Chapter 3
1047 Words
He chose that portrait himself.” He said. He didn't even look at my face.
“Yeah. Of course he did.”
I followed him endlessly down the long dark hallway, but I found a door. It looked suspicious, and that's what caught my interest. The wood was unusually heavy, black thick handle, clearly old and worn out, but it looked somewhat important. I stopped for a second, puzzled at what could be in there and without hesitation, I tried to open it, but f**k! It was locked.
“What's in here?” I asked.
“Storage.” He replied.
He's just so bad at the craft.
“You know you shouldn't be doing this. You're such a terrible liar.”
He chuckles softly and says nothing more.
After walking for a little more while, he stops at a door. I guess that must be my room.
“This is your room. Settle in quickly. Tomorrow will be busy. Get some rest.” He smiled and left.
I went in, and lo and behold, it was my old room, but better. The designs were changed to newer ones, as if they were expecting me.
Well, I had to make the most out of it. I took a hot shower and dived into the bed, ready to drift to lalaland.
After much trial and failure, I sat up. I can't sleep. The estate is just too quiet. The silence feels like noise to my mind. It's stolen my sleep.
The room is just too cold. I wanted to take a walk, maybe get some water, clear my head, but I heard some voices outside.
It was in whispers, barely audible. I leaned on the door, and listened closely. One of the voices was Dominic's.
Low and commanding as usual.
“Keep her away from the study. She can't know. She must never know about it.” He warned, I could hear the faltering in his breath. “Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.”
They paused, the resounding voices of their footsteps vanished into the distance.
Hmm, a smile tugged across the corners of my lips.
My jaw tightened.
“That's exactly where I'm going.”
Dominic's POV
If there's one thing I know, it's that dead men have secrets, a whole lot of it, praying to be heard.
The smartest man I've ever known, Sir Arthur Blackwell was buried six feet deep, but then, every passing day, ever since he left, I hear his voice and I hear his secrets, they sing in my ears.
It sings a name, something new, an old file, a locked drawer, the voice keeps calling.
I know for sure, the dead don't rest peacefully when surrounded by unfinished business, they can't. It's impossible.
The moment I sent Hector to go lock the study, I heard some creaking sound in her room. I knew it, that's exactly where she'll go.
I hid myself and monitored her. I did not see when she went out, but I studied the footprints on the dusted floor. It could only be one person, Liana.
She thought she was subtle, but I beat her to her own game.
I followed up with sounds, the slightly cracked cabinet,the faint creak of the stairs late at night. Come on, Liana, you don't want to do this.
She was digging. Searching for answers, answers we both knew, just weren't ready to accept them. We weren't ready to face the truth. And yes, I can't blame her, Arthur Blackwell was one hell of a man. He left his footprints everywhere.
I watched closely from a distance, and I caught sight of her expression. Her eyes blank, her lips wide open. I believe it was memory, she looked confused as she stared into what she held.
I couldn't walk up to her even though it itched me to, I just couldn't. I couldn't ask her what happened, but I saw the fear beneath her skin.
I saw the confusion. It was visibly clear.
I looked closely, she was holding a photo. It looked familiar, of course it did. I can't forget that one.
That was one of Arthur's most cherished pictures. In there was Arthur, myself and Aiden.
Oh s**t! It's not my fault. God! She shouldn't be looking at that s**t! Damn!
That name, it rains back lots of memories to her. I know what she must be thinking right now, good lord!
That name, he was buried in silence, he remained invisible, he remained faceless, he vanished right before Arthur built his empire.
I know she didn't know who he was, or not completely, but she would ask. Soon. That I know for sure.
I'll leave her to herself then. If she can understand the puzzle, good for her. She just shouldn't go looking for trouble.
I sneaked out and headed straight to the woods, far from the cameras. My private investigator, Hellen, was already waiting for me.
I saw the tension in her face. Her heavy breaths, something is definitely not right.
“So… what did you find?”
“It wasn't ordinary Sir.” She trembled. “There's a delay with the results, but there's evidence of some rare poison.” She said, her heart drumming heavily inside her chest. I could feel the vibrations.
“Just calm down. So are you saying…”
“Yes. The poison stopped his heart. They made it look like cardiac arrest.”
“Poisoned?” I asked once again
“Most likely. And from the look of things, it was intentional.”
“Alright. Good work. When it's out, send them to me.” I appreciated. “Go now. Don't be seen.”
Immediately, she ran off and disappeared into the night.
Arthur Blackwell had lots of enemies, some of which I don't know. Some looked like his friends, but deep down, they were devils. There were just too many to count and his death just turned everything ironically.
The one person who could inherit everything was his naive daughter, the one he ignored.
Standing there in confusion, I saw a bright light from afar. I heard the soft humming of an engine in the garage.
From my point of view, I could see him quite well. Eddie, he's back.
- Writer
