Chapter Two
1118 Words
Chapter Two – Eyes in the Dark
Serena couldn’t sleep.
The mansion was quiet — too quiet. Not peaceful. Watchful.
She lay in bed staring at the high ceiling, arms crossed over her stomach like she was bracing for war rather than rest.
A faint click.
A door?
She sat up.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Silence followed.
She grabbed the baseball bat hidden beside her nightstand — a small act of rebellion her father never knew about — and tiptoed to the door.
It was slightly open.
She always locked it.
Always.
A whisper of cold air brushed her toes.
She stepped out.
The hallway was dim, lit by low wall lamps. And with her very first step, she felt it —
Someone was watching.
Not Liam.
Something else.
Something colder.
She crept down the corridor, barefoot and tense. The bat in her hand felt useless. Light. Childish.
Then a shadow flickered near the stairs.
She froze.
A voice — low, steady, deep:
“You shouldn’t be out here.”
She spun.
Liam.
He emerged from the darkness like he was part of it, dressed in black, unreadable as always.
She let out a shaky breath, lowering the bat.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
He glanced at the bat.
“That wouldn’t have helped.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Says the man who thinks frowning solves everything.”
No reply.
She hated that.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Securing the perimeter.”
“Inside the house?”
He didn’t answer. His gaze shifted down the hallway — and something in his posture made her pulse spike.
“Liam… what’s going on?”
This time, he looked at her — really looked.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“We’re not alone.”
---
Her breath caught.
“What do you mean?”
Liam moved past her without answering.
His hand briefly touched the small of her back, firm but careful, steering her toward her room.
“Get inside. Lock the door. Stay there.”
“No. Liam—”
“Now, Serena.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it didn’t allow disobedience.
She took a step back, stunned.
Before she could speak again, he was already gone — swallowed by the shadows.
---
Of course she didn’t listen.
She waited ten seconds, counted every beat of her pulse — then followed him. Barefoot. Silent.
He moved like he belonged in the dark.
Quick. Precise. Almost... inhuman.
She turned the corner just in time to see him push open the back door of the mansion, gun already drawn.
Serena’s stomach dropped.
This wasn’t a drill.
Something was wrong.
Really, truly wrong.
A sound.
Left side.
Liam turned sharply, gun aimed.
Serena’s breath froze in her lungs.
A shadow shifted behind the garden wall.
“Who’s there?” Liam’s voice was ice.
No reply.
Just a sudden, sharp whistle—
Then silence.
Then — running footsteps.
Liam lunged forward.
Serena gasped, frozen.
Someone leapt over the outer fence.
Liam didn’t shoot.
He didn’t chase.
He lowered the gun slowly, eyes narrowing.
“They were testing the grounds.”
“What?” she whispered, stepping beside him.
“A message. They wanted us to see them.”
---
Serena felt the weight of his words sink into her chest like lead.
They wanted us to see them.
Who were they?
Before she could ask, Liam turned to her, his jaw tight.
“Go back inside. Now.”
“Stop giving me orders like I’m one of your soldiers.”
He took a step closer, his voice flat.
“You’re not. You’re a target.”
That stung more than it should have.
“Why now?” she asked quietly. “Why tonight?”
He looked away, scanning the treeline.
“Because you’re vulnerable. Because your father’s enemies think you’re unguarded.”
She folded her arms.
“I thought you were guarding me.”
Liam’s eyes snapped back to hers.
Dark. Unreadable.
“I am. Which is why you need to get back inside before someone realizes you’re still standing out here arguing with me.”
---
Inside, the walls felt too narrow. The house too large.
She paced her room, restless, adrenaline still high.
A message.
They wanted us to see them.
It wasn’t the first threat her family had faced. But it was the first time it felt this… personal.
She didn’t know how long she stood at the window, waiting. Watching.
Until—
A soft knock on the door.
“Serena.”
Liam’s voice, low. Controlled.
She opened the door slowly, expecting more orders.
Instead, he handed her something.
A small black device. A panic button.
“Keep it on you.”
“That’s not very comforting.”
“It’s not meant to be.”
She blinked.
“You always this charming?”
No smile.
No change in his expression.
Just one slow glance toward her hands, still trembling slightly.
“You’re shaking.”
She crossed her arms.
“I’m fine.”
He stared at her for a moment longer.
Then turned to leave.
---
Sleep didn’t come.
She tried.
But the silence now felt thick. Choking.
And Liam’s words kept repeating in her mind:
> “You're a target.”
“They wanted us to see them.”
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she got up, barefoot again, and opened her door.
The hallway was dim.
And there — at the far end — sitting on a bench near her door, facing the hallway with his back against the wall — was Liam.
Still. Silent. Watching.
He hadn’t left.
He was guarding her. Personally.
She leaned on the doorframe, whispering:
“Do you ever sleep?”
He didn’t look at her. Just said,
“Not when the enemy’s watching.”
---
The next morning came heavy.
Serena had barely slept an hour when sunlight flooded her room. She rose, her mind foggy, her chest still tense.
Downstairs, the household was oddly quiet. Too many of the usual guards were missing.
And her father wasn’t at breakfast.
She found Liam in the control room.
He was standing before several screens, watching every corner of the estate.
“They left a mark,” he said without turning around.
“What kind of mark?”
He pointed.
On one screen, the security feed showed the outer stone wall.
Spray-painted in black was a symbol — a wolf.
Her blood chilled.
“The Lombardi family,” she whispered.
Liam nodded.
“They’ve returned. And they’re not hiding anymore.”
She stared at the screen, heart pounding.
“What do they want?”
Liam finally turned to face her.
“You.”
- Writer
