telling the truth. For not tiptoeing around their dictates like a static, proper puppet. For regarding him tonight—like he wasn't a monster. But like she viewed right through him. That
Leya gasped, looking at the burned letter, Samuel's words branded like a cancerous blessing in her mind."If they find out what you are—"What was she?All that she had seemed to roll away from her like loose marble, leaving her chilled. She balled the burned paper in her hand, heat branding the shape of her palm where ash foamed like hidden secrets.Shayla watched her with wide eyes. “Leya… what does it mean?”“I don’t know,” she whispered, though her voice was sharp, her spine steel. “But I’m going to find out.”Moments Later – Harrison’s WingThe hallway leading to Harrison’s private rooms was veiled in shadow, the sconces dimmed, casting sharp lines on the marble. Leya stormed forward, no longer caring about being silent, about being proper.She wasn’t here for answers anymore.She'd arrived in needing the truth—and she was going to get it out of him if it was the very last thing she ever drew breath.Guards to his front gate started tattling, but one glimpse at her—and off they s
The Morning After — Blackwood Mansion Grounds The sun tried but failed to cut through the clouds that morning, its beam yellow and subdued, as though cautioned not to burn too bright on this planet. Fog curled over the lawn in a pall, low-floating and enigmatic, over statues and fountains set out singly along the paths of the garden like forsaken memories. Leya lay among the roses, elbows resting in the soil. Not digging. Just. Being. Cold earth concentrated her. Silence gave room for thought. She'd fought to stay alive for three weeks—now she could build something out of sparks. She wasn't naive enough to hope to leave this house unscathed right off the bat. No, if she were going to break out of this house alive—really alive—then she must wait. Wait and demonstrate. And fangs. The chill seeped into the sleeves and the ends of her fingers. She did not crash to the floor, though. Not when she heard Eleanor's gentle laughter outside the west windows. Not when she caught H
Morning came—but nothing was new. The sun struggled weakly through the curtains, filtering down to stone floors still holding remnants of the shadows cast last night. In a house like the Blackwood mansion, nothing ever really changed. Walls didn't merely hold people—They held silence, secrets, and sins. But deep within those walls, everything changed. Something had broken. Something was going to be born. West Wing Lounge – 7:00 A.M. Harrison stood before the fireplace, arms folded on his chest, watching ashes dance as dying suns. He had not slept. He did not need to. The buzz of breakfast cooking was from far down the halls, but where he sat in silence with worry. The door opened without apology. Nathaniel stood, coat still on, face unyielding. He shut the door, movements too planned, too measured. "You were with her," Harrison accused, not even bothering to turn around. Nathaniel was silent. There was no use for him to do anything else. "She's manipulating you," Harrison
The mansion fell softly again. Tonight, silence did not frighten Leya. Tonight, permission was the formality. She dressed with purpose—not out of fear, but because she knew details were essential. Black pants. Pullover pushed high. Topcoat light for the part of the night but precisely what the message required. Not hiding. Not running. Walking proudly as if this world belonged to her at her feet. The burner phone rang again. Nathaniel: Back gate to the yard. Ten minutes. Nobody in sight. Leya stuffed the phone into her jacket pocket, smoothed her hair again, and stood before the mirror. "Back" just managed to squeeze out the word. She didn't look like the captive girl Harrison had held. She looked like something born of agony. The bruises remained—the pale yellow and blue smudges across the curve of her ribs, her collarbone, and jaw. No longer embarrassed. They were proof. Proof. She survived. She floated. Down. The. Hall. Bare feet silent. The east wing. Empty. Even
The whisper had stopped. But the silence that followed wasn't silence. It was charged. With purpose. With intent. Leya did not lie well once the voice had stopped—her body outstretched on the bed, back tense against the headboard, every hair on her arms bristling not due to fear, but due to awareness. Not every step is a threat. But there are warnings. And the one that had named her tonight. It hadn't been trying to scare her. It had been trying to communicate something. That she was still being watched. And perhaps—perhaps—that someone still cared that she was worth at least something. That cut deeper at her chest than splintered ribs. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, seething an angry glare at where the door had existed once in the darkness. Someone had whispered her name as if it still held meaning. And that was what disturbed her most. Because it meant there was someone in this house who still thought she was worth whispering about. And that? That m
