The east wing felt colder than the rest of the mansion, as if the air itself recoiled from the ssage left behind. Mara couldn’t tear her eyes away from the blood-stained white rose, its delicate beauty twisted into a silent threat that dug deep beneath her skin.
Damian’s arm slid firmly around her waist—not possessively, but protectively—guiding her back from the crate as the forensic team rushed in. Their gloves snapped sharply in the silence, their equipnt clicking, humming, flashing.
"Take it to the lab. Imdiate priority," Damian ordered, his voice a low command that brooked no argunt.
"Yes, sir."
The mont the box was removed, the room seed to breathe again, but Mara couldn’t. Her lungs felt tight, as if the fear lodged inside her had grown roots.
Damian turned to her.
"Mara."
She looked up. His eyes were dark steel, but beneath the hardness she saw sothing she had never seen before—pure, rattling fear. Not for himself.
For her.
"We’re done standing back," he said. "I’m tightening security to the highest level. No one moves without clearance. Not even staff with ten years of service."
She nodded, though her hands trembled. "Damian... that rose—"
"I know." His jaw flexed. "Soone wants to remind you they’re close. Too close." His voice dropped lower. "They touched sothing ant for you. That alone is enough for to hunt them down."
The guards dispersed, following his commands with urgency.
The mont they stepped out of the storage area, Damian leaned down slightly and muttered, "We’re going to my private wing. It’s the most protected part of the mansion."
Mara felt the intensity in every word.
"Is it safe?" she asked quietly.
His answer wasn’t words.
It was the way his hand tightened around hers, pulling her closer.
As they walked, the mansion’s hallways seed to shift—familiar, but suddenly sinister in their quietness. Every shadow felt alive. Every flicker of light made Mara’s pulse quicken.
Halfway through the corridor, a voice called out—
"Sir!"
Lucas ca jogging up, slightly out of breath—a rare sight for him.
Damian stopped. "What now?"
Lucas handed him a neatly folded report. "The list of the seven staff with access to the circuit panels."
Mara held her breath.
Damian opened the paper.
His eyes scanned it once.
Twice.
Then slowly, his expression sharpened to a blade.
Mara stepped closer. "Who are they?"
Damian didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he looked at Lucas. "Where are they right now?"
Lucas swallowed. "Six are in their assigned positions. The seventh... is missing."
Mara’s heart jolted painfully.
Missing.
Already gone.
Already ahead of them.
Damian’s voice turned deadly calm. "Search the entire property. No one leaves until he’s found."
Lucas nodded and rushed off.
Mara grabbed Damian’s sleeve. "Who is it?"
He finally handed her the paper.
Her eyes trailed down the list until they landed on the seventh na—
Evan Hale.
Maintenance Engineer.
Six months working in the mansion.
Cleared by previous background check.
But her breath froze.
"It can’t be him..."
Damian’s eyes flicked sharply to her. "You know him?"
Mara nodded slowly, terror climbing her spine. "He... he spoke to once. The day I arrived. I didn’t think much of it. He was polite. Quiet."
Damian’s expression turned stormy.
"You should have told soone approached you alone."
"I—I didn’t know it mattered. It felt innocent."
He closed his eyes for a mont as if fighting the urge to curse the universe.
"Mara, nothing involving you is innocent anymore."
Before she could respond, another guard ran toward them.
"Sir! You need to co to the south balcony imdiately!"
Damian stiffened. "What happened now?"
The guard looked pale, shaken. "It’s... another ssage."
The words slamd into Mara’s chest.
Another ssage.
Her knees felt weak. Damian imdiately curled an arm around her and guided her toward the balcony.
When they arrived, two guards stood aside, revealing the long marble railing overlooking the garden.
And sitting on the railing—
Was a small silver locket.
Closed.
Pristine.
Untouched by dust or weather.
Damian approached it slowly, as if it might explode.
Mara’s breath hitched as he opened it.
Inside was a picture.
Not of her.
Not of Damian.
But of the mansion.
Taken from the outside.
With a red X marked on one of the windows.
Mara’s window.
Her room.
Her space.
Damian’s chest rose and fell sharply.
"He was outside," Mara whispered. "Watching . Watching my room."
"It ans he’s comfortable on the grounds," Damian muttered. "Confident. Moving freely. He knows the blind spots."
Lucas arrived, breathless again. "Sir, Evan Hale’s phone was found in the tool shed. He left it behind intentionally."
Damian stared down at the locket again.
"He’s not hiding," he said slowly. "He’s toying with us."
Mara’s legs almost gave out.
Damian turned sharply to Lucas. "Double the guards on every entry and window. I want all patrols overlapping. Nobody moves alone. And find him."
Lucas nodded. "Yes, sir."
When he rushed away again, Damian turned to Mara.
His eyes were dark fire.
"I won’t let him touch you," he said. "Not a hair. Not a breath. Not a shadow."
Her voice cracked. "Why ? Why is he doing this?"
Damian hesitated, his jaw tight.
"There’s sothing you don’t know yet," he finally said. "Sothing about why you’re in danger."
She stepped back. "Damian... what are you hiding?"
He opened his mouth—
But a sudden loud bang echoed from the far hallway.
A door slamming.
A guard shouting.
Then another yell—
"He’s inside the mansion! We saw him on the second floor!"
Mara froze.
Damian grabbed her hand.
"Get behind ."
Her heart pounded so violently she thought it might break. Every sense sharpened. Every instinct scread.
Sowhere in the mansion—
Footsteps ran.
A shadow moved.
A whisper brushed the walls.
And for the first ti...
Mara realized the truth.
The danger wasn’t outside anymore.
It was in the house.
With them
Right now.
---
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