Chapter 2
637 Words
“Selene!”
The name echoed again—sharper this time.
Not a call anymore.
A demand.
Footsteps moved quickly across the hallway, doors opening without care. The calm order from earlier had completely collapsed into confusion.
“She’s not here!”
“I checked the back rooms—nothing!”
“Did anyone see her leave?”
Questions overlapped, none of them answered.
Mrs. Blackwood stood in the center of it all, her eyes moving from one face to another like she was waiting for someone to correct the situation.
To say it was a mistake.
To say Selene was simply somewhere quiet, thinking.
But no one said that.
Because no one believed it.
“She wouldn’t just disappear,” she said under her breath.
But even as she said it, doubt crept in.
Mr. Blackwood moved past the others, his expression controlled but tight.
“Check the gates,” he said.
“Sir, the front gate is still closed,” a servant replied quickly. “No one signed out.”
“Then check the back entrance,” he said immediately.
More footsteps. More movement.
But this time, urgency had changed into something else.
Something heavier.
Because the longer it took…
the clearer it became.
This wasn’t delay.
It was absence.
One of the workers returned, breathing slightly harder than before.
“The back gate… it was unlatched.”
Silence.
Not complete silence—but the kind where every sound suddenly felt too loud.
Mrs. Blackwood’s hand moved to her chest.
“She left…” she whispered.
No one corrected her.
Because now there was something to confirm it.
She didn’t get lost.
She didn’t wander.
She left.
On purpose.
Mr. Blackwood closed his eyes briefly.
Just once.
Then opened them again.
And when he did, the panic in the room did not reflect in his gaze.
Only calculation.
“How long?” he asked.
No one answered immediately.
Because no one knew when Selene had made the decision.
Or how long she had been planning it.
That was the most dangerous part.
This was not sudden.
This was chosen.
And that meant she had no intention of coming back.
“Keep searching,” he said.
But his voice had changed.
Not hopeful.
Just procedural.
Because even as he gave the order…
he already knew the truth.
They were not searching for someone inside the house anymore.
They were searching for someone who had already escaped it.
One of the servants stepped forward carefully.
“Sir… the Vale side has already begun preparations.”
That sentence settled into the room like something final.
Mrs. Blackwood looked at her husband.
“What are we going to tell them?” she asked.
This time, her voice didn’t try to stay steady.
Fear had already taken over.
Mr. Blackwood didn’t answer immediately.
Because there were only two options.
Tell the truth—and face whatever came with it.
Or delay—and risk something even worse.
“They cannot be informed yet,” he said finally.
His tone was firm.
Not because he was confident.
Because he had no choice but to sound like it.
“If we report this without control, the situation escalates beyond us.”
“But they are expecting her,” Mrs. Blackwood said, her voice breaking slightly now.
“I know.”
And he did.
That was the problem.
The agreement was not something that allowed mistakes.
And today…
was not a day that allowed disappearance.
The house felt smaller suddenly.
Like the walls themselves were listening.
Waiting.
Watching how this would be handled.
Mr. Blackwood exhaled slowly.
Then turned away from the others.
His gaze moved down the hallway.
Not randomly.
Not without thought.
Just… once.
Then away again.
Like a possibility had crossed his mind—
but had not yet been spoken.
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