Chapter Two(2)
1159 Words
The stranger from the protest stepped into the light.
The same man who saved her life hours ago.
The same man she had given her number to.
Her pulse pounded. “How—why are you in my house?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he locked the study door behind him.
When he turned back to her, his eyes were cold.
Professional.
Not a coincidence.
Not a rescuer.
Not a stranger.
“My name is Kade,” he said. “And I was hired to protect you.”
Marlene’s breath hitched.
“By who?”
He hesitated.
Just long enough to make her heart stop.
“…By your husband.”
But everything in his expression said there was more.
Much more.
And that’s when she realized:
Kade had not merely found her today.
He had been watching her long before the mob incident.
Close enough to intervene.
Close enough to know her schedule, her habits, her routes.
Too close.
Marlene staggered backward, anger rising above fear.
“You followed me? Joe hired you without telling me? Why pretend to be a stranger? Why—”
“Marlene,”
Kade said quietly. “Your life is in danger. And your husband hasn’t told you the real reason why.”
She stared at him, her voice barely a whisper.
“Then tell me.”
Kade took a breath — steady, controlled — but something flickered in his eyes.
Something like guilt.
“It’s because…” he said slowly, “the attack today wasn’t random. It was staged. Meant to scare you. To force you to accept a bodyguard.”
Her lungs felt like they stopped working.
“No,” she whispered.
Kade nodded.
“Yes. But the part your husband doesn’t know is this: someone else hijacked the plan.”
His jaw clenched.
“And they wanted you dead.”
Marlene felt the room spin — betrayal, fear, disbelief crashing into her at once.
“Kade…” she whispered. “Who? Who would want that?”
He stepped closer, his voice dropping, tension crackling through the air.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. But I can tell you one thing already.”
He paused.
“The person who ordered the hit…
is someone inside your home.
Her knees gave out before she could reach the door. She sank into the floor with her palms over her face with tears streaming down.
How did her life become like this?
A stranger in her house
A husband she couldn't trust
And a danger she can't even tell where it's coming from.
Before Marlene could think of anything, a faint creak echoed down the hallway.
Kade stiffened immediately “ we're not alone” he murmured . Go to bed for now, I'll give you more explanation tomorrow.
Before Marlene could pull herself together to stand up, Kade stretched out his hands to help her.
Without hesitating, Marlene stretched out her hand as Joe met hers halfway. She could feel Joe's heart beat while leaning on him.
All Marlene wanted was just to get to bed and sleep so she could wake up from this nightmare.
Back in Marlene's room, she couldn't sleep. She kept changing positions with lots of questions in her head, who could have wanted her dead.
But she knew sleep wouldn’t come tonight. Every creak of the old house sounded like footsteps. Every shifting shadow along the walls felt like someone watching her, waiting. The air felt too still, too heavy, as if the house itself was holding its breath.
Marlene sat up, pulling her knees to her chest.
Someone inside your home.
The words echoed so loudly she could almost hear Kade saying them again.
A soft knock tapped against her bedroom door.
She froze.
“Marlene?” a voice whispered.
It was Agnes.
Marlene swallowed. “Come in.”
The maid stepped inside, holding a small tray with warm milk, her hands trembling slightly. Agnes always looked tired, but tonight her eyes darted around the room nervously, as if expecting something to jump out of the shadows.
“You weren’t at dinner,” she said softly. “I… I thought you might not be feeling well.”
“Just a long day,” Marlene muttered, forcing a tight smile.
Agnes nodded, but she lingered—too long for comfort. Her gaze kept drifting toward the door, then back to Marlene, like she wanted to say something but couldn’t.
“Ma’am,” she whispered, lowering her voice, “please make sure your windows are locked tonight.”
Marlene blinked. “Why? Agnes, did something happen?”
Agnes’ lips parted, but then—footsteps echoed down the hall.
Heavy. Measured.
Agnes stiffened instantly. Without another word, she dipped her head and slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Marlene’s heart pounded as the footsteps stopped right outside her door.
A shadow passed beneath the c***k.
Seconds stretched into eternity.
Then the footsteps retreated.
She exhaled shakily, pressing a hand against her chest. The house felt wrong… as if secrets were buried in every hallway, every locked drawer, every closed door.
Unable to stay still, Marlene got up and paced across the room. She stopped at her dressing table, staring at her reflection. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her hair a tangled mess, but what disturbed her most was the woman staring back at her:
She looked like a stranger in her own skin.
She touched the mirror with trembling fingertips.
“When did everything fall apart?”
A soft vibration startled her — her phone, lighting up on the bedside table.
A text message.
Unknown number.
Her breath caught when she read it:
“You shouldn’t trust him.”
Her fingers went cold.
Who? Kade? Joe? Or someone else entirely?
Another message came instantly.
“He’s lying to you.”
Marlene stumbled backward until she hit the bed. Her pulse roared in her ears.
Before she could respond, the phone buzzed again.
“Don’t let him stay in the house. You’re not safe.”
Her throat dried.
A fourth message appeared.
“I’m trying to protect you. Please listen before it’s too late.”
Marlene’s mind raced.
Who was texting her in the middle of the night?
How did they have her number?
And how did they know what had just happened?
She was reaching for the phone to type a reply when a low voice drifted from outside her door.
“Marlene? Are you awake?”
Kade.
She froze, staring at the door as his shadow appeared beneath the c***k again.
“Marlene,” he said quietly, “we need to talk.”
She stepped back, her phone clutched tightly in her hand, the anonymous warnings burning across the screen.
Someone wanted her dead.
Someone inside her home.
And now…
someone else was telling her Kade couldn’t be trusted.
Her whole world was unraveling.
And she had no idea who to believe.
- Writer
