Chapter Three
1305 Words
Dangerous Curiosity
Elena couldn’t stop thinking about the third floor.
Not while eating.
Not while trying to read.
Not even while lying awake at night staring at the ceiling of her massive guest room.
The crying she heard earlier kept replaying inside her head.
And Damien’s reaction?
That disturbed her even more.
He hadn’t looked angry.
He had looked afraid.
The realization sat heavily in her chest.
Men like Damien Vale didn’t seem like the type to fear anything.
Yet for one brief moment on that staircase…
he had.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Elena sat up from the bed.
“Come in.”
The door opened carefully.
A young woman stepped inside carrying folded towels.
Unlike the other staff members, she looked nervous rather than emotionless.
Probably around Elena’s age.
Big brown eyes.
Curly hair tied back neatly.
Her nametag read:
Sofia.
“You’re the new girl,” Sofia said softly.
Elena almost laughed.
“The new girl?”
Sofia’s eyes widened slightly. “Sorry. I just meant—”
“It’s okay.”
The girl relaxed a little.
She placed the towels down carefully before glancing toward the door like she was checking if someone might overhear them.
“You should be careful here,” Sofia whispered suddenly.
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“Careful of what?”
Sofia hesitated.
Then quickly shook her head.
“Nothing.”
Definitely not nothing.
Before Elena could press further, Sofia hurried toward the door.
“Wait,” Elena said quickly.
Sofia paused.
“What’s on the third floor?”
The girl went completely pale.
Fear flashed across her face so quickly it startled Elena.
“You shouldn’t ask questions like that.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
Sofia lowered her voice even more.
“Because people who ask too many questions here don’t stay long.”
And then she rushed out.
Elena stared after her.
Okay.
That officially wasn’t normal.
By evening, the storm had returned.
Rain poured endlessly against the windows while thunder shook the mansion every few minutes.
The entire place felt darker at night.
More alive somehow.
Elena wandered into the library after dinner, unable to sleep again.
The room was enormous.
Dark shelves stretched from floor to ceiling while warm golden lights glowed softly overhead.
At least this part of the mansion felt less suffocating.
She ran her fingers along the shelves absentmindedly before pulling out a random book.
Classic literature.
Interesting.
A voice behind her spoke suddenly.
“You read?”
Elena jumped violently.
Damien stood near the doorway.
Black dress shirt.
Sleeves rolled up.
Rainwater still glistening slightly in his dark hair.
Her heartbeat betrayed her instantly.
This man needed to stop appearing out of nowhere.
“That’s usually what people do with books,” she muttered.
One corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
“I was trying to determine whether you actually enjoyed reading or just liked pretending to.”
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“You’re annoyingly confident.”
“And you’re annoyingly curious.”
Fair enough.
Damien walked farther into the library slowly.
The room somehow felt smaller with him inside it.
More dangerous.
“Elena.”
The way he said her name should honestly be illegal.
“What?”
“You disobeyed me today.”
Straight to the point.
She crossed her arms slightly.
“I heard crying.”
“And?”
“And I’m not heartless enough to ignore that.”
For a moment, silence settled heavily between them.
Rain crashed loudly outside.
Damien looked at her carefully.
Almost tired.
“You think kindness will save everyone,” he said quietly.
“That’s not a weakness.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
His voice softened slightly.
“That’s what makes you dangerous.”
Elena frowned.
“How exactly am I the dangerous one here?”
A quiet laugh escaped him.
It was low.
Brief.
And unexpectedly attractive.
God help her.
Damien moved toward the shelves beside her, reaching for a book casually.
The movement brought him close enough that Elena caught the scent of his cologne again.
Dark.
Expensive.
Dangerous.
Everything about him felt dangerous.
“You’re staring,” he said calmly.
Elena nearly dropped the book in her hands.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I literally hate you.”
“That’s usually how it starts.”
Her mouth fell open slightly.
Damien looked entirely too amused now.
“You flirt with everybody like this?” she asked.
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
Something about that bothered her more than it should have.
Elena quickly looked away from him.
Bad idea.
Very bad idea.
This was exactly how girls ended up emotionally ruined in romance movies.
Damien leaned lightly against the shelf beside her.
“You should stay away from the third floor.”
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“That look.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“What look?”
“Like you’re trying to protect me from something.”
The amusement vanished from his face immediately.
Interesting.
“I don’t need protection,” Elena continued quietly.
Damien stepped closer.
Too close again.
Her pulse stumbled instantly.
“You have no idea what kind of people exist in my world, Elena.”
His voice was softer now.
More serious.
“And you have no idea what kind of person you are,” she shot back.
Something changed in his expression.
Gone within seconds.
But she saw it.
Pain.
Again.
Before either of them could speak—
the lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room instantly.
Elena gasped softly.
Thunder cracked loudly outside.
Then—
somewhere in the mansion—
a woman screamed.
Elena froze.
The sound was horrifying.
Raw.
Terrified.
Before she could react, Damien grabbed her wrist.
“Stay here.”
“What was that?!”
“Do not leave this room.”
The command in his voice made her stomach tighten.
“Damien—”
“Lock the door behind me.”
And then he disappeared into the darkness.
Elena stood frozen for half a second.
Then another scream echoed through the mansion.
Fear crawled up her spine instantly.
Okay.
Absolutely not.
She couldn’t just stay here.
Ignoring every instruction Damien gave her, Elena rushed out of the library.
The mansion hallways were nearly pitch black except for occasional flashes of lightning through the windows.
Her heartbeat thundered painfully as she followed distant voices somewhere upstairs.
Then she heard it again.
Crying.
Coming from the third floor.
Elena stopped breathing for a second.
No.
Nope.
Terrible idea.
The smart thing would be turning around immediately.
Instead—
she started climbing the stairs again.
Lightning flashed outside as she reached the top floor.
The hallway looked even more terrifying in darkness.
And then—
she saw it.
One of the doors was slightly open.
Warm light spilled through the crack.
Elena’s pulse pounded violently.
Slowly—
carefully—
she stepped closer.
The crying inside sounded weaker now.
Broken.
Elena reached the door carefully and pushed it open slightly.
And froze.
A woman sat curled against the corner of the room.
Long dark hair.
White dress.
Bruises covering her arms.
Elena’s blood ran cold.
The woman looked up suddenly.
Their eyes met.
For one horrifying second—
pure terror filled the woman’s face.
Then she whispered shakily:
“You need to leave before he sees you.”
Elena’s stomach dropped.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
Heavy.
Dangerously calm.
She turned slowly—
—and found Damien standing at the end of the hallway.
His expression was unreadable.
But his eyes?
Those eyes looked lethal.
“Elena,” he said quietly.
The woman inside the room suddenly began trembling violently.
And that was when Elena realized something terrifying.
The woman wasn’t afraid of the mansion.
She was afraid of Damien Vale.
- Writer
