Chapter 14 – The Voice in the Dark
867 Words
Elena’s breath came in shallow, uneven bursts.
She didn’t understand why her body reacted this way—why the whisper outside the window made her knees weaken, why the voice felt like a memory brushing against her skin.
“Elena.”
Dominic’s voice snapped her back.
He stepped closer, hands hovering as if afraid to startle her. “Look at me.”
She forced her eyes up.
Dominic’s gaze searched hers—deep, steady, almost painfully intense. “Do you recognize that voice?”
Elena shook her head, trembling. “I don’t know… I think—I think I heard it before. But I don’t remember when. Or where.”
Dominic’s jaw clenched dangerously. “Then we don’t take chances.”
He moved toward the window, every step controlled and lethal. He didn’t pull the curtain aside this time. He listened.
Silence.
Then—another whisper.
Softer.
Almost teasing.
“Elena… open the window.”
Elena gasped. Dominic spun around instantly and pulled her into his chest.
“No,” he growled. “Don’t answer. Don’t move.”
Elena shook violently against him. She could feel the tension in his body—tight, coiled, ready to kill.
“Dominic,” she whispered, gripping his shirt. “Whoever that is… they know my name.”
“Too many people know your name,” he said, trying to steady her. “That doesn’t mean they know *you*.”
Elena swallowed, her voice small. “But why would they ask me to open the window?”
Dominic looked toward the glass, eyes sharp with calculation.
“They want you alone,” he murmured. “They want you close.”
His arms tightened around her.
“They’re not getting either.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small device—a sleek, silver piece of tech she’d never seen before. He clicked it once.
Instantly, footsteps sounded outside the hallway—guards rushing to the room.
Dominic didn’t wait. He cupped Elena’s face again, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“Elena… listen to me.”
His voice dropped into something fierce, protective, unshakably deep.
“I don’t care who that is. I don’t care what they want. You do not go near the window. You do not leave this room unless you’re with me. Understand?”
Elena nodded, breath shaky.
Dominic exhaled, tension easing just slightly. “Good.”
Three guards burst into the room.
“Boss!”
Dominic turned, voice suddenly cold. “Search the perimeter. Find whoever was whispering outside her window. Listen for footsteps, broken branches, anything. Move.”
They ran.
For a moment, the room was silent again.
Elena stood where he left her, staring at the window as if it might speak again.
Dominic approached her slowly, not touching her this time.
“Elena,” he murmured, “come here.”
She didn’t trust her voice, so she stepped closer.
He lifted a hand, hesitated—then gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You’re shaking.”
“You would too,” she whispered, “if a stranger knew your name.”
His eyes softened. “You’re not alone.”
That single sentence—that quiet promise—made something warm bloom painfully inside her chest.
“Dominic,” she murmured, “what if this person really knows me? What if I knew them before… before everything?”
Dominic’s expression darkened. “Then I’ll find out who they are before they get close.”
“But what if they’re family?” she whispered.
Dominic froze.
“That voice…” Elena swallowed. “It didn’t sound like a threat. It sounded like someone who… knows me.”
Dominic stepped closer, voice low and steady.
“Family doesn’t whisper through windows in the middle of the night,” he said. “Family knocks on the door.”
“Elena…”
A guard’s voice cut through the air. “Boss!”
Dominic turned sharply. “Report.”
The guard entered the doorway, breathless.
“Boss… we found footprints outside the window.”
Elena’s heart leapt.
Dominic’s voice was steel. “Whose?”
The guard swallowed hard. “We don’t know. But—they’re small.”
Elena blinked. “Small?”
“Like…” The guard hesitated. “Like a woman’s. Or… a child’s.”
A chill shot up Elena’s spine.
“A child?” she whispered.
Dominic stepped in front of her instantly, eyes dark and dangerous. “Show me.”
The guard nodded but hesitated. “There’s more, boss.”
Dominic’s voice dropped. “Speak.”
The guard looked between Dominic and Elena, then quietly said:
“There was something left under the window.”
Elena’s breath hitched. “What… what was left?”
The guard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object.
A folded piece of paper.
Thin.
Old.
Edges worn.
Dominic took it carefully.
“Elena,” he said softly, “stay behind me.”
She nodded.
He unfolded the paper.
Elena watched his jaw tighten, his eyes harden—then darken completely.
“Dominic?” she whispered. “What does it say?”
Dominic looked up slowly.
His voice was low.
Deadly.
“Hers.”
- Writer
