Chapter 3:The Devil’s Rules
1096 Words
Just beside her on the bed, she saw pictures of her mother at the hospital smiling. It's been so long since she saw her mother smile like that since after her father's burial.
Her fingers trembled as she turned the photo, eyes locked on the red ink.
He's not who you think he is.
Her wrist chilled down her spine.
Could it be Miranda?
Is this a threat, a warning, or even both?
She heard footsteps approaching her room. She immediately shoved the photo under her pillow just as the door creaked open.
Cassian stepped in, still wearing his gala suit, but with his tie loosened.
“Come with me”. There was seriousness in his tone, and his look was jarring.
They both got to Cassian's wing.
On the dining hall, Cassian played a video from his laptop.
“Why were you trying to enter my study room?”
Immediately, Eliana remembered the cameras placed at every corner, so they were active.
“I don't care why you were trying to buggle my room, but who were you talking to?”
Eliana looked at the laptop screen and discovered Miranda was never caught in the camera. For some reason, her face was blurred out.
“Don't let me repeat myself.”
“It's one of the staff. She was trying to…um…like, stop me…”
“A staff would never dress like that.”
Cassian's voice was becoming more serious and stern.
“I'm telling the truth. I don't know her.”
“You signed a contract, Eliana. Every move we take is calculated. Just a single mistake could cost us a lot. Can cost you your life.”
“My life?” She asked.
Cassian stared at her for a while. It felt like he had said too much. He turned away, pulling off his suit.
“Forget it,” he said. “You can't understand.”
Eliana stood in front of him.
“Forget it, like you don't have anything you want to say to me.”
“Like getting out of my sight?”
Eliana felt like she was deceived.
Miranda was right.
Cassian’s not exactly who she thinks he is.
Why would he lure her into a contract marriage when he fully knows who she is the daughter of the man he murdered?
She felt the urgent need to see Miranda to provide answers to her questions and how her face was blurred out in the camera. But how would she find Miranda?
The next morning, Eliana had plans to go see her mom. She came to the dining hall to grab something to eat. The dining felt like a courtroom, and Eliana is the one on trial.
Cassian appeared in a well-tailored suit. He didn't say good morning, didn't even look her way.
“You are late,” he said. Taking a seat opposite her.
“I never knew we had like a meeting or event today,” she replied in a low but firm tone.
Cassian raised his eyes to look at her.
“Eliana, the first and most important rule you should know. My time is the only one that matters.”
He slid a folder to her across the table. Inside it is a list of all the schedules, public appearances, media briefings, her presentations.
“You will need to memorize that. This marriage might be fake, but my reputation isn't.”
Eliana bits her lips, her fingers curled out of anger.
“Oh, so you think your reputation matters more than...”
“I'm still working on finding out who you were with last night. And it'll be dirty when I find out it's none of my staff.”
Cassian knew he couldn't trust Eliana, so he needs her by his side at all times.
What was she trying to find out from his study? And who is she working for?
As she stood up to leave, he added... He added face glue to what he's eating.
“Oh, and Eliana, your only business here, in my wing, is this dining hall.” There are a lot of rooms here, why just the dining?
“Why is that?” she asked.
He looked at her, his eyes cold, unreadable.
“That's none of your business.”
The schedules and meetings took a toll on her. She couldn't go see her mother. After Eliana rested a bit after getting home, she decided to take a walk around the mansion.
She was walking down the hallways. Pictures of Blackwoods from generation to generation hung on the wall. That made Eliana remember that Cassian never spoke of his family.
Is he really unaware of who she is, or is he just pretending?
The thought of how she could contact Miranda lingers in her mind. She really wants to go on full FBI mode and dig for the truth behind her father's murder, and also remove the mask Cassian is putting on.
However, today, she's not searching for trouble. But something pulled her when she passed Cassian's wing.
A locked door with a beaming monitor at the entrance.
She knows she's not meant to be here, but she's hungry for the truth and she's becoming impatient. She stepped closer, only to hear a cough behind her.
“You shouldn't be here, ma'am,” Samuel said.
Samuel is Cassian's most loyal worker. He is a butler, and he has been assigned secretly by Cassian to monitor Eliana's movements.
“The West Wing is off-limits to you.”
The West Wing is where Cassian stays.
“I know. I was just like, um, can you tell me... what room is that?”
He didn't answer.
Just walked off.
Eliana went back to her room to check the signed contract. She stared at the list of rules, but her mind was never on them.
Her mind was on that door.
What exactly is in that room?
Why did Cassian lock down that part of the house like a Fort Knox?
And why is Miranda's voice still echoing like a chorus in her head?
“Your father was curious, too.”
Is she becoming curious like her father, too?
Eliana looked at her reflection in the mirror, her heart pounding. She knew she is not just a guest here anymore. This building holds the truth to everything she's been curious about and she's done waiting. Eliana looked up, heart pounding, and began typing. WoodTech. She started gathering as much information as she could.
An article caught her attention.
WoodTech whistleblower Andrew Reyes, her father.
- Writer
