Chapter 65: Do it or I’ll kill you

Chapter 65: Do it or I’ll kill you

Izo ended the video call. He couldn’t see.

The video call ended with a soft beep. The screen went dark, leaving only Izo’s reflection staring back at himself for a split second before the phone timed out.

He sat back in his chair, jaw tight, fingers still resting on the keyboard of his laptop, staring at nothing. The image of Tennessee standing too close to Audrey’s bed burned behind his eyes. He didn’t say a word out loud. He just sat there, swallowing the jealousy like a slow poison.

Back at the mansion, Tennessee turned and left the bedroom. He looked at the hallway outside Audrey’s bedroom. Tennessee stepped out of her room quietly, closing the door behind him.

He ran a hand through his hair and muttered under his breath, “Get your head straight.”

He walked away from the door without looking back.

Inside the bedroom, Audrey slept peacefully, her breathing slow and even, completely unaware of the tension moving around her.

Yvonne pushed the door open gently not long after. She carried a tray of food in her hands, moving carefully so the plate wouldn’t rattle. Her eyes softened when she looked at Audrey. She walked to the bedside and whispered, “You’ve barely eaten all day.”

She placed the tray on the side table, adjusting the napkin, making sure everything looked neat. She brushed a hand over Audrey’s hair briefly, then pulled back. “When you wake up, eat. You need strength.”

She walked back to the door and left the room softly, closing it behind her. The hallway swallowed her footsteps.

She spotted the maid coming out of the laundry room, and without a word, she grabbed the woman’s wrist and yanked her into a corner of the corridor where the cameras couldn’t easily see their faces. Gwen’s nails dug into the maid’s arm hard enough to hurt.

“You work here,” Gwen said quietly, her voice sweet but dangerous. “You will do what you’re told.”

The maid’s eyes widened. “Miss Gwen, I don’t want any trouble.”

“You are already in trouble,” Gwen answered, slipping her hand into her pocket and pulling out a small bottle concealed in her palm. She closed the maid’s fingers around it. “You’re going to make sure you empty this into her food and she eats everything on that tray. Her sister just took food to her.”

The maid shook her head slightly. “I can’t … I’ll lose my job. I could go to prison.”

Gwen leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper filled with venom. “You think prison is worse than what I can do to you? Think again. Your mom still lives in that little apartment on Third Street, right? That your brother still works nights at the gas station?”

The maid went still, fear taking over her face.

“Good girl,” Gwen said, releasing her wrist. “Do what you’re told. Just so you know, I am not trying to kill her.”

The maid stood there frozen for a moment, then slowly nodded and walked away, clutching the bottle in her hand.

She returned to Audrey’s bedroom a few minutes later. The room was quiet. Audrey was still asleep. The tray sat untouched.

The maid’s hands shook as she moved toward it. She hesitated for a long moment, staring at sleeping Audrey. Her face tightened. Her eyes watered. She looked at the small bottle in her palm, then looked back at Audrey.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to herself.

She did what Gwen asked. When she finished, she stepped back, adjusted the tray carefully so nothing looked disturbed, then turned and left the room quickly, not daring to look back.

Elsewhere in the mansion, Tennessee stood on a ladder, tightening the last screw on a small black CCTV camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling. Sweat rolled down his temple, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

“Dad is suddenly worried about security,” he muttered. “Good for Audrey.”

He climbed down and moved through the hallways, installing cameras in corners, near door frames, above staircases. This wasn’t new to him. He handled tools expertly.

One of the staff members passed by and asked, “Why all this, sir?”

He didn’t stop working. “Because when my father says lock things down, we lock things down.”

He tightened another camera, then stepped back to check the angle. Everything in him was focused. Everything in him was alert.

“This is how big daddy wants it.” Tennessee said.

Thomas moved in circles near the huts, hands shoved into his pockets, boots crunching lightly against the dirt and gravel. He stopped near the fence, staring at the path that led toward the main house.

“Why isn’t she here?” he muttered to himself. “What’s happening?”

He kicked a small rock, sending it flying into the darkness. He hadn’t seen Audrey all day. No footsteps. No voice. No movement around the farmhouse.

“She said she was serious about this place,” he said under his breath. “So what changed?”

He paced again, restless, looking around as if the farm itself might give him answers. The barn stood quiet. The huts stood still.

“Maybe she’ll come around in the morning.”