Chapter seven/Shadows In The Daylight
609 Words
Bella stared at the note for a long time, her fingers tightening around the thin paper until it crumbled slightly. The words seemed to pulse in her head, heavy and insistent.
She forced herself to breathe slowly, to keep from running upstairs and locking herself in the bathroom. If she looked frightened, whoever left the note would know they were getting to her.
She carefully slipped the paper into her pocket and walked toward the stairs, but halfway she stopped. She could hear muffled voices coming from one side of the room on the ground floor, low, tense, like the speaker didn't want to be overheard.
Something in her mind told her to turn around.
The voices grew louder as she approached the half-closed door.
“.... she's already asking questions,” a woman said, it was Vanessa.
“Then make sure she stops,” a man replied. His voice was deeper, unfamiliar. “If she digs too far, you know what happens.”
Bella pressed herself against the wall, holding her breath.
“She's Edward's wife,” Vanessa said. “He'll protect her.”
A short humorless laugh followed.
“Edward can't protect her from this.”
Footsteps moved towards the door. Bella's pulse spiked. She quickly slipped away, retreating to the stairs before they could see her.
In the safety of the upstairs hall, she leaned against the wall, her heart racing. Every instinct screamed at her to tell Edward, but a darker thought whispered that maybe,just maybe - he already knew.
Later that afternoon, the house felt emptier than usual. Most of the staff were upstairs or outside, Edward still hasn't returned from the meetings. Bella decided to search the study. If the family was hiding something, there might be clues there.
The heavy wooden door creaked as she pushed it open. The room smelled faintly of leather and old paper. Shelves of books lined the walls, but it was the desk that caught her attention. Papers were stacked neatly, but the drawer was locked.
Her hand hovered over the handle, frustration bubbling inside her.
She was about to leave, when she noticed an old photo frame turned face - down behind a stack of folders. Picking it up, she brushed away the dust.
Her stomach flipped.
It was Edward, years younger, standing beside a woman who looked eerily like her. Same black hair, same delicate features, even the same smile…. but her eyes held a sadness Bella recognized all too well.
The date on the photo was five years ago. The woman's name, scrawled on the back in fading ink, sent a shiver down her spine.
Amelia Blackwood.
A faint noise made Bella freeze, the sound of footsteps just outside the study door.
Bella's pulse spiked. She turned towards the window, half - ready to hide the photograph, when the door creaked open.
Vanessa stood there, her expression calm but her eyes sharp.
“ You really shouldn't be in here,” she said softly. “This room….it has a way of showing people what they are not ready to see.”
Bella held the photograph against her chest. “Who is she?”
Vanessa's gaze flicked briefly to the picture, then back to Bella's eyes. “Someone who learned the hard way that curiosity is dangerous in this family.”
Bella's throat went dry. “What happened to her?”
A faint smile curved Vanessa's lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. “She's not here anymore.”
The air between them seemed to thicken. Bella felt like she was standing on the edge of
a cliff, and Vanessa's next word might push her over.
- Writer
