Chapter 3
1229 Words
Renee
My stomach churned as the SUV rolled past the grand iron gates, the hum of the engine doing little to drown out the storm of thoughts in my head.
"Sis, look..." Ethan's voice brought me back to reality as he pointed toward the sign I was just reading.
I tapped his knee low-key as a way of shushing him before he could mutter any other word as I gazed at Rafael, who by now had in a way noticed our unease.
"Miss Renee, Ethan," he lowered his deep voice as he opened the SUV door. "Welcome to the Johnson Silvercrest Estate. You'll be safe here until we figure out the situation."
"Wait, did you just say Johnson Silvercrest, or did I mishear you?" I couldn't keep quiet anymore after Rafael's words had confirmed what I had been busy debating with myself after I read the sign at the entrance.
"Yeah, this is my family's residence," he calmly replied. "My father built it from scratch during the colonial period, and he's been renovating it since."
"What do you mean by your father? Ooh, sorry.... I meant to ask, who do you mean by your father? Mr. Johnson?" You would think I was a private investigator at this point as I shot questions at Rafael.
Ethan, noticing i was almost embarrassing myself, interrupted. "Mr Man, or what should i call you? Thank you."
Was this a trap?
I stepped out cautiously, evading Rafael's hand. He had chosen a wrong time to embrace his gentleman's side.
Silvercrest estate was the defination of wealth.
The grand mansion loomed ahead, an architectural masterpiece with towering glass windows, intricate stonework, and golden chandeliers that glowed behind velvet curtains. Fountains lined the walkway, water cascading down marble sculptures. The air smelled of roses and polished wood.
A well-dressed, silver-haired, broad-shouldered man, who with no doubt seemed to be one of the estate's servant, stepped forward and gave a respectful bow.
"Welcome sir."
"Thank you lucas, but i thought i was clear on you not bowing for me, I'm not a god and also I'm younger than you," Rafael held lucas's shoulder as a way of telling him to stand upright.
Was this the man who had been dodging bullets here and there in the past few hours or was i dreaming? "So he has a soft side ehh?" i couldn't help but overthink.
Rafael turned to us, " Lucas will show you to your rooms. You both need rest."
" We are sharing a room," i frowned.
Rafael raised an eyebrow. "The guest suites are separate—"
"I don't care," I cut in, my voice firm. "Someone just tried to kill me. I'm not leaving my brother's side."
Rafael studied me for a second before nodding. "Okay then, Lucas will show you to one of the double suites; you have yourselves some good rest. Valeria and I have to sort some things out; see you tomorrow."
Lucas led us down the hallway and opened a door to a spacious guest suite that was bigger than my entire apartment. A king-sized bed, a private sitting area, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the estate.
“Damn, sis,” Ethan muttered, throwing himself onto the bed. “We hit the jackpot.”
I wasn’t convinced.
I dropped my bag, feeling completely out of place.
"Renee, are you okay?" Ethan asked.
I exhaled. "I just need a shower."
Ethan nodded. "Good idea. I'll take one after you."
The moment stepped into the marble bathroom, exhaustion hit me like a truck. The gunfire, the running and the fear, all crashed down at once.
I barely managed to step out of the shower before my body betrayed me.
The moment i collapsed onto the bed, sleep pulled me under like a heavy fog.
The scent of freshly baked bread stirred me awake. Blinking against the morning light, I groggily sat up, the events of last night crashing back like a tidal wave.
"Ethan?" I called.
"In here!"
I found him sitting in a lavish dining area connected to our suite, already digging into an extravagant breakfast—fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, and actual gold-rimmed plates.
I slid into the chair across from him. " Did you sleep?"
"Like a baby," he said through a mouthful of food.
"What time is it?" i muttered, rubbing my eyes.
"Past ten," he replied distractedly. " You slept like the dead."
Before I could respond, he froze, his expression shifting into something dark.
"What?" I asked.
He turned the phone to me.
"BREAKING NEWS: ATTORNEY RICHARD COLLINS FOUND DEAD IN HIS HOME.
Famous attorney murdered in suspected home invasion."
I grabbed the phone and read further. My hands trembled as I scrolled. Among his clients was Mr. Johnson Silvercrest.
Oh my God.
I inhaled sharply. “Ethan… the same hitmen after me… could they be the ones who killed Collins?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “It makes sense. He knew something.”
I felt sick. What the hell was I caught up in?
Before I could process further, a loud commotion erupted outside the room.
Shouting. Running footsteps. A door slamming.
Ethan and I shot to our feet. I threw the door open, stepping into the hallway. Servants whispered in panic. A few were crying.
Valeria, dressed in what seemed to match the other servants attire, appeared from the other end of the corridor, her expression unreadable.
"What's going on?" I asked, my heart pounding.
She exhaled. "We've just received news that Mr. Johnson has died. He has been missing for the past two weeks; nobody knew his whereabouts. Rafael, after receiving the news, went to confirm the body and handle the arrangements."
I couldn't make sense of the situation, starting with what Valeria was saying because I thought she knew that they saved me from the hospital where Mr. Johnson had just died and also how a billionaire like Mr. Johnson could just disappear for two weeks without anybody from his family knowing his whereabouts, try to reconnect with me, a stranger, die the previous day, and the news of his death reach his family the next day.
Before I could seek clarity from Valeria, Lucas clapped his hands as a way of signaling the other servants to assemble as two black Bentleys swept through the grand mansion gates.
"That is Mrs. Johnson, the first wife, and her son Julian; they've been outside the country for the past month. Rumor has it that they played a part in Mr. Johnson's disappearance; beware of them," Valeria whispered to me as she hurried toward the other servants.
The first door opened, and servants bowed as a stunning woman, with her beauty sharp and commanding, draped in an expensive fur coat and a single pearl necklace resting on her collarbone, stepped out.
I barely had time to react before another car door swung open.
Cold fear gripped me.
A man stepped out.
Dark hair. Sharp jawline. Unmistakable.
A servant held the door as he emerged.
Julian. Or was my mind playing tricks on me?
My ex-fiancé.
The man who swore he had no family.
The man who betrayed me over and over.
The man who abandoned me after a miscarriage, leaving aside the fact that he used to beat me up.
The ground shifted beneath me.
Black spots clouded my vision.
Then—nothing.
Darkness consumed me...
- Writer
