The Heir I Should Fear

Eliana’s POV There are many moments that divide Your life into two parts. Before. And after. For me, it was a Tuesday night. I was standing in my father’s study with blood on my hands. My father was lying on the floor. And someone was knocking on the front door. “Police! Open the door!” I couldn’t breathe. “Dad?” Nothing. I dropped beside him, my knees hitting a cold marble floor. “Dad, please.” My eyes burned. “No….” I looked around the room. One of the windows was open, allowing the cold night air to sweep through the room. And beside my father’s hand was a black envelope. My name was written across it. ELIANA. I stared at it. Why?? I reached for the envelope. My fingers barely touched it when.. BANG! I jumped! “ELIANA ROSE! OPEN THE DOOR!” How did they know my name? I tore open the envelope. There was a photograph inside. I pulled it out. My stomach dropped. IT WAS ME! Standing outside My school. Someone had been watching me. I turned it over. There were words written on the back. My hands began to shake harder. “ You were never supposed to find out.” I looked at my father in tears. Then the photograph. Then the door. Another violent knock echoed through the house. And suddenly, I understood one thing. My father’s death wasn’t the beginning of this. It was the end of something. Something my father had spent his entire life trying to hide. And somehow…. I was at the center of it. One week earlier….. “I’m not going.” My father looked up from the newspaper. “You have said that six times.” “And I will say it for the seventh time.” He lowered the paper. “Eliana.” “Dad.” We stared at each other across the breakfast table. Finally, he sighed. “ You are going to Blackwood.” My mouth dropped open. “You are impossible.” “ You can’t just decide the university I want to attend.” “ I didn’t decide.” He tapped the folder sitting beside his coffee. “You got accepted.” “I know.” “With a scholarship.” “I know.” “Your application was one of the strongest in your year, Eliana.” “I know.” “Then what exactly are we arguing about?” I crossed my arms. “Leaving.” After mum died, it had always been us. My father never remarried. Never even seriously dated. When someone asked him about it, he simply said he already had everything he needed. Me. “You are going to be nineteen,” he said quietly. “I know.” “You can’t stay here forever.” “Why not.?” “Because one day, you’ll have to build a life of your own.” I looked down at my plate. “ I like my life.” “I know.” “Then why are you trying to change it?” He didn’t respond immediately. But I noticed anyway. “What?” He looked back at me. “Nothing.” “You just did that thing.” “What thing?” “That thing where you pretend everything is fine when it isn’t.” “You have become very observant.” “I learned from you.” His smile disappeared. “Just go to Blackwood,” he said. “Why are you so desperate for me to leave?” He went still. I hadn’t expected the question to affect him that much. “I’m not desperate.” “You are.” “Eliana.” “You have already arranged my dorm, my driver, my security..” “Your security is necessary.” “Why?” “Because you are my daughter.” “That’s not an answer.” “It is to me.” Something was happening. Something he didn’t want me to find out. And I was tired of pretending I didn’t notice. By noon, I had almost forgotten about the whole conversation. Almost. I was in my bedroom, surrounded by half-packed boxes, when my best friend called. “Are you actually leaving?” I smiled. “Apparently.” “I am going to miss you Eliana.” “You are acting like I am moving to another country.” I listened. But my attention drifted towards the window. A black car was parked across the street. I frowned. It had been there since morning. “There is a weird car outside.” “What kind?” “Um black.” “Girl, half of New York city drives black cars.” “ I know. But this one has been there for hours.” “Maybe someone is visiting your neighbor.” “Maybe.” Then my phone vibrated. A message from my dad. “ Come downstairs now!“ I frowned then typed back. “Why?” “Just come downstairs, Eliana, and stop asking questions.” He wrote back. Something about the message made me uneasy. I left my room hanging up on my best friend. When I reached the living room, dad was standing near the window. This time, he wasn’t alone. Two security guards stood behind him, while his phone was pressed against his ear. I stopped, then he looked at me. His face had already changed. “What happened?” I asked. “Nothing.” I stared at him. “That is becoming your favorite word.” He ignored that and asked. “Are you leaving the house today?” “No, why?” “Good.” I blinked in confusion. No teasing, no smile. “Don’t go anywhere alone today.” “What do you mean? What is going on, dad?” “ I need you to trust me.” “ Umm, I do trust you, you are my dad after all.” Then his eyes moved towards the window and I followed his