Chapter5
669 Words
The massive gates slowly opened as the black car entered the private property.
Elena stared silently out the window.
A huge mansion stood proudly in the middle of the darkness, its warm golden lights glowing against the cold night.
The place looked expensive.
Too expensive.
For a moment, Elena forgot how to breathe.
Beside her, Ryder finally spoke after almost an hour of silence.
“My parents aren’t here,” he said calmly.
“They’re out of town for business most of the time.”
Elena slowly nodded.
For some reason, that information only made her feel more nervous.
The car finally stopped in front of the mansion.
A few workers immediately approached the entrance, lowering their heads respectfully as Ryder and Luca stepped out of the vehicle.
No one dared to speak.
No one even looked directly at them.
Elena quietly followed Ryder inside.
The mansion was even more intimidating from the inside.
Marble floors.
Crystal chandeliers.
Everything looked cold, elegant… and empty.
“I’ll show you your room,” Ryder said softly.
Elena blinked.
“Mine?”
“You’re staying here tonight.”
Before she could argue, Ryder gently guided her upstairs.
They stopped in front of a large bedroom.
“This is my room,” he said.
Elena’s eyes widened slightly.
“What about you? ”
“I’ll sleep somewhere else.”
Without waiting for another question, Ryder opened the door for her.
The room was surprisingly warm compared to the rest of the mansion.
Dark modern walls.
Soft dim lights.
And somehow…
It smelled exactly like him.
“You should rest,” Ryder said quietly.
Elena slowly nodded before stepping inside.
But just before Ryder closed the door—
“Ryder…”
He paused.
Elena hesitated for a second.
“Am I safe here?”
For the first time tonight, Ryder’s expression softened completely.
“Yes,” he answered softly.
Then the door closed.
Elena stood there silently, staring at the door with an uneasy feeling growing inside her chest. The silence inside the mansion felt strangely heavy.
She let out a small sigh before looking around awkwardly.
Only then did she realize—
She forgot to ask Ryder where the bathroom was.
“Great,” she muttered softly to herself.
Carefully, Elena started walking around the room, trying not to touch anything.
The room was neat.
Too neat.
Almost nobody truly lived here.
As her eyes wandered across the shelves near the wall, something suddenly caught her attention.
A framed photograph.
Elena slowly stepped closer.
Inside the picture were two young boys standing side by side, both smiling brightly at the camera.
One of them looked exactly like Ryder.
The other one…
Probably Luca.
Elena frowned slightly.
For some reason, the picture felt familiar.
Too familiar.
Her fingers slowly brushed the edge of the frame as her breathing became uneven.
“Why does this feel so familiar…” she whispered.
Suddenly—
A sharp pain shot through her head. Elena gasped softly and immediately held her temple.
Fragments.
Blurred memories.
Voices.
A child laughing.
And the image of two boys standing together under the rain—
“Ah…”
Her heartbeat became uneven. It felt like her mind was desperately trying to remember something she had forgotten a long time ago.
But no matter how hard she tried—
She couldn’t.
Exhausted from the overwhelming pain, Elena slowly lay down on the soft bed. Her eyes grew heavier and heavier.
And after a long moment of struggling against the pounding headache… she finally fell asleep.
Meanwhile—
Downstairs.
Luca was already waiting in the living room, calmly pouring himself a glass of whiskey.
The atmosphere instantly turned serious the moment Ryder entered the room.
Luca didn’t even look at him.
“You brought trouble home,” he said coldly.
Then Luca finally lifted his eyes toward his younger brother.
“Now tell me,” he muttered darkly.
“What actually happened, and who was chasing the girl? ”
To be continued
- Writer
