Chapter 9: The Message in the Garden
936 Words
The mansion seemed to hold its breath.
Aria couldn’t move.
Arthur.
The old man who had known her mother.
The man who had protected her notebook for years.
He couldn’t be dead.
He couldn’t.
She ran.
The necklace still in her hand, she raced through the hallways, down the staircase, and out into the cold night.
“Aria!” Damien called after her.
She didn’t stop.
Rain soaked the gardens.
Security guards stood in a circle near the fountain.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Aria’s heart pounded violently.
“Move,” she whispered.
No one did.
“Move!”
The guards stepped aside.
And Aria froze.
Arthur lay on the ground.
His eyes were closed.
His face was pale.
Beside him, written across the wet stone in black paint, were six words.
THE BLACK SWAN REMEMBERS HER PROMISE.
Aria stared at the message.
Promise?
What promise?
A trembling hand touched Arthur’s shoulder.
“Arthur?”
No response.
“Arthur?”
Still nothing.
A terrible fear rose inside her.
Then—
A weak cough.
Aria’s head snapped up.
Arthur’s fingers moved.
“He’s alive!” she cried.
A doctor rushed forward.
“Give him space.”
Minutes felt like hours.
Finally, Arthur slowly opened his eyes.
The moment he saw Aria, his expression changed.
Panic.
Pure panic.
He grabbed her wrist with surprising strength.
“You have to leave.”
Aria blinked.
“What?”
“You have to run.”
“Arthur—”
“Listen to me.”
His breathing became uneven.
“The Black Swan knows where you are.”
“But who is she?”
Arthur’s face turned white.
As if even speaking about her was dangerous.
“You can’t stay here.”
“Tell me who she is.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I say her name…” His voice shook. “She’ll know.”
The answer made no sense.
How could someone know?
Unless—
Unless she was closer than they realized.
Arthur’s gaze shifted behind Aria.
His eyes widened.
Fear flooded his face.
Very slowly, he whispered,
“She’s already here.”
Silence.
Aria felt her blood turn cold.
She turned around.
Nobody.
Only Damien.
Security guards.
The dark garden.
The fountain.
Rain.
Yet Arthur looked terrified.
As if he had seen a ghost.
Then his eyes rolled back.
He lost consciousness again.
“Arthur!” Aria cried.
The doctor checked him.
“He’s exhausted. We need to get him inside.”
But Aria couldn’t move.
One sentence kept repeating in her mind.
She’s already here.
⸻
An hour later, Aria sat alone in the mansion’s sitting room.
A fire crackled nearby.
She didn’t feel warm.
The message.
The attack.
Arthur’s fear.
Everything was becoming worse.
Not better.
A cup of tea appeared in front of her.
She looked up.
Damien.
“You should drink something.”
She ignored it.
For several moments, he remained standing.
Then he sat across from her.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Aria broke the silence.
“Did you hear what he said?”
Damien nodded.
“Do you believe him?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Which was answer enough.
Aria looked into the fire.
“I think I’m losing my mind.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You’re learning that your life isn’t what you thought it was.”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
To her surprise, a small smile appeared on Damien’s face.
“No.”
For some reason, she almost smiled too.
Almost.
The expression vanished as quickly as it came.
She looked down at the necklace in her hand.
“My mother gave this to you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Damien’s gaze softened.
“Because she trusted me.”
Again.
That word.
Trust.
The woman who had warned her not to trust easily had trusted Damien with everything.
The notebook.
The key.
The necklace.
Why?
Aria looked at him.
“What were you to her?”
Silence.
The fire crackled.
Rain tapped against the windows.
Then Damien answered.
“I owed her my life.”
Her breath caught.
“What?”
“When I was seventeen, I nearly died.”
He rarely spoke about himself.
She could tell.
Each word seemed difficult.
“Your mother saved me.”
The room fell silent.
Aria stared at him.
A thousand questions filled her mind.
“My mother saved you?”
He nodded.
“And after that?”
“She became my friend.”
Friend.
The answer seemed simple.
Too simple.
Because something in Damien’s eyes looked far more complicated.
Before she could ask another question, footsteps echoed through the room.
A guard entered.
“Sir.”
Damien immediately stood.
“What is it?”
The guard looked uneasy.
“We found something.”
“What?”
The guard swallowed.
“A woman entered the estate tonight.”
Silence.
Aria’s pulse quickened.
“What woman?”
The guard looked directly at her.
“She was wearing a black dress.”
Nobody moved.
The room suddenly felt colder.
“And?” Damien asked.
The guard handed him something.
A photograph.
Damien’s expression changed.
For the first time since she’d met him—
He looked afraid.
“Damien?”
Slowly, he handed her the picture.
Aria looked down.
A woman stood outside the estate gates.
Her face was hidden by an umbrella.
She wore a long black dress.
And around her neck—
A silver swan pendant.
Aria’s breath caught.
Because beneath the photograph, written in elegant handwriting, was a message.
I finally found you, little star.
- Writer
