THE SHADOW INSIDE THE MANOR
1202 Words
Chapter 4
The journey back to Blackwood Manor was silent.
Rain continued to pound against the windows of the SUV, but no one inside spoke.
Nerisse sat beside Lucien, replaying the silver-haired man's final words over and over in her mind.
*Next time... I'll tell you the truth about your father.*
The words refused to leave her.
She turned toward Lucien.
"You know who he is, don't you?"
Lucien kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
"Yes."
Her heart tightened.
"Then tell me."
Silence.
"Please."
His jaw clenched.
"Not yet."
Frustration flashed across her face.
"Every answer you give only creates more questions."
Lucien slowly looked at her.
"I know."
"Then why won't you tell me the truth?"
His expression softened for a brief moment.
"Because once you know it..."
He paused.
"...your life will never be the same again."
Nerisse looked away.
She whispered bitterly,
"My life changed the moment my mother died."
Lucien couldn't argue with that.
A few minutes later, the towering gates of Blackwood Manor came into view.
The gates stood open.
Too open.
Ethan frowned.
"That's strange."
Two security guards lay unconscious beside the entrance.
Lucien's eyes darkened.
"Stop the car."
The SUV came to an immediate halt.
Every bodyguard stepped out, weapons already drawn.
Ethan carefully approached one of the guards and checked his pulse.
"He's alive."
"Just unconscious."
Lucien nodded once.
"Stay alert."
The group entered the estate cautiously.
The front door was half open.
Rainwater had blown into the grand entrance hall, leaving muddy footprints across the marble floor.
Someone had been inside.
Recently.
Nerisse instinctively moved closer to Lucien.
He noticed.
Without saying a word, he stepped slightly in front of her, shielding her from the darkness ahead.
Margaret suddenly rushed down the staircase.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Mr. Blackwood!"
Lucien caught her before she stumbled.
"Margaret."
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head repeatedly.
"No..."
"But someone came looking for Miss Nerisse."
Nerisse's stomach tightened.
"Looking for me?"
Margaret nodded.
"He knew your name."
"He knew exactly which room had been prepared for you."
Ethan looked around the entrance hall.
"Did anyone see his face?"
Margaret swallowed.
"No."
"He wore a black mask."
Lucien's expression grew colder.
"Did he take anything?"
Margaret hesitated.
"No..."
"He left something instead."
She reached into her apron pocket and carefully handed Lucien a small black envelope.
Across the front, written in silver ink, were three chilling words.
**WELCOME HOME, NERISSE.**
Nerisse felt the blood drain from her face.
Lucien slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a single playing card.
The Ace of Spades.
On the back, someone had written another message.
**The Devil cannot protect what already belongs to death.**
The room fell silent.
Ethan whispered,
"It's him."
Lucien crushed the card in his hand.
His voice was colder than the storm outside.
"Search every room."
"No one leaves this manor until I know how he got inside."
The bodyguards scattered immediately.
Nerisse looked at Lucien.
For the first time...
She saw genuine fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for her.
Before she could ask another question—
A loud scream echoed from the second floor.
Margaret gasped.
Ethan looked upstairs.
"Someone's still inside."
The scream echoed through the manor like a warning.
Every bodyguard froze.
Ethan was the first to react.
"Second floor!" he shouted.
Within seconds, armed men rushed toward the grand staircase.
Lucien grabbed Nerisse's wrist before she could follow.
"Stay behind me."
She frowned.
"I'm not hiding while everyone else is in danger."
"This isn't a request."
His voice was calm, but firm enough to end the argument.
Together, they climbed the staircase.
The corridor upstairs was unusually dark.
Only flashes of lightning illuminated the walls through the tall windows.
The scream had stopped.
The silence that followed was even more frightening.
Ethan cautiously pushed open the first bedroom.
Empty.
The second.
Empty.
The third.
Nothing.
Then...
A faint sound drifted from the end of the hallway.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
It sounded like footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was walking toward them.
Every bodyguard raised his weapon.
Lucien instinctively moved in front of Nerisse.
The footsteps stopped.
For several seconds...
No one breathed.
Suddenly, the library door creaked open.
Margaret stumbled out.
She was pale, trembling from head to toe.
Ethan hurried to support her.
"Margaret!"
She pointed toward the library with a shaking hand.
"He's... in there."
Lucien's eyes darkened.
He nodded once at his men.
Two bodyguards kicked the library doors open.
The room was empty.
Every bookshelf stood untouched.
The fireplace burned quietly.
No broken windows.
No sign of forced entry.
Ethan searched every corner.
"There's no one here."
Margaret shook her head desperately.
"I saw him."
"He was standing beside the window."
"When he looked at me..."
Her voice cracked.
"...he smiled."
Nerisse felt a chill crawl down her spine.
Lucien slowly walked deeper into the room.
His sharp eyes scanned every detail.
Then he stopped.
On the large oak desk lay another black envelope.
It hadn't been there before.
Lucien picked it up carefully.
There was only one sentence inside.
**You were too late again.**
His jaw tightened.
Ethan looked over his shoulder.
"What does it mean?"
Lucien didn't answer.
Instead, he noticed something else.
The bookshelf behind the desk was slightly open.
Hidden behind it...
A narrow passage.
Ethan stared in disbelief.
"A secret tunnel?"
Lucien nodded slowly.
"An old escape route."
"Only members of the Blackwood family know it exists."
Silence settled over the room.
Nerisse's heart skipped a beat.
"If only your family knows about it..."
She looked at Lucien.
"...then someone close to you betrayed you."
No one spoke.
The realization struck every person in the room.
The intruder hadn't broken in.
Someone had helped him.
Someone inside Blackwood Manor.
Lucien closed his eyes for a brief moment.
When he opened them again...
They were colder than ice.
"Lock down the estate."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
As the guards hurried away, Nerisse noticed something lying beneath the desk.
She bent down and picked it up.
It was a small silver locket.
Her breathing stopped.
She recognized it immediately.
It belonged to her mother.
Her hands trembled.
"Lucien..."
He turned.
She held up the locket.
"This was my mother's."
Lucien's expression changed instantly.
He took the locket carefully.
His face lost all color.
"Impossible..."
Nerisse's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Why would the intruder leave this here?"
Lucien slowly opened the locket.
Inside was a tiny photograph.
One side showed Nerisse as a little girl, smiling in her mother's arms.
The other side...
Was empty.
Someone had removed the second photograph.
Lucien stared at the empty space in silence.
Then he whispered,
"He's looking for the missing face."
Nerisse frowned.
"Whose face?"
Before Lucien could answer...
Every light inside Blackwood Manor suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the mansion.
A deep male voice echoed through the speakers hidden inside the house.
"Good evening, Lucien."
Nerisse's heart pounded.
She had heard that voice before.
It belonged to the silver-haired man.
The voice laughed softly.
"Tonight..."
"...one of you will tell me where the missing photograph is."
End of chapter 4
When the devil chose Love
- Writer