gaze. The black car was gone. That evening, my dad took me to dinner. It was supposed to be normal, just the two of us. He ordered my favorite meal before I even got the chance to open the menu. “Awn you remembered.” “I remember everything about you my darling.” I smiled. “That’s creepy.” “It’s called being a good father.” We laughed. For the first time all day, the tension had disappeared. Maybe dad was really just stressed. Maybe the car meant nothing. Maybe….. “Dad?” “Do you ever regret anything?” He stopped eating. “Why?” “ I don’t know, just asking.” He looked at me for a long time. Then he reached across the table and took my hand. “Never regret loving someone.” “Ugh that wasn’t what I asked.” “I know.” Before I could respond, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen. All the warmth disappeared from his face. “Excuse me.” He walked outside. I watched him through the restaurant window. He answered the call. I knew something was wrong. When he returned, he didn’t touch his food. “We are leaving.” “How? Why, what happened?” “Nothing.” “Dad!” “NOW!” We arrived home twenty minutes later. He barely spoke during the drive. The moment he entered the house, he called for security immediately. “ check the perimeter.” One of the guards nodded. “Already done sir.” “Again.” The guard hesitated. “Sir?” “I said again.” I stared at my father and asked, “what are you afraid of?” He just looked at me for a few seconds. Then he walked upstairs. I followed. “Dad!” I called. He stopped outside his study. “Go to your room.” “No!” “Eliana.” “Tell me what is happening dad.” I had never seen my father look afraid before. “I need you to do something for me.” “What is that?” “If anything happens to me…” My heart stopped. “Why would you say that? Don’t say that.” “Listen to me.” “No.!” “Eliana.” He reached into his pocket and brings out a small silver key. He placed it in my palm. “Keep this.” I stared at it. “What does it open? I asked.” “Nothing you need to worry about.” “Then why are you giving it to me?” He proceeds to close my fingers around it. “Because one day, you might need it.” I looked up at him. “Dad,You are scaring me.” He pulled me into a hug. “I am sorry.” I pulled away and asked. “For What now?” He looked at me and before he could answer, one of the security guards came running down the hallway. “Umm sir..” Dad turned The guard lowered his voice. “We found something.” “What?” “The back gate sir.” Dad’s expression hardened. “What about it?” “It’s open.” “Check all the cameras Now!” “We already did, no footage found sir.” It was at this moment that I knew something was totally wrong. “What do you mean?” “Sir, the cameras stopped recording at 9:05.” I looked at the clock. It was 9:16. Eleven minutes. Only eleven minutes and somehow, those eleven minutes felt like the longest eleven minutes of my life. Dad looked at me. “Go upstairs.” “Now.” This time, I listened. I went upstairs and locked my bedroom door. I couldn’t stop thinking about his face. The fear in his eyes. The way he had apologized. The strange phone calls, the black car, the missing security footage, the open gate…. Something is very wrong! Then I heard a sound. A soft metallic click. I froze. It came from the hallway. I heard another sound, this time it felt closer.. Someone was walking towards my room. My heart pounded. I tried reaching for my phone, the footsteps had stopped outside my door. I held my breath. My phone vibrated. I looked down at ny screen, it was an unknown number. I stared at the message that popped up; “don’t open the door!” My blood ran cold. Another message entered. “He is not alone!” My eyes moved slowly towards the bedroom door. Someone was definitely standing outside. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t process.. Then my father’s voice came from the other side. “Eliana!” I almost opened it. Until my phone vibrated again. It was another message. “That Is not your father!” I stared at the message and looked back to the door. Then the voice came again , “Eliana, open the door .” This time, something was wrong with it. It sounded like my father but it wasn’t. I took a step backwards. My hand covered my mouth while I was trembling. The door knob began to turn. My phone vibrated again. I looked down at my screen, “You have ten seconds.” My blood instantly ran cold. Nine. The door knob moved. Eight. I couldn’t breathe. Seven. The lights went out and I froze immediately. Suddenly, I heard a voice! This time it was behind me! “Eliana.” This voice was coming from my bedroom! Six. I turned around but I couldn’t see anything. Only darkness. Then something brushed against my shoulder and a whisper reached my ear. “Don’t scream.” Five. I stopped thinking. Four. The bedroom door began to open. Three. I heard footsteps behind me. Two. And then… One. Someone grabbed my wrist. And i screamed!”