The mansion no longer feels like a home. To Sierra, it was a labyrinth of polished wood and echoing marble that carried whispers where none were spoken. Each hallway seemed to bend under the weight of secrets, the very walls breathing with suspicion. She could no longer walk from her bedroom to the study without a shiver running down her spine, as though the house itself were watching her.
Damien’s absence made it worse. He had left early that morning for meetings in the city, and each hour that ticked by tightened the rope of unease around her chest. Without him, she was too vulnerable and Vanessa knew it.
By late evening, Sierra descended the grand staircase. The chandelier light fractured into shards above her, throwing broken patterns over the velvet carpet. The silence pressed in, h
