Chapter 13 – A Test of Loyalty

Chapter 13 – A Test of Loyalty

I stood there, breathless, the key still gripped in my trembling fingers.

Alexander’s gaze flicked to it, his smirk growing as if he found my pathetic attempt at escape amusing. My heart pounded violently against my chest, but I refused to back down.

Not this time.

I took a slow step back, my legs shaking. The hallway behind me stretched into darkness, offering no real sanctuary—but I had to try. I had to run.

“Go ahead,” he said, his voice smooth, calculated. “Run.”

I froze.

It wasn’t a challenge. It was a trap.

His eyes gleamed with something unreadable, something that sent shivers crawling down my spine.

I forced myself to stand taller. “What do you want from me?”

He chuckled, low and dark. “You keep asking that, Evelyn, but the answer hasn’t changed.”

Control.

That’s what he wanted.

To own me. To shape me into whatever twisted vision he had in mind.

I tightened my grip on the key, my knuckles turning white. “I’m not your puppet.”

His smirk faded.

Something in his expression shifted—just for a second. Then, before I could react, he closed the distance between us in a single, fluid motion.

I gasped, stepping back instinctively, but I wasn’t fast enough.

His hand shot out, catching my wrist. Not painfully. Not harshly.

Just firm.

Unbreakable.

The key slipped from my grasp, clattering to the floor.

I sucked in a sharp breath as he reached down, slowly picking it up. He turned it between his fingers, studying it like it was some kind of puzzle.

“This is what you wanted, right?” His voice was calm, almost mocking. “Freedom?”

My throat tightened.

I hated him.

I hated how easily he saw through me, how effortlessly he stripped away my defenses.

I yanked at my wrist, but he didn’t let go.

Instead, he leaned in. Close.

“You think freedom is as simple as a door and a key?” he murmured. “That walking away from me means it’s over?”

I turned my head away, refusing to meet his gaze.

His fingers curled under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Answer me.”

I swallowed hard, my body trembling.

“I don’t belong to you,” I whispered.

His expression darkened.

“Then prove it.”

Before I could process what he meant, he let go. Just like that.

The sudden absence of his touch made me stagger slightly, my body still tense with adrenaline.

I expected him to take the key, to throw it away, to lock me in again.

But instead, he… handed it back to me.

I stared at it, confused.

“You want to leave so badly?” His voice was eerily calm. “Go.”

I blinked, my heart racing.

This was a trick. It had to be.

I didn’t move.

He sighed, tilting his head. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you’re not my puppet?”

I clenched my fists. “I don’t trust you.”

He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Smart girl.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

I should have taken the opportunity. Should have run. Should have shoved that key into the nearest lock and bolted.

But I didn’t.

Because something in his expression told me this was a test.

If I ran, he would come after me.

If I stayed…

God, what did that mean?

I hated the war raging inside me. The fear. The doubt. The sickening, unwanted curiosity about what he would do next.

“I won’t stop you, Evelyn,” he said, softer this time. “But you need to decide. Right now.”

A choice.

An impossible one.

My fingers curled around the key.

And for the first time…

I hesitated.

----

I could hear nothing but the rapid thudding of my own heartbeat. The key in my palm felt heavier than before, like it carried the weight of something bigger than just unlocking a door.

Freedom.

It was right there, just one turn away.

So why did I feel frozen?

Alexander’s eyes remained on me, his expression unreadable. He had given me the key, told me I could leave. But the way he said it—calm, almost too calm—sent a shiver through me.

“You’re wasting time,” he murmured, watching me with quiet intensity. “Or do you finally understand?”

Understand what?

That I was trapped no matter what I did? That whether I stayed or ran, I would still be under his control?

I didn’t want to believe that.

I couldn’t believe that.

Taking a shaky breath, I tightened my grip on the key and forced my legs to move. One step. Another. I inched toward the door, every muscle in my body screaming at me to be careful.

I expected him to stop me.

To grab me again.

To rip the key from my hand and laugh at me for being stupid enough to think he’d actually let me go.

But he didn’t move.

Not even an inch.

He just watched.

I swallowed hard as my fingers brushed the cool metal of the doorknob.

I could do this.

I had to do this.

But… then what?

I had nowhere to go. No money. No clothes except the thin nightgown he had forced me into when I first arrived. I had no idea where I even was.

My chest tightened.

Would I really be free if I left?

Or would I just be walking into another kind of nightmare?

Alexander sighed, his voice low and knowing. “The door isn’t what’s keeping you here, Evelyn.”

I clenched my teeth. “Shut up.”

His smirk returned, slow and dangerous. “Prove me wrong.”

I twisted the key in the lock.

The soft click echoed in the air.

My heart pounded as I turned the knob and pulled the door open. A rush of cold air hit me, sending goosebumps down my arms.

It was dark outside. A long hallway stretched ahead, dimly lit by a few wall sconces. The house was silent, eerily so, as if it were waiting to see what I would do next.

I took a step forward.

Alexander still didn’t move.

I took another step.

Still nothing.

My breath was shaky. I forced myself to move faster, my bare feet silent against the cold floor.

I reached the end of the hallway.

Turn left or right?

I hesitated.

I didn’t even know where the front door was.

A feeling of panic started to creep in.

I didn’t belong here. I never had. But after days locked in that room, under his control, it was like my body had forgotten how to function in an open space.

I turned right, choosing blindly.

The hallway stretched on forever, leading into another darkened corridor.

I moved quickly, not daring to look back.

But I could feel him.

Not following me.

Just… there.

Like a shadow at the edge of my thoughts.

Was he letting me run just so he could drag me back?

I reached another door. I didn’t think—just pushed it open.

A large, open room.

Lavish furniture. A fireplace. A grand staircase leading down into more darkness.

My pulse quickened.

I could escape.

I would escape.

I made a run for the stairs, barely breathing as I moved.

Then—

A sound.

Soft. Almost imperceptible.

I stopped.

Turned.

Alexander stood at the top of the staircase, leaning casually against the railing.

He had been there the whole time.

Watching.

Waiting.

His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his gaze that made my stomach twist.

Like he knew something I didn’t.

Like he was still in control, even now.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep moving.

One step down. Then another.

But each movement felt heavier.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

I reached the bottom step, heart racing.

And then—

The lights snapped on.

Bright. Blinding.

I flinched, throwing up a hand to shield my eyes.

When I looked again…

I wasn’t alone.

Men stood near the front door. Two. Maybe three. Dressed in dark suits, their faces unreadable.

And they were looking right at me.

Ice flooded my veins.

Who were they?

Why were they here?

Alexander’s voice drifted down the staircase, slow and taunting.

“I told you, Evelyn.”

I turned, my stomach twisting.

He was still there, calm, composed, untouched by the chaos in my mind.

“You think I’m the worst thing waiting for you out there?” His lips curled into something cruel. “You have no idea what’s beyond that door.”

One of the men took a step forward.

I stumbled back instinctively.

No.

No, no, no.

This was a trap.

It had always been a trap.

Alexander had never been afraid of me running.

He had wanted me to.

And now, I was exactly where he wanted me to be.

Right back in his hands.

To Be Continued…

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