Chapter 2: The man in the dark
1740 Words
Eliana’s POV
The hand tightened around me.
I tried to pull away, but whoever it was that gripped me that way was definitely stronger.
“Let me go!”
I swung my hand blindly, hitting Notning but air.
“Quiet.”
The voice was really low.
It was a Male!
And definitely not my father’s.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I kicked backwards.
I realized my hills connected with something solid.
The man cursed and loosened his grip.
I tore my wrist free and stumbled away.
My hands searched desperately through the darkness until they had found the Edge of my bedside table.
I grabbed my phone and immediately turned on the flashlight.
The beam cut through the room.
There was nothing.
Nobody was there!
I even swung the light towards the door.
It was still empty!
Even my closet.
Empty!
Under my bed.
Empty!
I backed against the wall.
“No…”
My voice came out barely above a whisper.
Someone had been standing behind me.
I knew it.
I could still feel the pressure of their hand around my wrist.
I looked down, and I noticed a faint red mask was already farming across my skin.
My phone buzzed.
I nearly dropped it out of fear..
Unknown number….”run.”
I kept staring at my screen really lost.
“Who is this…?, and why is the person texting me…? How did the person get my number?”
All these thoughts filled my head as I panicked.
Another message appeared.
“Not downstairs.”
My heart stopped.
A loud crash came from the building.
I jumped.
Then I heard my father.
“ELIANA.”
I ran to the door.
I stopped with my hand on the handle.
“That is not your father .”
The message from earlier flashed through my mind.
I slowly removed my hand.
“Dad?”
No answer still.
I waited.
“Eliana, open the door.”
This time, it sounded exactly like him.
Exactly how he speaks.
But something inside me refused to move.
“Dad, say something only you would know.”
Silence.
My breathing became uneven.
I heard footsteps.
Then a knock.
Three slow knocks.
“Eliana.”
I stepped backwards.
“Where’s mum’s necklace?”
The words escaped out of my mouth before I could even think.
Silence.
My father’s voice came again.
“I don’t know what you are talking about .”
My stomach dropped.
He knew.
My father always knew.
Mum’s necklace was the only thing he never let me forget.
The small silver necklace had belonged to my mother.
He had given it to me when I was twelve.
Your mother wanted you to have this.
He had never forgotten it.
Not once.
The person outside the door just failed the easiest question in my little world.
I covered my mouth in shock.
Whoever was outside wasn’t my father.
The handle moved.
I backed away.
Then….
“ELIANA!”
This time, the voice wasn’t calm.
It was desperate.
My father’s actual voice.
I knew it immediately.
I rushed to the door and unlocked it.
My dad stumbled inside.
His hair was a mess, and his shirt too was slightly torn at the sleeves.
He looked at me.
Then behind me.
His expression changed.
“Are you hurt?” He asked.
I shook my head.
“No.”
He grabbed my shoulders.
“Are you sure?” He asked again.
“Yes dad.”
His eyes dropped to my wrist.
The red mark.
His face hardened.
“Who touched you.??” He asked with a stern voice!
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you Don’t know Eliana?”
“The lights went out and someone was behind me.”
His jaw tightened.
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
I hesitated.
“He only said not to scream.”
My dad went completely still.
“What else did he say?”
“Nothing dad.”
He looked at the bedroom door.
Then he pulled out his phone and said “call the police Eliana.”
I looked at him in confusion.
“What?”
“Now Eliana.”
“Dad, what are you saying?”
“Call them.”
I grabbed my phone and before I could dial, he took it from my hand.
“Dad, no!”
I frowned.
“You literally just told me to call them.”
“I changed my mind!”
“What do you mean you changed your mind dad?”
He looked at the door.
“The police can’t be trusted.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
He didn’t Answer.
“Dad!”
“Elian, get dressed.”
“I am lost..?”
“We are leaving Eliana, get dressed Now!”
“Leaving Where?”
“Somewhere safe.” He said.
“Why?”
