Episode 2
1547 Words
Chapter 2
The Locked Door
“Miss Black, stay for a moment.”
The words reached me just as my hand touched the door.
My body stiffened.
I turned slowly.
Damien Kade was watching me. His expression was calm. Too calm.
The other interview panel members looked slightly confused.
The woman who had led the interview closed the folder in front of her.
“Is there something else, Mr. Kade?”
“Yes,” he replied quietly.
His eyes never left mine.
“I would like a few minutes alone with Miss Black.”
The room fell silent.
I forced my face to remain neutral even though my heart had begun to beat faster.
Alone?
That was the last thing I wanted.
But refusing would only make me look suspicious.
The two men exchanged quick looks before standing up.
“Of course,” one of them said.
The woman gave me a polite smile.
“Miss Black, Mr. Kade sometimes likes to speak personally with promising candidates.”
Promising candidate.
If only she knew the truth.
The three of them walked out.
The door closed behind them.
For one second there was only silence.
Then I heard it.
Click.
I turned sharply.
Damien had locked the door.
My pulse jumped.
“That’s unnecessary,” I said calmly.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he began walking slowly toward me.
His steps were quiet. Controlled.
Predatory.
I felt the tension building in the air between us.
He stopped a few feet away.
Close enough that I could see the small scar near his eyebrow.
I remembered touching that scar five years ago.
I quickly pushed the memory away.
“You wanted to speak with me,” I said.
“Yes.”
His voice was low.
Measured.
But his eyes were intense.
Too intense.
He studied my face slowly.
My eyes.
My mouth.
Like a man examining something precious he had once lost.
“You’re nervous,” he said.
“I’m in a locked room with my interviewer.”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“Fair point.”
He took another step closer.
“I like to study people.”
“During interviews?”
“Only when something feels… unusual.”
My chest tightened.
“And do I feel unusual to you?”
“Yes.”
I forced a small smile.
“Perhaps you interview too many people.”
“Perhaps.”
But he did not sound convinced.
His gaze moved over my face again.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Paris.”
The name hit me like a bullet.
Everything inside me froze.
My fingers curled tightly at my sides.
But I forced my expression to remain calm.
“I’m sorry?”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Paris.”
The word hung in the air between us.
Five years disappeared in a heartbeat.
The bar.
The whiskey.
The night.
My voice finally returned.
“I believe you’re mistaken.”
His head tilted slowly.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
I held his gaze firmly.
“My name is Siena Black.”
Silence followed.
Then he began walking again.
Slowly.
Circling me.
Like a man walking around a puzzle.
“You disappeared before sunrise,” he said quietly.
The memory crashed into me.
The hotel room.
His arm across the bed.
My whispered goodbye.
“You’re mistaken,” I replied coldly.
He stopped behind me.
Too close.
I could feel the warmth of his presence.
His voice dropped lower.
“I remember your voice.”
My heart pounded.
“I think you’re confusing me with someone else.”
He moved around until he stood in front of me again.
His eyes searched mine carefully.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“You look exactly like her.”
I shrugged lightly.
“People have similar faces.”
“Not like this.”
His voice was softer now.
Almost dangerous.
“You even breathe the same way.”
My pulse skipped.
How could he remember something like that?
Five years had passed.
People didn’t remember breaths.
Unless that night meant something to him.
No.
Impossible.
Men like Damien Kade did not remember women from random nights.
They forgot them.
But his gaze said otherwise.
“You’re staring,” I said quietly.
“And you’re lying.”
The words struck like lightning.
My chest tightened.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
His voice was calm.
But sharp.
“You’re lying.”
I crossed my arms slowly.
“That’s a serious accusation.”
He leaned slightly closer.
“Then prove me wrong.”
“How?”
“Tell me you’ve never been to Paris.”
My breath caught.
Only for a second.
But he noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His eyes darkened.
“You have been there,” he murmured.
“Many people have.”
“But not with me.”
The room fell silent again.
My mind raced quickly.
Think.
Think.
Think.
“You’re making a very strange assumption,” I said calmly.
He watched me carefully.
Then he leaned closer.
So close I could feel his breath near my ear.
And he whispered something.
Four words.
Four simple words.
Words that only one person in the world had heard me say.
“Don’t be gentle with me.”
My entire body went cold.
The memory exploded inside my mind.
The hotel room.
The dim lights.
My voice whispered those exact words against his lips.
I stepped back instantly.
My face must have changed.
Because Damien saw it.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“There it is,” he said softly.
My hands trembled slightly.
I quickly hid them behind my back.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed quietly.
But there was no humor in it.
“You said that to me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“I never imagine things like that.”
His eyes held mine firmly.
“You were angry that night.”
My chest tightened.
“You were hurting.”
I said nothing.
“You were trying to forget something.”
My heart pounded harder.
“And you told me not to be gentle.”
The words felt like fire in the air.
I forced my voice to stay steady.
“I think you should unlock the door.”
He didn’t move.
Instead, he studied my face again.
“You left before sunrise.”
“Yes, you mentioned that already.”
“You didn’t even say goodbye.”
“Perhaps that woman didn’t enjoy your company.”
His smile widened slightly.
“Oh, she did.”
My pulse jumped again.
His voice lowered.
“Very much.”
I turned toward the door.
“This conversation is inappropriate.”
But his voice stopped me.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I looked back at him sharply.
“And you’re very arrogant.”
“I remember the way you looked at me.”
“Enough.”
“You looked like someone drowning.”
The words pierced deeper than he knew.
“You looked like you needed someone to pull you back to the surface.”
I swallowed hard.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“Maybe not.”
He stepped closer again.
“But I know that night meant something.”
“Not to me.”
The lie came quickly.
Too quickly.
His eyes flashed.
“That’s interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because you cried afterward.”
My breath stopped.
I cried.
Quietly.
I thought he was asleep.
But he wasn’t.
He saw.
Heat rushed to my face.
“You’re crossing a line,” I said firmly.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“And yet you haven’t walked out.”
I glanced at the locked door.
He noticed.
A small smile returned to his face.
“You can leave anytime.”
“Then unlock it.”
“Say it.”
“Say what?”
“Say your name.”
“I already did.”
“No.”
His voice became softer.
More dangerous.
“Your real name.”
Silence stretched between us.
My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it.
But I refused to give in.
“My name,” I said slowly, “is Siena Black.”
His gaze remained fixed on me.
For several long seconds he said nothing.
Then he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small key card.
The door unlocked with a quiet click.
“You can go,” he said calmly.
Relief rushed through my chest.
I walked toward the door quickly.
But just before I opened it, his voice stopped me again.
“I always finish unfinished business.”
My hand froze on the handle.
I turned slowly.
He was watching me with that same dangerous smile.
And his eyes held one clear message.
He wasn’t finished with me.
Not even close.
I walked out of the room without saying another word.
But as the elevator doors closed, a terrible thought echoed inside my mind.
What if Damien Kade doesn’t stop until he discovers the one secret I cannot allow him to know?
And what will happen when he finds out the truth?
That the woman he spent one reckless night with…
didn’t disappear alone?
- Writer
