Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Step Too Late

Elena's fingers trembled as she worked at the window latch, her breath shallow in the silence. Locked. Of course.

She turned, scanning the room. There had to be another way out.

The air was heavy with something unspoken, something unseen. She could feel it pressing against her skin—the weight of this house, this place.

She had to move fast.

Her eyes darted to the door. If she could slip out quietly, make it down the stairs, she could find an exit.

Elena moved on instinct, stepping lightly across the wooden floor.

One step. Two.

She reached for the door handle, twisting it slowly.

A soft click.

The door opened.

Her heart pounded as she slipped into the dimly lit hallway. Empty.

Good.

She took another step, then another, each movement careful, measured. She had no idea where Leon was, but she couldn't risk being seen.

The house was silent—too silent.

She edged toward the staircase, her fingers brushing the wall as she moved. Almost there.

Then—a voice behind her.

"You shouldn't be out here, Elena."

Her blood ran cold.

She whirled around, heart hammering.

Leon stood at the other end of the hallway, half-shadowed by the dim light.

His expression was unreadable.

But his eyes—

They gleamed with something dark. Something knowing.

Elena swallowed hard. How had he known? How had he moved so quietly?

She forced herself to stand tall. "I was just—"

"Lying," Leon interrupted smoothly.

Her pulse skipped.

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate. "You were trying to leave."

Elena clenched her fists. "What does it matter? You can't keep me here."

Leon tilted his head, studying her. "I could."

The way he said it—not as a threat, but as a fact— sent a shiver down her spine.

She should have been afraid.

She should have been terrified.

Instead, something about the way he looked at her made her breathless.

"Go back to your room, Elena."

His voice was softer now, but there was no mistaking the finality in it.

She didn't move.

Neither did he.

For a long moment, they just stood there.

Then, finally, Leon sighed. "If you want answers," he murmured, "you'll get them. But not like this."

Elena's heart pounded.

She had lost this round.

But she wasn't giving up.

Not yet.