“Because whoever came into this house wasn’t looking for me.”
He looked directly at me.
“They were looking for you my princess.”
My stomach twisted.
“Please why?? Why are they looking for me.?”
His silence answered me.
“Dad, what do they want from me?”
He looked away.
“I don’t know.” He said.
“You are lying.”
“Eliana…”
“You have been lying to me for years!”
My voice cracked.
Still, he didn’t argue.
That scared me more than anything.
I stepped closer.
“The key, the black car, the cameras, the. Messages, every single thing amd now someone breaks into my room and you are acting like you already knew why!”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I didn’t ask for your protection!”
I screamed!
“Eliana..”
“What are you protecting me from??”
“From my past.” He said.
I frowned immediately.
“What does your past have to do with me please?”
He didn’t Answer.
Instead, he walked towards my closet .
“Pack a bag please.”
“Dad!”
“Five minutes!”
“I am not leaving this house until you tell me the truth.”
He stopped and for a moment I thought he would finally tell me everything.
Instead, he said quietly , “your mother didn’t die because of the accident.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at him hoping for a clearer explanation.
“What?”
He looked like he regretted saying it.
“My mother died in an accident, you told me that.”
“I know…”
“No.”
“Eliana …” he said trying to approach me.
“No!”
I shook my head
“You literally told me she died in a car accident.”
“She did.”
“So what are you saying?”
He stepped closer.
“I said she didn’t die because of it.”
My brain went mute.
“Then why?”
His phone rang.
He looked at the screen and immediately the color drained from his face.
I reached for his arm.
“Who is it?”
He didn’t Answer.”
The phone stopped ringing. Then it rang again.
It was some number.
He rejected the call and then a message entered.
I saw it before he could even turn the screen away.
You have till sunrise.
My father stared at the message and then at me.
“What does that mean?”
He locked his phone.
“Nothing.”
I almost laughed.
“Nothing?????”
“Eliana, listen to me.”
“No! You listen to me!I want nothing but the truth”
My voice shook as I said those words.
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he reached into his pocket. It was the silver key.
He placed it in my palm again.
“Keep this with you.”
“What does it open?”
He hesitated.
“A room.”
“Where?”
“Blackwood.”
“Because the Blackwoods have their own rule.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You are still going.”
“After everything that happened tonight?? Especially after this night?”
“That makes no sense”
“It will.”
“How dad? How?”
He walked towards the door.
“Because Blackwood is the only place they can’t reach you.”
I stared at him.
A chill ran through me
“They? Who are the they?”
“Look, Blackwood has Always been protected by the vale family.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
His eyes met mine.
“Jay vale.”
The name was unfamiliar.
“Who is Jay vale.”
My father’s expression hardened.
“Someone you don’t need to know about.”
“Then why am I going there?”
He looked away .
“Because sometimes, the safest place is the last place you’d expect.”
I stared at him.
I didn’t understand, but one thing was certain; whatever waited for me at Blackwood, Jay vale was somehow part of it.
He stopped.
But before he could Answer, something shattered downstairs.
We both froze.
Dad immediately stepped infront of me.
Another crash.
Then we started hearing footsteps.
Slowly coming up the stairs.
Unhurried.
My dad grabbed my hand and said,”Don’t make a sound.”
The footsteps stopped outside my bedroom.
I held my breath.
The door began to open.
Dad reached for the gun beneath his jacket.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
“Mr rose.”
My dad’s face changed.
“You should have told her the truth years ago.”
I looked at my father.
He looked terrified this time.
Then the voice said my name.
“Eliana.”
I tightened my grip around the silver key.”
“Your mother left something for you.”
The door opened wider and I saw his face.
I saw the face of the man standing outside.
My blood ran cold.
Because I had seen him before.
Definitely not in person.
In the photograph beside my father’s body.
The same photograph that has been waiting Inside the black envelope.
The man watching me outside my school.
He smiled.
And then he said the words that made me break.
“Your father isn’t the person you think he is.”
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