Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Hennessy: When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
Unable to resist, I asked, “Whose estate is this?”
He eyed me cautiously for a second. “It belongs to your uncle’s best friend.”
I thought about it for a second. “Your answers only raise more questions, Alfred. So I’m guessing he’s a king, or is he a god? Because from the feel of it, he’s the Grim Reaper.”
I wasn’t joking, and he didn’t deny it.
Leaning into my theory, he cautioned, “You’ll learn soon enough, miss.”
I inhaled a deep, reassuring breath until I called him out. “You have a habit of saying a lot without actually saying anything. Everything you say sounds like a warning.”
“I’m just preparing you, miss.”
“For what, exactly? My tío or the Graves?”
“All of the above and to add, everything in-between.”
I slowly nodded, catching on. “It’s the in-between that I don’t like, so how about you tell me what I’m about to walk into?”
The corner of his lip curved. “Where would the fun be in that?”
“Ah, I see… you’re just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
He grabbed the labels of his jacket, proudly confirming, “I’m wearing a suit.” Opening his door next, he let me out before he added, “Good luck, Miss Belladonna. You’re going to need it.”
“Wait!” I snapped once I was standing outside. “You’re leaving me here by myself?”
“Miss, I don’t belong here.”
My gaze went wide. “And I do?”
He shrugged, making his way to his car door, yelling over his shoulder, “One way or another, you’re about to find out.”
After I warily watched him leave, my eyes drifted upward to an iron crest mounted on the highest peak of the mansion. It was a sea serpent. Its body was coiled around an old crest bearing the name “Devereaux.”
This wasn’t just an ornament or a design feature. It was a symbol of power that was established before you even crossed the threshold. Houses like these usually held ghosts and trauma, which I was more than familiar with.
My fingers instinctively glided over the smooth red-and-black seeds my grandmother had strung together into a bracelet before I left, saying it’d protect me from el mal de ojo, the evil eye.
I believed in its power, and that belief was what gave it strength.
In the same way the sea serpent crest was meant to.
I already knew so much about this property, and I had yet to walk into it. Although it wasn’t the estate that worried me, it was the people who lived in it that had me hesitating.
Squaring my shoulders, I climbed the uneven stone steps, each one echoing beneath my feet, mimicking the beat of my heart.
The massive iron doors loomed over me, framed by battered columns covered in ivy that had withstood centuries.
Before I could second-guess myself, I reached for the cold brass handle, but it opened for me.
I didn’t make sense of the massive foyer as voices exploded from somewhere beyond the grand staircase.
They yelled, “SURPRISE!”
And damn was I…
I flinched, and my hand flew to my chest as a chorus of cheers boomed through the walls toward me. Strangers spilled into the foyer from every direction, smiling, laughing, and raising their glasses like they’d known me forever.
My pulse hammered against my ribs, and I quickly realized this party was for none other than me.
Everyone was dressed to the nines, wearing gowns and tuxedos with expensive jewelry that cost more than anything I’d ever seen.
It seemed as if the entire Academy was in attendance, including its students, families, and faculty.
It was the group of girls gathered around the bar who caught my attention first. There were five of them, beautiful in the kind of way that was effortless. They stood in a circle as if they owned the room without ever asking for permission.
Yet despite the gossip spilling between them, none of them looked relaxed. Every pair of eyes was on me. One of the girls, a stunning redhead with green eyes, was absentmindedly tracing the rim of her champagne flute as she studied me with quiet curiosity.
Another one, the blond-haired girl with blue eyes, had her arms crossed over her chest with an unreadable expression beneath a perfected smile.
The redhead tilted her head ever so slightly, reminding me of how you’d look if you were trying to solve a puzzle, one you’d been waiting years to finish.
Does she know me?
The other two girls looked amused, like they’d been placing bets on how long I’d survive there.
The redhead never smiled at all. She simply held my gaze, unwavering, making my pulse flutter a little faster with her intense composure.
They weren’t exactly hostile, but they weren’t welcoming either. It felt less like a greeting and more like an initiation.
To what exactly?
They knew something I didn’t. And somehow, I had an unsettling feeling they weren’t the only ones.
“Hennessy,” Tío Luis exclaimed, snapping my attention to him.
He appeared from within the crowd, pulling me into a tight hug, firm against his chest as he kissed my cheek.
“Mi nina,” he whispered, “my girl,” in my ear.
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment.
I’m so happy you’re finally here.” He hugged me as if I belonged there with him, embracing me as though he meant it.
It immediately reminded me of my family, making me miss them more than I already was, especially at that moment.
If I were home right now, I’d be out with my friends and not in this disaster of what-ifs.
I felt like a fish out of water. This wasn’t my scene.
I had nothing in common with these people.
That much was obvious to me. Not because there was wealth beyond comprehension, but because they all seemed to speak an unspoken language I hadn’t learned yet.
