CHAPTER 5 — The Man in the Winter Coat
1066 Words
The car ride home was too quiet.
Ariella sat pressed against the window, watching Paris blur into streaks of gold and frost. Damien sat beside her in the back seat, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the road ahead as if he could will away every shadow following them.
Elias rode in the front with the driver, silent but alert, his hand resting near the handle of the door as if expecting trouble.
The silence grew thick.
Damien finally spoke. His voice was low. Controlled. Dangerous.
“Ariella… did you recognize the man?”
She shook her head. “No. He felt familiar somehow, but I don’t know him.”
Damien’s brow creased. “Did he signal anything? Say anything?”
“No,” she whispered. “Just stared.”
Elias turned slightly, looking at her through the mirror.
“That wasn’t a random threat,” he said. “He wanted you to see him.”
Ariella’s skin prickled.
“Why? What does he want?”
Damien and Elias exchanged a glance.
A heavy, silent one.
Ariella didn’t miss it.
But before she could ask, the car slowed to a stop in front of the Hart estate.
Her home — grand, cold, and filled with ghosts.
The mansion glowed with warm lights, Christmas decorations glimmering along the marble steps.
But Ariella didn’t feel safe.
Not anymore.
---
At the Entrance
Damien stepped out first, then helped Ariella down carefully, as if she were fragile glass. His hand lingered around her waist, steadying her.
“You’re staying inside tonight,” he said. “No solo walks. Not even to the balcony.”
Ariella frowned. “Damien, I can’t stay locked in my own home.”
“You can,” he said, “and you will. Until we figure out who’s after you.”
Elias crossed his arms, scanning the darkened hedges. “I’ll check the perimeter.”
Ariella touched Damien’s sleeve. “You didn’t have to leave the gala for me.”
Damien met her eyes with a seriousness that made her breath hitch.
“I’d leave the world for you if I had to.”
Her heart tripped.
But before she could say anything, the front doors swung open.
Ophelia.
Wrapped in a silk robe, fake surprise painted on her face.
“Oh my, you’re home early! Ariella, dear, did something bad happen to you? You look so scared.”
Ariella stiffened. “I’m fine.”
Ophelia stepped closer and cupped Ariella’s cheek.
“Poor thing,” she cooed, voice dripping with venom under the honey. “Maybe you shouldn’t perform anymore. All that pressure must be too much for you.”
Ariella stepped back from her touch.
Damien’s voice was a growl. “Ophelia, that’s enough.”
She turned to him with a smug smile. “Oh Damien, always so protective. It must be exhausting.”
He stared at her, unimpressed. “Move.”
Ophelia did — slowly, still smirking.
As Ariella passed her, Ophelia leaned in and whispered:
“Don’t get too comfortable, little snowflake. Daddy won’t always be there to protect you.”
Ariella froze.
Her throat tightened.
Before she could react, Damien gently pulled her away, leading her inside.
---
Inside the House
Once the doors shut behind them, Ariella sagged against the wall.
Damien caught her immediately.
“Slow breaths,” he whispered.
She nodded, forcing air into her lungs.
After a moment, she said quietly, “Damien… something is wrong with my family. I feel it.”
Damien brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Your instincts are good. Trust them.”
“But why would someone follow me? Why now?”
Damien hesitated.
“Ariella…”
He exhaled slowly.
“There’s something you need to know about your father’s business.”
Her stomach dropped. “What about it?”
Before he could respond—
A sharp knock echoed down the hallway.
Both Damien and Ariella snapped toward the sound.
A security guard rushed into view. “Sir! There’s someone at the gate!”
Damien’s hand tightened around Ariella instinctively. “Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“Says he wants to see Miss Ariella. He refuses to give his name.”
Elias reappeared from the hall, expression grim. “What does he look like?”
The guard’s voice shook.
“A tall man. Dark coat. Gloves. Says he won’t leave until he sees her.”
Ariella’s blood ran cold.
Damien stepped in front of her.
“Nobody opens the gate. Nobody speaks to him. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Elias looked directly at Ariella. “Is it the same man?”
“I… I think so.” Her voice trembled.
Damien turned to the guard again.
“Double the patrol. No one enters. No one leaves.”
The guard hurried off.
Ariella felt her legs weaken. “Damien… why won’t he stop? What does he want from me?”
Damien placed both hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Ariella… I swear on my life—
I won’t let anyone touch you.”
Her heart thudded painfully hard.
But behind Damien, she saw Elias watching silently.
Studying her.
Protecting her in his own way.
She whispered, “Damien… Elias… I’m scared.”
For the first time tonight, Elias’s mask slipped.
“You should be,” he said softly. “Someone is playing a very dangerous game.”
Damien shot him a warning look, but Elias continued:
“And this—” he gestured toward the gate “—is just the beginning.”
Ariella shivered.
“Damien…” she whispered. “What are you not telling me?”
Damien opened his mouth—
But a loud, heavy bang sounded at the gate.
All three froze.
Another bang.
Elias stepped forward immediately.
“Get her upstairs,” he ordered Damien. “Now.”
Damien grabbed Ariella’s hand.
“Stay close.”
Ariella looked back through the glass window as Damien pulled her toward the staircase.
She saw a shadowed figure through the iron gate.
Tall.
Still.
Watching.
Then—
He lifted his hand.
And pointed directly at her.
Ariella gasped.
Damien pulled her behind him instantly. “Don’t look at him.”
Elias shouted something to the guards.
And downstairs, Ophelia and Gina watched with delighted, cruel smiles…
As if they already knew exactly who the man was.
And exactly why he had come.
---
- Writer
