The Billionaire's Hidden Debt

Chapter 4: The Forbidden Room

The dress Silas left for me was a masterpiece of midnight-blue silk. It fit like a second skin, making me look like I belonged in his world of diamonds and secrets. But as I zipped it up, a cold draft caught my attention.

My room had two doors. One led to the hallway, but the other was hidden behind a heavy velvet curtain. Curiosity got the better of me. I pushed the curtain aside and turned the handle. To my surprise, it wasn't locked.

I stepped into a room that felt frozen in time. Unlike the rest of the modern mansion, this room was filled with old books, a dusty piano, and a single oil painting on the wall. I moved closer to the painting and gasped. It was a woman with the same silver locket I wore around my neck—the one Silas said he recognized.

"I told you to get ready for the gala, Ava. Not to wander where you don't belong."

I spun around. Silas was leaning against the doorframe, his face shadowed. The heat in his eyes from earlier was gone, replaced by a wall of ice.

"Who is she?" I asked, pointing to the painting. "And why does she have my locket?"

Silas walked into the room, his footsteps silent on the rug. He stood so close I could feel the tension radiating off him. He reached out, his thumb grazing the edge of my jaw before he roughly pulled the curtain shut, hiding the room once more.

"Some secrets come with a price, Ava," he whispered, his voice dark and dangerous. "If you want to save your father, you will forget you ever saw this room. Do you understand?"

I nodded, my heart racing. He wasn't just a billionaire with a debt to collect. He was a man haunted by the same past I was trying to run away from.