Chapter8:TheThinLine
656 Words
The silence in Arthur’s house was too perfect.
Kelly sat at the edge of the massive bed, wrapped in the same satin shirt she’d found that morning, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the hem. The room was pristine—too pristine. Everything in Arthur’s home was clean, cold, and controlled. A reflection of the man himself.
She hadn’t seen him since the hallway—since he looked at her like she was both a puzzle and a threat. He hadn’t spoken to her again. Just said he had a meeting and that she was to stay put.
The way he said it didn’t leave room for argument.
Now she was alone. Again.
And her thoughts were louder than ever.
She paced to the window, staring at the iron gates beyond the garden. Her son’s face haunted her. His small voice in the hospital bed. “Where’s Daddy?” She hadn’t been able to sleep since.
Suddenly, she spotted it—her phone. Tucked into the inside pocket of the coat Arthur had left draped over the armchair. Her pulse quickened.
She hesitated only a second.
Then she grabbed it.
The line rang twice before it picked up.
“Kelly?” Serena Moore’s voice was soft, shocked. “Oh my God. Where are you?”
“Mum—listen,” Kelly whispered, stepping into the far corner of the room. “I don’t have much time.”
“You sound winded—are you okay? Where’s—?”
“I’m fine. But I need you to stay with him. At the hospital.”
“Kelly… Arthur doesn’t know, does he?”
“No,” she said, voice cracking. “He can’t. Not yet. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
“Then come back.”
“I can’t. He’s got me in his house, Mum. And he’s watching everything. I don’t even know how long—”
The door creaked.
Kelly spun, heart stopping. Arthur stood in the doorway.
His expression was unreadable. Stone. Cold.
Her hand trembled as she ended the call and dropped the phone to the bed.
Arthur walked in slowly, shutting the door behind him with a soft, deliberate click.
“You went through my things,” he said.
Kelly stayed quiet.
“You made a call,” he continued. “To whom?”
She didn’t answer.
Arthur stepped closer, voice low and sharp. “Who are you reporting to, Kelly?”
“I wasn’t—”
“Don’t lie to me.”
His voice wasn’t raised. It didn’t need to be. The restraint in it was worse.
“I was talking to my mum,” she said finally.
“About what?”
She hesitated.
Arthur’s eyes darkened. “About what, Kelly?”
“About leaving,” she whispered.
A long silence stretched between them.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said. “You knew that when you came here.”
“You said I had a choice.”
“No,” he replied. “I said you had the chance to talk. You’re the one turning that into a cage.”
Kelly’s jaw clenched, but she looked away.
Arthur’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t break eye contact as he answered. “Yeah.”
Caleb’s voice came through, distorted by speaker. “Change of plans. Aiden wants us at the estate. Now. It’s about the trip.”
Arthur’s jaw flexed. “What trip?”
“Europe. The East division. He’s going overseas—urgently. You need to be there.”
Arthur ended the call and stared at Kelly a moment longer.
“You’ll stay in this house until I return. Do you understand?”
“I’m not your prisoner.”
“No,” he said. “You’re something far more dangerous.”
Then he turned and walked out, leaving her with a heart full of fear—and a secret too big for silence.
- Writer
