Chapter 10: The Promise of Protection
752 Words
The photograph slipped from Aria’s trembling fingers.
It landed softly on the carpet.
Neither of them moved.
The message burned in her mind.
I finally found you, little star.
Little star.
Her heart suddenly skipped.
Someone had called her that before.
A voice.
Soft.
Warm.
A memory.
She closed her eyes.
For a brief second, she saw herself as a little girl.
She was sitting on a swing.
The sun was shining.
A woman stood nearby.
Her face was blurry.
But her voice was clear.
“Come here, my little star.”
Aria’s eyes flew open.
Her breathing became uneven.
Her mother.
Her mother used to call her that.
She looked at Damien.
“How does she know?”
The billionaire’s face had turned pale.
He picked up the photograph again.
The message had clearly shaken him.
“Damien.”
No answer.
“How does she know?” she repeated.
Slowly, he looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, she didn’t believe him.
Not completely.
Because his eyes were hiding something.
Again.
Always something.
The guard shifted nervously.
“Sir, should we increase security?”
Damien’s expression hardened.
“Double it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No one enters or leaves the estate without my permission.”
The guard nodded and hurried away.
Silence returned.
Rain tapped gently against the windows.
Aria looked back at the photograph.
The woman in black.
The silver swan pendant.
The message.
Suddenly, she felt cold.
As though someone was watching her.
As though someone had been watching her for years.
“Who is she?” she whispered.
Damien stared at the image.
When he finally answered, his voice was barely audible.
“I don’t know.”
Again.
The same answer.
And yet something told her he was afraid.
Not of the woman.
Of what she wanted.
⸻
The grandfather clock struck midnight.
Aria couldn’t sleep.
Again.
The mansion had become a place of questions.
Every answer seemed to create ten more mysteries.
She stood by the window of her room.
The gardens below were dark.
Security lights moved across the grounds.
Everything appeared normal.
Then she saw it.
A figure.
Standing near the fountain.
A woman.
Long black dress.
Dark hair.
Motionless.
Aria’s breath caught.
The woman slowly lifted her head.
Even from this distance, Aria felt it.
She was looking directly at her.
A flash of lightning illuminated the garden.
And the woman smiled.
Aria gasped.
The lights flickered.
For a single second, the room went dark.
When the lights returned—
The woman was gone.
A knock sounded behind her.
She nearly screamed.
The door opened.
Damien entered.
He immediately noticed her expression.
“What happened?”
She pointed toward the window.
“There was someone there.”
Damien looked outside.
The gardens were empty.
“A woman.”
He turned back toward her.
“In black.”
Silence.
Neither spoke.
Without a word, Damien crossed the room and looked through the glass.
Nothing.
Rain.
Trees.
Shadows.
Then his eyes narrowed.
He saw something.
Near the fountain.
A single black rose.
He immediately left the room.
“Damien!”
He didn’t stop.
Aria followed.
They rushed downstairs and into the garden.
Cold rain greeted them.
They reached the fountain.
There it was.
The rose.
Black.
Beautiful.
Unnatural.
Damien picked it up.
A small card was tied around the stem.
His expression changed.
“What does it say?”
He didn’t answer.
“Damien.”
Still nothing.
Frustrated, Aria took the card.
Her breath caught.
The message contained only one sentence.
I kept my promise. Now keep yours.
She looked up.
“What promise?”
Damien’s face had lost all color.
A muscle tightened in his jaw.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered,
“I thought she was dead.”
The words echoed in the rain.
Aria stared at him.
“What?”
His eyes remained fixed on the black rose.
“I thought she died fifteen years ago.”
Her heart began pounding.
“You know her.”
Silence.
“You know the Black Swan.”
A long moment passed.
Then Damien slowly looked at her.
Rain dripped from his dark hair.
Pain filled his eyes.
And when he finally spoke, his voice sounded unlike his own.
“I knew her.”
“Who is she?”
He swallowed.
Then said the words that changed everything.
“The Black Swan…”
He paused.
As if saying the name itself hurt.
“…was my sister.”
- Writer
