CHAPTER 6
1131 Words
Elena stood frozen in front of the mirror.
The words were still there.
YOUR FATHER IS WATCHING YOU.
Her heart pounded so hard that she could hear it.
She slowly turned around.
Nobody was there.
The wet footprints stopped right behind her.
“Okay,” she whispered. “This is officially the worst night of my life.”
A voice came from behind her.
“Not yet.”
Elena screamed.
She turned quickly and found Adrian standing in the doorway.
She grabbed the nearest thing she could find—a lamp.
“Don't come closer!”
Adrian raised both hands. “Whoa. It's me.”
“I almost killed you!”
He glanced at the lamp. “With a bedroom lamp?”
“Don't test me.”
He smiled slightly. “Noted.”
Roman appeared behind him, his expression serious.
“What happened?”
Elena pointed at the mirror.
Roman walked toward it and studied the message.
His jaw tightened.
Nikolai entered silently, looking at the floor.
He crouched beside the wet footprints.
“These aren't from outside,” he said.
Elena stared at him. “How do you know?”
“There's no dirt.”
Roman looked at him. “Meaning?”
“He was already inside the house.”
Elena's stomach dropped.
“So you're telling me someone was inside this house while we were downstairs?”
Nobody answered.
“That is not comforting!” Elena snapped.
Adrian sighed. “We're working on the comforting part.”
“You're terrible at it.”
“I've been told.”
Roman ignored them and walked toward the window.
He examined the lock.
“Broken from the inside.”
Elena frowned. “Why would someone break it from inside?”
Nikolai looked at her.
“To make you believe they escaped through the window.”
Silence filled the room.
Elena suddenly felt cold.
“So he could still be here?”
Roman immediately stepped in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
Elena crossed her arms. “I'm beginning to hate that sentence.”
Roman glanced at her. “Why?”
“Because every time you say it, something terrifying happens.”
Adrian chuckled.
Roman gave him a warning look.
“Sorry,” Adrian said. “Bad timing.”
Nikolai suddenly stood.
“There.”
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed toward the floor near the bed.
A small black object lay beneath the curtain.
Roman picked it up.
It was a tiny camera.
Elena's eyes widened.
“You've got to be kidding me.”
Roman examined it.
“It's been here for a while.”
“Someone has been watching me?”
“Yes.”
Elena's voice became smaller.
“For how long?”
Roman didn't answer.
She looked at him.
“For how long, Roman?”
“I'm not sure.”
“That means you have an idea.”
His silence gave her the answer.
Elena stepped back.
Suddenly, everything felt different.
The rose.
The message.
The wet footprints.
The camera.
Her father's voice.
Someone had been watching her.
Maybe for years.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My father knew this would happen.”
Roman's expression softened.
“Elena—”
“No.”
She wiped her face angrily.
“Don't tell me everything will be okay.”
“I wasn't going to.”
She looked at him.
“At least you're honest.”
Adrian leaned against the wall.
“Personally, I think we should leave this house.”
Elena looked at him.
“You're suggesting we leave because someone broke into your heavily guarded mansion?”
“Exactly.”
“That sounds like running away.”
“No. It's called strategic relocation.”
Despite herself, Elena almost laughed.
Almost.
Then her phone rang.
Everyone froze.
The number was unknown.
Elena stared at the screen.
Roman reached for it.
“I'll answer.”
“No.”
She stopped him.
“This time, I'll do it.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“Elena.”
“My father told me to ask you three why you came.”
She pressed the answer button.
“Hello?”
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
Then a man's voice came through.
“Elena.”
Her breath caught.
She knew that voice.
“Dad?”
Roman immediately moved closer.
Victor's voice sounded tired.
“You found the camera.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“You knew about it?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you warn me?”
“I needed you to discover it yourself.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You've been watching me?”
“I've been protecting you.”
“You call spying on your own daughter protection?”
There was a pause.
“I call it keeping you alive.”
Elena clenched her fist.
“Why?”
Victor's voice became quieter.
“Because the people who want me dead have finally found you.”
Elena looked at Roman, Adrian, and Nikolai.
“Is that why you sent them?”
“No.”
Her heart stopped.
“No?”
“I didn't send them.”
The three men exchanged looks.
Elena's voice trembled.
“Then who did?”
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Then he said something that made Roman's face change.
“Someone who knows what my three boys did for me.”
Roman stepped forward.
“Victor.”
The line went silent.
Elena looked at Roman.
“You know something.”
Roman shook his head.
“Not enough.”
Victor spoke again.
“Roman, don't lie to her.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
Elena's eyes widened.
“Tell me the truth.”
“It's complicated.”
“Of course it is!”
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
“She's got a point.”
Elena glared at him.
“Not helping.”
Victor suddenly said, “Elena, listen carefully.”
She stopped.
“The man you are looking for doesn't look like me anymore.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Her heart began racing again.
“He isn't using my name. He isn't living the way you think.”
“Then where are you?”
Victor breathed slowly.
“Closer than you think.”
Elena looked around the room.
Her skin prickled.
“Dad… are you here?”
No answer.
“Dad?”
The call ended.
Elena stared at her phone.
Then a message appeared.
LOOK BEHIND YOU.
She slowly turned.
Nobody was behind her.
But on the mirror, beneath the old message, new words were appearing.
One letter at a time.
HE IS ALREADY HERE.
Elena stopped breathing.
Roman pulled her behind him.
Adrian's smile disappeared.
Nikolai reached for the weapon hidden beneath his jacket.
And somewhere downstairs, a door slowly creaked open.
Someone had entered the house.
Again.
This time, they weren't hiding.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD