The mansion didn’t feel the same after the courtyard.
Denise noticed it immediately.
Not because anything had changed.
But because she had.
The halls were still too quiet.
The staff still moved like they were trained not to exist too loudly.
And Liam Dawson still hadn’t explained a single thing.
He’d left her in her room after the courtyard without another word.
Not a command.
Not an apology.
Just absence.
That was its own kind of control.
Denise stood in front of the mirror for a long time that morning.
Waiting for her reflection to feel different.
It didn’t.
Which made everything worse.
Because if she looked normal, then maybe she was supposed to pretend last night hadn’t happened.
She turned away from the mirror.
“No,” she said quietly to herself.
And walked out.
⸻