The voice continued. Soft. Tuned. Familiar—and otherwise. "Leya…" A breath—neither cold nor warm. Did not command, did not scold. Was. Like a stretched bowstring pulled taut behind her at her back. She blinked, sight blurring through fever and weariness, but her backbone firmed—beneath, a little. Her fingers clenched into a blanket on her lap, fine cloth now armor, her foothold in the world. > Who was it? They didn't knock the second time. Didn't stir. I just stood there long enough for her to regain her breath. Long enough for her to realize this hadn't been a mistake. And then, nothing. A withdrawal in silence. The steps light. Stealthy. Commanding. No squeak of the door. No sound of retreating feet. But the tension beyond had changed. As if something had looked at her. Listened to her. Comprehended her. And that had scared her. Not because it had threatened. But because it hadn't. Because for the first time in what had seemed like forever… Someone had said her
Nathaniel was awake. Not that night. After he'd left Leya at the mansion, her silence armor, he'd headed to the east wing. Where the paintings were, where the button-down-bloke blokes with dead eyes in frames—false gods in frames. He didn't switch on the hall light. Didn't switch it on. The weight of her words fell behind him like footprints. I don't need saving, Nathaniel. I need respect. He stood beside the bed, suit jacket still buttoned, tie open but not yet undone. He gazed at the floor for what had to be minutes or maybe hours. He imagined Leya's bruised cheek. Imagine her shaking hands from exhaustion. Recall her eyes—not wide with terror, but level with fire. If she was a fake, then she was the family's finest work. But in a part of him, he knew she wasn't. Still… in the Blackwood house, believing wasn’t enough. You had to be certain. --- The Next Morning – Nathaniel’s Study The morning sun didn’t warm him. He made the call anyway. “St. Delacroix University,
The alley reeked of desperation and stale beer. Leya's shift had run past closing time—again. The night had crawled, but Reed had stayed with her an hour past closing to clean up a spilled drink and split tips. She didn't mind. The more hours she worked, the less she was herself. As if she were somebody else. Somebody free. Somebody who didn't owe the Blackwoods. And then the bar door slammed shut behind her and she was alone in the dark. Zipper up as far as it would go around her neck, purse on her shoulder, and still buzzing hands against sock lining—where tip envelope folded back warm along her ankle. One block down. Just one. Then— A scrape. Heavy feet, too heavy to be mistaken. She shook her head over it, looking back over her shoulder. Two black figures. Too close. Too close by design. Her heartbeat came a little quicker. Muttered voice in the distance. "Hey now… what's a fine-looking girl like you doing way out here by herself?" She stood for military attenti
The voice remained on.Low. Controlled. Familiar—and not."Leya…"A murmur—icy or gentle, neither. A sound that did not request requested not. It remained just so without her leave. Like a thread pulling at her beyond the door just so.Her own eyes dim with fever and exhaustion, she blinked, but sat up a little more in her backroom bed—a little.Her fists clenched in the blanket spread over her lap, thin blanket now buckler, a lifeline to something sacrosanct.> Who was it?They did not knock again.Didn't move.Stand there, long enough for her to catch her breath. Long enough for her to get a grip on this wasn't an accident.And then, nothing.Silent retreat.The footsteps were careful. Light. Measured.No creak of any door. No patter of feet.But tension at the table had changed.As if whatever had been listening to her.Had seen her.Had known her.-----And that was scaring her.Not by threat of harm which it had seemed to do before.But because it wasn't there.Because for the fi
The house slept. That deep, heavy sleep money buys. No bedlam. No alarms. But only endless corridors with silent sconces and floors that shone without a creak. Leya was rigid in the center of her bedroom. She spent there once a minute or two—or so—rigid, inaccessible, just staring at the spread on her bed. Same hoodie. Same jeans. The same black sneakers that never creaked on marble. Her ritual. Her uniform for the other existence. The one she had. --- Getting Ready Slid out of her silk nightgown and into jeans with the knees worn soft at the frayed hems. Pulled the hoodie over her battered shoulders. Tied back her hair in a tight braid. Stuffed the crumpled money into her sock—never her purse. The purse got grabbed. She'd learned that. And she looked in the mirror. No makeup. No perfume. No hint of the woman Harrison used to know. A face carved out of determination. Eyes that wouldn't blink. She stuffed the pocket knife into her sleeve and closed the drawer. Just in c