“Look at you,” Tío declared, holding me at arm’s length with a smile that softened the sharp lines of his face.
His stare explored mine, visibly trying to find the pieces of my mother hidden somewhere inside me.
Understanding my reaction, he admitted, “You look so much like your mom did when she was your age.”
I didn’t hold back. “You stuck around that long?”
The tension was abrupt, and his eyebrows pinched together. I wasn’t going to make this easy on him. I didn’t appreciate being used for his redemption. By the looks of it, he was doing more than fine for himself, only confusing me further on his true intentions.
I didn’t want to be there, and it was completely his fault that I was.
Warm laughter rippled through the room as guests watched our reunion that I had no idea wouldn’t be private. The last thing I wanted was to walk into a stranger’s house to celebrate my arrival at a party I didn’t want to attend to begin with.
This couldn’t have been his idea. He had to be smarter than this. This reeked of desperation. A pathetic performance of whatever illusion they were trying to portray. I wasn’t raised to be ungrateful, but this party had nothing to do with me and everything to do with appearances.
The second I heard a screeching voice shout, “There she is!” I found the culprit.
“Ah!” she beamed, throwing her arms around my neck. “You’re more beautiful than your pictures!”
I stood there, frozen.
“Travel must have exhausted you.” She backed away, gesturing to my uncle. “Luis, let her go get dressed.” She grabbed my hand. “I picked out the perfect gown for you. It’s in one of the guest rooms.”
Nodding to me, Tío introduced her. “Hennessy, this is my fiancée, Elizabeth.”
Fiancée? We didn’t know he was engaged.
“Enough with the small talk. It can wait,” she beamed. “My brother was gracious enough to offer his home for your welcome party. Now let’s not have your guests wait to meet you.”
Her brother? Is he engaged to his best friend's sister?
“Hennessy needs to get dressed, honey.” Nodding to an older woman standing close to her wearing a uniform, she ordered, “The housekeeper will escort you.”
I didn’t have a chance to object. Every conversation seemed to fade as heads turned toward one of the many hallways in this palace. Interest heaved through the crowd, snatching notice with it. My gaze swept over unfamiliar faces until it caught one I hadn’t expected to come across.
The grand foyer held its breath, locking eyes with the guy dressed in a black hoodie. The hoodie almost covered his entire face while his hands were in the pockets of the heavy cotton material. He was dressed in worn jeans and scuffed boots, looking completely out of place.
Exactly like me.
We were the only two people in the room who weren’t dressed to impress. It wasn’t his outfit that caught my attention the most. It was the observant expression on his face that had me wondering if I wore the same on mine.
Two things were immediately clear to me: one, he didn’t give a shit about who he was impressing, and two, he didn’t want to be there, and we shared that immediate connection.
Like a knife carving into my skin, the sting of his stare did exactly that. My heart seized inside my chest, tightening as if he’d reached between my ribs and wrapped his hand around it.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t move.
I was frozen in place.
Powerless.
Restrained.
Exposed.
Not in fear. Fear would’ve been an emotion I could understand, something I could relate to. Something I could hold on to.
No, this was something far more unsettling. It felt like I was standing underneath a microscope where every scar I’d spent years hiding suddenly lay bare beneath his gaze.
Every insecurity. Every secret. Every flaw.
He stared at me as if he could peel away my flesh and bones until nothing was left but the truth I’d spent my entire life trying to outrun.
My skin prickled beneath the weight of his attention, and the room around us faded until all that was left were those impossible honey-colored eyes fixated on mine.
I couldn’t tell if he hated me or pitied me, but hatred would’ve been easier to survive. There was no curiosity in his expression like the others. There was only recognition and this resentment I felt instantly. It was this unmistakable look of someone who wished I never existed.
Like my arrival had disrupted something set in motion long before I was born.
Like I’d walked into a story that had already been written and I wasn’t supposed to be in it.
He looked at me like I’d stolen something that belonged to him, standing in a house I had no business being in.
Crossing this threshold, I was never supposed to find or be a part of.
I couldn’t see his whole face, just enough of his eyes and expression to make me well aware I wasn’t wanted here.
Once again, every instinct I possessed screamed the same warning.
“Run…”
From this room.
From these grounds.
From all these people, especially…
From him.
If he could’ve erased my existence with a single look, I had no doubt he would’ve done it without hesitation.
Yet…
He couldn’t look away, and neither could I.
The silence stretched between us, taut enough to snap. It felt alive, charged with something I couldn’t name but instinctively welcomed for some unknown reason. Whatever passed between us in those few endless seconds wasn’t a coincidence. It was a collision of mass destruction.
Before either of us had spoken a single word, I already knew one thing with terrifying certainty.
Meeting him…
Was only going to ruin me.