Velvet Chains

The Devil Inside

The gates alone told me everything.

Tall. Black. Impossibly heavy-looking as they slid open without a sound. This wasn’t just a house. It was a fortress.

My stomach twisted as the car pulled in, gravel crunching beneath the tires. The mansion ahead was massive, lights glowing warm against the storm—but it didn’t feel welcoming. It felt like a trap. I hesitated when the door opened. “Out.” I

stepped out slowly, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold hit me again.

“Where am I?” I asked, somewhat steady.

He didn’t look back as he walked ahead.

“My home.” Not helpful.

I followed anyway.

Because what choice did I actually have?

Inside was worse.

Everything was too clean. Too polished. Like nothing messy or human was allowed to exist here. Except me.

Wet. Shaking. Cold. Covered in someone else’s blood. I suddenly felt very, very out of place.

“Take her upstairs to the room,” he said to someone behind me.

I flinched slightly, not realizing there were others watching. Always watching.

A woman approached—calm, composed. “This way.” I looked back once. Just once.

He was already walking away.

Like I didn’t matter at all..

I didn’t sleep. Not really. The woman took me to a nice bedroom, door locked however.. and it had been hours- i’m assuming to give me time to rest however

every sound felt too loud. Every shadow felt like it moved when I wasn’t looking. The bed was too soft, the room too quiet—like something bad was waiting for me to relax.

I stayed awake until the sky started turning gray. That’s when the door unlocked.

The click was quiet but I heard it.

I sat up immediately, heart racing as the door slowly opened. Not him.

A woman stepped inside—mid-thirties maybe, calm expression, dark uniform.

“Come with me,” she said gently.

I didn’t move. “Where?”

“To get you cleaned up.”

My jaw tightened. “And if I say no?”

Her expression didn’t change. “You won’t.”

Something about that made my stomach twist. Not threatening. Just… certain.

I stood anyway. Because I didn’t have a choice.

The bathroom was bigger than my entire apartment used to be. Marble. Glass. Everything spotless.

I hesitated at the doorway.

“You can undress,” she said, turning on the bath. “I’ll bring you something clean.”

I crossed my arms. “You’re just going to leave me here?”

A pause.

Then—“The door will remain unlocked.”

That surprised me. Slightly.

Before I could respond, she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Not locked. Just closed.

I stood there for a long moment.

Listening. Nothing. Slowly… I exhaled.

Then moved.

The water was too hot at first.

I didn’t care. I sank into it anyway, hissing slightly as it stung against the small cuts on my skin.

But after a moment… It felt good.

Too good.

Like I could finally breathe again.

I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back against the edge of the tub.

For a second—just one—I let myself forget.

The blood. The man.

The fact that I was in a stranger’s house who locked doors like cages.

My fingers curled slightly under the water.

I didn’t notice the door open.. and it was him.