Chapter 16: Secrets in the Shadows
Secrets in the Shadows
Anastasia’s heart raced the moment she heard the name slip from the man’s lips, Aurora,Her sister’s name, spoken by this dangerous man, sent shivers down her spine. Anastasia struggled to suppress the panic rising within her chest.
"Don't waste my time," Kohr snarled, his voice dripping with menace. He yanked out a sleek black pistol from his holster and waved it in front of her face, the metal gleaming ominously under the faint light. The threat was clear: talk or die.
Anastasia trembled, her legs threatening to give out beneath her. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back, biting her lip until she tasted the metallic tang of blood. She had no choice. If she didn’t speak, this man would end her life right here, and no one would ever know. But if she spoke, she could be signing her own death warrant all the same.
"I-I’ll tell you," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper, breaking under the pressure. Her gaze darted to the gun in Kohr’s hand. She had no time to think. "It's about my father…"
Kohr narrowed his eyes but said nothing, urging her to continue.
"My father... he made a deal with the Blackwoods," she blurted out, her words tumbling over each other in a frantic rush. "He had gambling debts... huge ones. He couldn’t pay them off. So, as part of the agreement... he had to give one of his daughters to work for them. For two years."
Kohr raised an eyebrow. His interest piqued. "And what does this have to do with Aurora?"
Anastasia’s throat tightened. She could barely breathe. "Aurora... she... she gave herself up," she said, tears spilling down her cheeks. "She didn’t want me or my younger sister to be the ones taken, so she volunteered. She’s the one who’s been working for them."
A heavy silence fell between them, each of them with their own thoughts. Anastasia could feel her heartbeat thudding in her ears. Kohr's expression was unreadable, but something in his eyes shifted as he processed her words.
"Where is Aurora now?" Kohr demanded.
Anastasia shook her head frantically. "I don’t know! She left town. She didn’t say where, she just... disappeared."
Kohr frowned, his jaw tightening. He lowered the gun slightly but still kept his grip firm. "You're useless to me then," he muttered coldly. "But let me make one thing clear." He stepped closer, towering over Anastasia. His voice was a low, dangerous whisper. "If you breathe a word of this to anyone... I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Do you understand?"
Anastasia nodded, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Y-Yes. I won’t say anything, I swear."
"Good." Kohr tucked the gun back into its holster. Without another word, he turned and strode down the street, leaving Anastasia alone in her thoughts.
The moment his figure left her view, Anastasia collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. She had never felt so scared, so helpless. Even though Aurora was gone, her presence loomed over everything, and now Anastasia felt as though she were being pulled into the same dangerous orbit.
---
Anastasia sprinted all the way home, her legs burning, her lungs aching as she raced through the streets. The sky had darkened, and the stars were hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds.
When she finally reached the house, she burst through the front door and flew up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
She collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow as sobs wracked her body. Aurora’s decision to sacrifice herself had protected their family, but now it felt like a curse. Even with her gone, her shadow haunted them all.
---
Meanwhile, Kohr returned to meet with Addam, his boss. The dimly lit room smelled of cigar smoke and expensive whiskey. Addam sat behind a large mahogany desk, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface.
"Well?" Addam asked without looking up, his voice calm but cold. "Did you find anything useful?"
Kohr stood rigid, his face expressionless. “James is the one who made the deal with the Blackwoods," he said flatly. "Aurora gave herself up to protect her father from been caught up in their web and she has been working for them in place of her family”
Addam leaned back in his chair, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "Interesting," he mused. "And where is she now?"
"She’s not in town, but I suspect that she is at the backwoods mansion," Kohr replied.
Addams' smile faltered for a brief moment before he regained his composure. "That’s a shame. But no matter what I would get her, I just have to wait for the perfect time to strike”.
---
I can't believe that three days had passed since Dominique revealed his true nature to me in front of my father and his father. The man I once thought of as a charming enigma was nothing more than a cold-hearted monster, a devil in disguise. Every time I replayed his words in my mind, a fresh wave of fear washed over me.
You’ll be paying for your father’s debt by becoming my handmaiden, The Devil’s Handmaiden.
I sat on the edge of the bed in the small, dimly lit room I shared with two other girls, my thoughts racing. The room felt like a prison.
The walls closed in on me, and I could hear the faint sound of footsteps outside the door, a constant reminder that I was never truly alone.
Mama Coco, the general steward of the mansion, had been kind to me. She had introduced herself with a warm smile, telling me not to judge Dominique too harshly. "He wasn’t always like this," she had said. "You, of all people, should know not to judge a book by its cover."
Her words had stayed with me, gnawing at my thoughts. What could have happened to Dominique to turn him into this cruel, emotionless man? I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his story than I knew.
But even as I tried to make sense of it all, I couldn’t forget the cold, dead look in his eyes whenever he spoke to me.