A Night With Mr. Woods

CHAPTER 12

“Cold! That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes. The ground beneath me was hard, rough, almost like concrete. My head throbbed, and for a moment, everything around me blurred. I blinked again, trying to force the world into focus.

The dim light above flickered. I was in some kind of basement or storage room. The walls were bare, the air heavy with dust and something metallic. My arms ached, and when I tried to move, I realized my wrists were tied together with coarse rope. Panic clawed its way up my throat. I struggled against the binds, the fibers biting into my skin.

“Easy,” a voice said softly, steady and firm. “You’ll only make it worse.”

I turned toward the sound, my breath catching. Damian sat only a few feet away, his hands bound like mine but his posture still upright, his presence unshaken. His eyes locked on mine, and for a heartbeat, I felt steadier.

“Damian,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Where are we? What’s happening?”

His jaw tightened, but he kept his voice low. “We’re not far from the building. They moved us fast. Whoever they are, they wanted us out of sight.”

My heart pounded harder. “They? You mean Kira… and that man?”

He gave a small nod, his gaze never leaving mine. “The man is not random. I’ve seen him before.” He paused, eyes narrowing. “He’s connected to my family. Which means this has everything to do with you.”

Before I could ask what he meant, the heavy door creaked open. Light spilled into the room, and two figures stepped in. Kira, flawless even in the harsh glow, and the stranger whose presence filled the space like a shadow that refused to leave. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his eyes sharp and cold as steel.

“Well, looks like our guests are awake,” Kira said lightly, her heels clicking as she walked closer. Her gaze lingered on me, and a slow smile curved her lips. “Sleep well, Allison?”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to answer. Fear was buzzing under my skin, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing it.

“Cut the games,” Damian snapped, his voice calm but edged with warning. “What do you want?”

The stranger stepped forward, his expression unreadable. His voice was deep, smooth, carrying a weight that made my chest tighten. “What we want, Mr. Woods, is cooperation. And unfortunately, your new assistant here has been asking questions she should not.”

My stomach twisted. “What questions? I’ve done nothing.”

Kira’s laugh was soft and sharp at once. “Oh, Allison. Do you really think you can poke around, dig into estates and legacies, and no one will notice? Your father’s name still carries weight. And weight like that is dangerous.”

I froze. My father. Again. Always coming back to him. “What do you know about my father?” I demanded, my voice louder now, my fear giving way to anger.

The stranger studied me for a long moment. His gaze was so piercing it felt like he could peel back every layer of me. “What matters,” he said finally, “is that the estate you’ve been summoned to claim is not as simple as it looks. There are people who would rather it stayed buried. People with influence, people who don’t tolerate interference.”

Damian’s eyes darkened. “If you’re threatening her, you’ll regret it.”

The man turned his gaze on Damian. “This isn’t a threat. It’s a warning. She has no idea what she’s walking into. And neither do you.”

Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. I tried to steady my breathing, but my thoughts spun too fast. My father’s estate. The letters. The warnings. And now this stranger who seemed to know more about my life than I did.

Kira finally broke the silence, her smile fading into something sharper. “You should listen, Allison. Because if you don’t… you won’t survive what’s coming.”

Her words sent a chill through me, but before I could respond, the stranger pulled something from his coat. A thin folder, worn at the edges, with my name scrawled across the front.

He tossed it onto the floor in front of me. The pages spilled out, covered in documents, photographs, dates. I leaned forward, my wrists straining against the rope, and caught a glimpse of my father’s handwriting.

My chest tightened. “Where did you get this?”

“Where it’s been all along,” the man said. “Hidden. Waiting. Until someone foolish enough went digging.”

I looked at Damian, my vision blurring with sudden tears. “This is about him. It’s always been about him.”

Damian leaned closer, his voice low, meant only for me. “Don’t let them rattle you. Whatever’s in those pages, it’s meant to scare you, to keep you from fighting back.”

But I couldn’t ignore the weight of the folder on the floor, couldn’t ignore the way my father’s name seemed to echo in the room.

The man watched me silently, then turned back to Damian. “You have a choice. Keep her out of this, or let her drag you both down. Decide quickly. Because the people above me… they won’t wait forever.”

He moved toward the door, Kira following close behind. She glanced back one last time, her eyes glittering. “Think about it, Allison. Some truths are better left dead.”

The door slammed shut, leaving us in the dark again.

For a moment, the silence was unbearable. Then Damian shifted closer, his voice steady but urgent. “We need to get out of here before they come back. And when we do, you’re going to tell me everything. No more secrets.”

I swallowed hard, nodding even though fear gripped me tight. “But Damian… what if the secrets aren’t mine? What if they’re his? My father’s?”

He held my gaze, his expression fierce. “Then we face them together.”

The flickering light above buzzed, casting shadows across the room. My wrists ached against the rope, my heart pounding in my chest. Somewhere inside that folder lay the truth about my father, about the Woods family, about why I was here at all.

And deep down, I knew one thing for certain. Whatever we found next would change everything.