The Forbidden Wing
837 Words
Sally stared at her room for nearly a minute. It was larger than the apartment she shared with Maya.
A bed, a private bathroom, a desk, a window overlooking the gardens, a wardrobe. Sally set her single suitcase on the floor and laughed.
It wasn’t because anything was funny. It was because sometimes life becomes so strange that the only reasonable response is laughter.
Just yesterday, she had been sitting beside Maya’s hospital bed, wondering how she was going to find enough money to keep her sister alive and to avoid getting thrown out of her apartment. And today, she had a bedroom in Colten Kaplan’s residence.
She picked up her phone and called Maya.
“Hello?” Maya’s voice came through the other end of the line, very weak.
“Hi, I got the job”
“You got the job?”
“Yes.” You could hear the excitement in Sally’s voice.
“Really?” Maya asked
“Yes, really.”
“So you’re really working for Colten Kaplan?”
“Yes, I don’t believe it either.” Sally chuckled.
“Is he handsome?”
Sally rolled her eyes. “Maya.”
“I’m just asking.”
“He’s my employer.”
“That didn’t answer the question.”
Sally smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“That also didn’t answer the question, but I feel better.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
They spoke for another ten minutes. When the call ended, Sally sat on the bed and opened her banking app. First, she transferred some money for Maya’s hospital expenses. Then she stared at the remaining balance. It wasn’t much. But for the first time in weeks, she allowed herself to imagine that maybe they had a chance.
She was still smiling when she heard a knock on the door. A housekeeper stood outside.
“Mr. Kaplan wants you downstairs.”
Sally followed her to the kitchen.
Colten was already there. He looked at the clock immediately as she walked in.
“You’re late.”
“Sorry, sir, I was on the phone with my sister.”
He looked away and handed her a folder. “House schedule.”
She opened it and read. “Six in the morning?”
“Yes, is that a problem?”
“That’s too early.”
“You applied for a live-in position.”
“I didn’t realize live-in meant military training.”
His mouth twitched, almost a smile. Sally noticed.
He continued, “The kitchen is stocked. The laundry room is downstairs. The staff entrance is at the rear.”
“And the east wing?”
Colten looked at her, his expression stern. “Out of bounds.”
“Why shouldn’t I go there?”
“I told you not to ask any personal questions.”
“I’m not asking a personal question.”
“You’re asking about the east wing; that’s personal.”
“I didn’t know it was.”
“That’s enough.” Colten walked away.
Sally watched him disappear through a doorway. Something about the way he reacted made her curious.
~
Three hours later, Sally heard it again.
The music.
Soft piano music.
She stopped folding the towels and followed the sound.
The hallway split in two directions. The sound came from the right, where the east wing was located. She stopped. But the music continued, and so did she. She took one step. Then another. At the end of the hallway, the door was slightly open.
She tried peeking through, but the room was dark. She pushed the door wider. A grand piano sat near the window. And on the wall…
Pictures. Hundreds of them. One woman appeared repeatedly. She was young, beautiful, her face lit up with smiles. In some of the pictures, Colten stood beside her. He looked totally different from how he looked now. Happy and much younger.
Sally moved closer.
In one picture, Colten had his arms around her waist. They were laughing, not posing, laughing. In another, the woman wore a diamond ring. And Colten was on one knee in front of her, proposing. He looked deeply in love with her. She heard footsteps behind her.
“Get out.”
Sally turned. Colten stood in the doorway. His face was terrifyingly calm.
“I’m sorry.”
“I said get out.”
She hurried past him. But before she reached the hallway, she heard him say:
“You were told never to come here.”
Sally stopped. “I heard music.”
“I don’t care.”
“I’m sorry, it won't happen again.”
Colten stared at her. Then at the photographs. Something in his face broke, but only for a second. Then the wall returned. “Never come here again.”
Sally nodded. “Okay.”
She walked away. Behind her, Colten closed the door. And for the first time since she had arrived, Sally understood something. The billionaire wasn’t simply cold. He was hurt.
But what could be the cause?
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