Chapter 59 Evidence - Amelia’s POV
I clutched the evidence against my chest, my fingers pressing tight enough to leave creases in the envelope. The photographs of Aleksandr punishing Marcus, the threatening note demanding I leave—these weren't just violations of my privacy anymore. They were attacks on the connection between Aleksandr and me, deliberate attempts to sever whatever was growing between us. And I was done hiding, done pretending everything was fine. With one final glance around my suite, I stepped into the hallway and locked the door firmly behind me, the click of the mechanism oddly final.
My gaze dropped to the floor, and my breath caught in my throat. Another envelope lay there, pristine white against the dark wooden floorboards, as if someone had slid it under my door mere moments ago. I froze, heart hammering against my ribs as I glanced quickly up and down the corridor. Empty. Whoever had left it was already gone.
'Could be a trap,' Kaela warned, her mental voice sharp with tension. 'Be careful.'
With shaking fingers, I crouched and picked up the envelope. It was heavier than the first, the paper thicker, more expensive. No name, no markings on the outside. I slid my finger under the flap and pulled out a single folded document.
My knees nearly buckled.
A check. Made out to me. For ten million.
The amount struck me like a physical blow. Ten million. Not the five million originally offered in the first note. They'd doubled it, escalating their attempt to buy me off. The sum was so astronomical it didn't even feel real, more money than I could comprehend, more than I would earn in several lifetimes.
'They're getting desperate,' Kaela observed, a growl threading through her words. 'Doubling the bribe means you're worth more to him than they thought.'
"Or that I'm more of a threat," I whispered, staring at the numbers written in elegant script across the check. What would that kind of money mean for someone like me, who'd spent years wearing threadbare hand-me-downs and sleeping on a thin mattress in a basement? Freedom. Security. A lifetime without ever having to fear hunger or cold again.
And all I had to do was walk away from the first person who'd ever seen value in me beyond my usefulness. Who'd recognised Kaela when everyone else insisted she didn't exist. Who looked at me like I mattered.
I carefully folded the check and slipped it into the envelope with the other evidence, anger replacing my initial shock. Whoever was behind this really didn't understand me at all.
I straightened my shoulders and continued down the corridor, my footsteps echoing against marble floors and high ceilings. The morning light filtered through tall windows, casting long rectangles of brightness across my path. The castle was quiet at this hour—most servants busy with their duties in other wings, councillors in their offices or meeting rooms, guards stationed at strategic points rather than patrolling every hallway.
The perfect time for someone to approach me unseen. The thought sent a chill through me.
"Aleksandr needs to see all of this," I murmured, more to steady myself than because Kaela needed convincing. "The notes, the photos, the check. He needs to know someone's trying to drive us apart."
'And that they've been in our rooms,' Kaela added grimly. 'Twice. That's a security breach he needs to address, regardless of the threats.'
She was right. Even setting aside the attempt to separate us, the fact that someone could repeatedly access my suite—supposedly one of the most secure areas of the castle—was concerning. If they could reach me, they could reach him. And with his hundredth birthday approaching, with the curse growing stronger by the day, the last thing Aleksandr needed was an enemy with castle access.
I turned down a less frequented corridor that would take me directly to the eastern wing where Aleksandr's office was located. This section of the castle was older, the ceilings lower, the windows narrower. The modern electric lights were spaced further apart here, creating pockets of shadow between pools of illumination. My footsteps slowed instinctively, caution making me hyper-aware of my surroundings.
'Something doesn't feel right,' Kaela whispered, her mental voice suddenly alert. 'Someone's watching us.'
I stopped, turning slowly to look behind me. The corridor stretched empty in both directions, shadows clinging to the corners where wall met ceiling. "There's no one here," I whispered, though I couldn't shake the prickling sensation across the back of my neck.
'Not visible,' she insisted. 'But close. I can sense them.'
The weight of hidden eyes pressed against me, making it hard to breathe. I quickened my pace, clutching the envelopes tighter against my chest. Just a few more corridors, a few more turns, and I'd reach Aleksandr's office. His guards would be stationed outside. I'd be safe there.
A shadow moved ahead of me. Just a flicker at the edge of my vision, gone almost before I registered it. I froze, heart pounding.
"Hello?" I called, my voice smaller than I intended. "Is someone there?"
Silence answered me, thick and oppressive. I took another cautious step forward, then another. The sense of being watched intensified, crawling across my skin like ants.
'Run,' Kaela urged suddenly. 'Now!'
I didn't question her, didn't hesitate. I broke into a run, my soft boots silent against the stone floor. The envelopes clutched against my chest crinkled with each rapid breath. The end of the corridor loomed ahead—just a sharp right turn and I'd be in the main eastern hallway, where guards were always present.
I never made it.
A large hand clamped over my mouth from behind, yanking me backward against a solid wall of muscle. Something soft but coarse pressed against my face—a cloth, damp with a chemical smell that burned my nostrils and made my eyes water instantly. I thrashed wildly, my scream muffled against the hand and cloth, my elbows jabbing backward to strike my attacker.
I connected with something solid—a rib cage, maybe—and heard a muffled grunt of pain. The arm around my waist tightened painfully, lifting me slightly off the ground so my kicks met nothing but air. The cloth pressed harder, forcing me to inhale the sickly-sweet chemical fumes.
Chloroform. The word floated through my increasingly foggy mind as my struggles grew weaker. My vision began to blur around the edges, darkness creeping in like spilled ink.
'ALEKSANDR!' I screamed mentally, throwing everything I had into projecting toward that connection I'd felt forming between us. 'HELP ME!'
I couldn't tell if the call reached him. My attacker was dragging me backward now, deeper into the shadows. My fingers loosened against my will, the envelopes slipping from my grasp. Papers spilled across the floor—photographs, notes, the check fluttering like fallen leaves around my feet.
'Fight, Amelia!' Kaela was howling, throwing herself against the boundaries of our shared consciousness. 'Don't give in!'
I tried. Goddess help me, I tried. One last desperate surge of strength let me wrench my head to the side, my teeth sinking into the gloved hand over my mouth. I tasted leather, felt the give of flesh beneath it. My attacker swore—a deep, masculine voice, though too muffled by what must have been a mask for me to identify it.
The momentary victory cost me. The cloth returned with bruising force, the chemical smell overwhelming now. My vision tunneled, darkness rushing in from all sides. My knees buckled, no longer able to support my weight.
'Skoll!' Kaela cried out, her mental voice growing fainter as consciousness slipped away from me. 'Find us!'
I was falling, the floor rushing up to meet me. At the last moment, strong arms caught me, lowering me more gently than I would have expected. The world tilted sideways as I collapsed. Through slitted eyes, I caught a glimpse of a dark figure crouching over me, gathering the scattered evidence from the floor.
The check. The photos. The notes. All the proof, being collected by my attacker.
'No,' I thought weakly, unable to even move my lips anymore. 'Aleksandr will never know...'
Darkness claimed me completely, Kaela's frantic howls the last thing I heard before even her presence faded from my awareness.