Chapter 17 – Wren
These walls were thin, and whispers had been floating —whispers of my life being in danger. No one had told me anything to my face, but I heard the words they murmured when no one was listening.
Rumor had it that on the night of the attack, Val wasn’t the target. I was. Even though I already suspected it, finding out from one of the maids’ lips made my chest tighten. She didn’t know that I heard her the night she was gossiping with her colleagues in the garden.
So apparently, this maid, Julia, was having an affair with one of the guards.
I didn’t know what his name was, so let’s just call him Mike.
It turned out that Mike had told her about a secret ongoing investigation.
From what I gathered, Val was the one spearheading this said investigation, and it had to do with a mole in the house.
When I realized that I was the target on the night of the attack, and not only that, the person behind it was also within these walls, I panicked. I wish I didn’t, but I did. I fuckin’ panicked.
The rumors had been floating around for about two days now, but I only found this out late last night. No wonder Val seemed off when he joined me in the living room. He’d been busy with the issue of the mole amongst his own people.
He didn’t say a word to me about the dangers lurking in the dark. Maybe it’s because he didn’t want me panicking, but I couldn’t help thinking that he should’ve just told me. At least, that way, I’d stay indoors all day and all night and only open up the door to him alone.
The voices in my head had been debating about this since I found out last night. One was of the opinion that Val cared so deeply for me, and that’s why he kept me in the dark.
Another voice said that was bullshit. Crap. If Val cared about me, he would’ve let me in on the current situation, seeing that it was my life that was on the line and not his. The voices in my head wouldn’t keep quiet, and the more they argued, the closer I came to fuckin’ losing my mind.
I hadn’t stepped out of my room all day. How could I, after finding out the real culprit behind my near-death experience was probably someone who greeted me every day? It could be any of the guards—hell, it could even be a maid for all I knew.
It’s true what they say, “Ignorance is bliss.”
Before I found this out, I was already starting to feel safe and comfortable around the house. I would even wander the halls like a ghost in the middle of the night without fear.
Right now, I couldn’t even leave my room because everyone was a suspect. Everyone. It was clear that I was surrounded by wolves and could be attacked again—perhaps when I least expected it this time.
I was afraid to even eat, lest the meal be poisoned.
If the traitor was within these walls, why hadn’t they attacked me yet?
I mean, I always roamed the hallways, visited the library and the gardens alone.
If I were their target that night, why didn’t they just finish me off, considering that they’d had so many opportunities to do so?
It didn’t make any sense. Actually, none of this did. To make matters worse, I overheard the guards outside my door saying that Val had left the mansion to take care of a private problem.
A private problem, seriously?!
The man had the guts to leave the mansion during such a time? Why would he abandon me when I needed him the most? He was the only person that I was certain didn’t want me dead. Now, he’d disappeared to handle a private problem, leaving me at the mercy of this secret mole.
I refused to let anyone in, not even the maid who came to check on me. I just told her that I wanted to be alone, and when she asked if I was hungry, I replied that I was fine. She didn’t seem convinced, but she had no choice, so she left my door.
Fear crippled me the whole day, and each time I heard footsteps outside, I’d hug my pillow or reach for the knife I’d stolen from the kitchen last night. I kept it on the nightstand, easily accessible in case of any sudden danger.
I made up my mind to leave the mansion at midnight. I didn’t care what the outcome would be; there was no way in hell that I’d sit back and wait for death to come find me. I had to help myself stay alive since my so-called husband had decided to abandon me.
I’d grown familiar with the building, and I believed that I could at least find my way to the back gate. Taking the front was too risky, but there was a passage I stumbled upon two days ago. It was a hidden pathway underneath the staircase leading to the basement.
I had no idea where the passage led to, but tonight, I’d find out. I was willing to do anything, try anything, just to get the hell out of here.
As I lay in bed, that voice of fear whispered in my head, What if there are more hounds down there?
Then we’ll take our chances with them, the voice of courage replied.
But it’s suicide.
So is staying here. We don’t know who the mole is. We don’t know when they’ll attack.
If they’ll attack, said the voice of fear, as if to correct the notion. They haven’t attacked since. What makes you think they’ll attack now?
Well, we can’t sit around and find out, now can we?
Yes, we absolutely can! Fear replied. We’ve been safe in here all day. I say we keep it that way.
Staying in here doesn’t guarantee our safety. What if the mole has a spare key to the room and they decide to pay us a visit, hmm? What then?
Both voices were right, and now it was time to decide. As usual, I listened to the voice of courage and debunked that of fear.
I was already familiar with the guards’ routine, and I’d found the loophole in their shift change. It was a window that wouldn’t stay open for long, meaning I had a limited amount of time to get to the back gate.
At the stroke of midnight, I got out of bed, rushed over to my door, and carefully opened it. The hallway was quiet, and when I looked both ways, the coast was clear. Without a moment of hesitation, I sprang into action, running through the corridor as if my life depended on it. It actually did.
I rounded a corner and almost ran into two guards smoking and chattering about God-knows-what. It’s a good thing I saw them first, and so I hid behind a pillar. They didn’t linger for long before parting ways. I waited to confirm that the path was open, and then I took off again.
Sneaking through the hallways was easier than I thought. Strange. I expected more resistance. A part of me was suspicious about it, but the other part just wanted to leave at all costs.
Something is wrong, the voice of fear returned. It’s too quiet tonight, and this is way too easy.
I ignored the warning and raced down the stairs until I reached the basement. Across from me was the secret passage, dark and eerie. I stopped in my tracks, eyes fixed on the path that looked like it led straight to hell.
