The door slammed shut behind Ava with a final, echoing thud — the kind of sound that made her chest tighten and her stomach knot. A heavy lock clicked into place, sealing her fate.
Inside, the mansion was deathly quiet, save for the relentless drip of rain falling from the eaves onto the cold stone floor. Shadows stretched across the dim hallway, twisting like silent watchers.
Ava's breath hitched, shallow and uneven. Her heart pounded like a warning drum against her ribs. Every instinct screamed to run, but where? The iron gates were miles away, the night too dark and dangerous.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward — tall, sharp-featured, and cloaked in darkness. His suit was black as midnight, tailored perfectly, but it was his eyes that held her attention — dark, stormy, unreadable, like he was guarding a world of secrets behind them.
"I'm Noah," he said, his voice low and smooth, with a hint of steel beneath. "Your bodyguard. And your jailer."
Ava's throat tightened. Her voice barely rose above a whisper. "Why am I here? What do you want from me?"
Noah took a slow step closer. The faint scent of his cologne—spicy and sharp—hit her senses, stirring something wild and unsettling deep inside.
"No questions. No defiance," he warned, eyes locking with hers like iron chains. "Only obedience. Break the rules, and there's no mercy."
Ava's hands curled into fists at her sides. "I'm not your prisoner."
"No," Noah said, his voice dropping an octave, heavy with meaning. "You're my responsibility. And that's worse."
Her mind raced, trying to grasp the weight of those words. This wasn't protection—it was a battlefield. And she was caught right in the middle.
The mansion's cold walls seemed to close in, thick with secrets and danger. Noah's gaze softened for a heartbeat, almost invisible.
"Trust me, Ava," he whispered, "I'm the only thing standing between you and a killer."
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion blazing. "Why should I trust a stranger who locks me inside?"
A ghost of a smile flickered on Noah's lips—brief, haunting. "Because I'm hiding secrets darker than the night. And your survival depends on them."
The rain hammered harder against the windows, like a warning drumbeat for what was coming next.
The game had begun. And Ava was already losing.
To be continued...