“Going somewhere?” a familiar voice, deep and husky, spoke from behind me.
I yelped, almost jumping out of my skin at the sudden sound that scared me half to death. Without looking back, I ran toward the dark passage, but with a few long strides, my attacker caught up with me and seized me by the waist.
“Let go of me!” I struggled, arms and legs flailing in the air, but to no avail. His grip was too strong. “Help!” I screamed.
“Shut up, bitch!” He hurled me against the wall like I was an empty can of soda.
My body slammed into the brick wall hard and painfully, with a sickening crack, before collapsing to the ground. I winced at my aching bones and throbbing head.
“You’ve cost me a lot of trouble, shutterbug,” he said, his boots scuffing against the floor as he approached me with slow, menacing steps.
“You…” I groaned, straining as I struggled to stand. “You’re the mole—it’s always been you.”
He chuckled lightly and towered over me, fingers flipping off his black hoodie.
It was Luka. Val’s right-hand man.
I rose to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest as I leaned against the wall, bracing myself for my death. “He trusted you…and you betrayed him. You’re supposed to be his—”
“Shut the fuck up!” he thundered, his tone dripping with venom.
I blinked, flinching at the sound of his voice.
“What do you know about betrayal?” He drew closer, his face a mask of fury. “You’re just a useless little girl—a pawn in a game you know nothing about.”
“What did I ever do to you?” I asked, panting, my chest heaving with heavy breaths. “You don’t even know me.”
He snickered, halting in front of me. “I know that you’re a troublemaker and your presence in this house has weakened Val.”
“But he’s your boss,” I said, indulging him while secretly using my foot to drag a stone closer.
My kitchen knife would’ve come in handy at this moment. But I just recently realized that in a hurry to leave, I’d left the knife on my nightstand.
Fuck.
“He ceased to be my boss the day he decided to make you his bride,” Luka growled, unsheathing a blade.
My breath hitched, and my body stiffened, my heart racing in my chest.
“He should’ve listened to the council. They know better.” His gaze swept over me in a rather condescending way. “Instead, he chose to turn against them just so he could fuck that pussy of yours and own your body.”
His words made my blood boil in anger, and with all that adrenaline coursing through me, I shoved him back. While he laughed at me, I picked up the stone and smashed it into the side of his head.
He groaned, retaliating with a punch that knocked me to the ground. I screamed when I grabbed my feet and dragged me across the floor.
“You little devil!” he bellowed, reaching down to choke me.
I grabbed his hand and bit his finger with every ounce of strength that I could muster. His groan was agonizing, and with all that rage, he smacked me across the face with his free hand.
The impact turned my head to the side, and for a moment there, I thought that I was blind. There was a ringing in my ear, so loud I barely heard anything. He straddled me, his arms reaching down for my neck, when suddenly, a powerful force dragged him off me.
I gasped for air, my palm on my heaving chest as I blinked rapidly, hoping that that slap hadn’t blinded me for life. My whole body ached, and although the ringing in my ear was still loud as fuck, I could still hear the muffled groans and thick grunts that filled the air.
My head turned toward the noise, and that’s when I saw, with blurry vision, two men exchanging blows and kicks. I rubbed my eyes for a second, my vision clearing gradually.
The other man—the newcomer that saved me…
that was Val. And he was aggressive as hell.
His face was a mask of fury, and his blows were thrown with unrelenting force.
At first, I thought what I saw was two men fighting, but as my eyesight returned, I realized that wasn’t the case at all.
It wasn’t a fight. No. It was a beating.
Val was swinging heavy, precise punches and never missed even one. Luka wasn’t fighting back; he was just being pummeled. Val was clearly stronger, faster, and angrier.
I watched him knock Luka to the ground, mounting him in one swift motion. With both hands, he drilled punches into Luka’s face—punches so heavy that blood spilled on each impact. He struck Luka’s face over and over and over again until his knuckles were covered in blood.
By this time, the ringing in my ears had died down. All I could hear was the thudding sound of Luka’s head being bashed into the ground with each blow. The floor beneath his head had cracked and continued cracking the more Val threw those heavy blows.
Luka’s body had now stopped moving; his arms had fallen to his sides, motionless. I was pretty sure that he was dead. But Val didn’t stop striking him, again and again and again. The despicable sight of him taking the life of someone he’d known for ages made my stomach turn.
Val’s face was stained with splashes of his victim’s blood. His hair was tousled from the struggle, and his breathing was so heavy it echoed off the walls.
He rose to his feet, blood dripping from his knuckles, shoulders rising and falling as his cold settled on the lifeless body beneath him.
All I saw was a beast—a scary monster.
But the good thing was, this monster was my protector. And tonight, he just proved that he’d do anything to keep me out of harm’s way. Including murdering his own right-hand man in cold blood.
I thought they said he left the mansion to take care of a private problem. What happened? How did he get here so fast? And how the hell did he know where to find me?
Only one answer made sense to me: He must have lied to everyone that he was leaving so he’d catch the mole. Val might have set this whole thing up in order to lure out the Judas amongst his men.
Hold on a minute, did he use me as bait? Oh, he better not have.
Val rushed over to me, but the moment our eyes met, he paused, masking his anxiety with a flat expression. He didn’t say a word, but judging by the way his jaw flexed, I could tell that he hated seeing me in that state on the ground.
He crouched before me and carried me in his arms bridal style, where I felt safe and secure. I was mad at him, and he had a lot of explaining to do, but for now, my body needed rest and probably medical attention.
I was too disorganized to be angry, too numb to speak, but we’d definitely have this conversation later. Val carried me up the stairs and went straight to his own master bathroom—and all this time, he never uttered a word.