Chapter 89 Chapter 89
Hailey’s POV
I stared at Louis as he began the security tour, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.
Had I seen him before? At the compound, maybe? But no, I would have remembered that scar.
There was something about him that felt… different. Off, somehow.
He was nice. Too nice, actually. Polite, respectful, speaking in gentle tones as he explained the security features of the house.
Most of Damien’s guards had this hard edge to them cold professionalism mixed with barely concealed violence. They were intimidating by default. Men like Kai moved through rooms like predators, their eyes constantly scanning for threats, their hands never far from their weapons. Even Marco had carried that edge, though he’d been warmer than most.
But Louis seemed almost… kind.
That’s what I thought to to myself as I watched him gesture toward the panic room locations. His movements were gentle, his voice soothing rather than commanding. When he demonstrated how to activate the emergency locks, he moved slowly, making sure everyone understood, repeating himself patiently when needed.
It was strange. Unsettling, even. Like finding a flower growing in the middle of a battlefield.
Damien excused himself, saying he had calls to make and business to handle. I watched him disappear down a hallway, his shoulders tense, his mind clearly already miles away dealing with whatever crisis needed his attention. Louis continued the tour without him, leading us through the house with practiced ease.
My mother lasted about twenty minutes before she started yawning, her exhaustion from the long drive finally catching up with her. “I’m exhausted,” she announced, rubbing her eyes. “Hailey, you should come rest too. You heard what the doctor said about avoiding stress and getting plenty of sleep.”
“I want to see the rest of the house,” I said, surprising myself with my stubbornness. “I need to know where everything is. For safety.”
And it was true. After the attack, after running through the compound terrified and lost, I needed to understand this new space. Needed to know every exit, every hiding place, every route to safety. The anxiety of not knowing made my chest tight.
“Hailey….” my mother started, her expression shifting to concern.
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” I interrupted. “I’ll rest after the tour, I promise. But I need to do this. I need to feel like I have some control over my environment.”
My mother looked like she wanted to argue, her mouth opening to protest, but she was too tired to fight. The dark circles under her eyes matched my own, testament to how little sleep any of us had gotten. “Fine. But don’t overdo it. And if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, you stop immediately. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I promised.
She headed upstairs to her room, her footsteps heavy on the staircase, leaving me with Louis and Benita.
Isabella had also excused herself earlier, probably to check on Sophia and make sure her granddaughter hadn’t locked herself in her room again or done something else dramatic and self-destructive.
Louis continued showing us around the kitchen with its reinforced door and emergency food supplies, the exits that led to underground tunnels I never would have noticed otherwise, the communications room filled with monitors and equipment I didn’t understand.
“These cameras cover every approach to the house,” Louis explained, pointing to the various screens. “Motion sensors in the woods alert us to anyone coming within a half-mile radius. And these,” he indicated a row of monitors showing thermal imaging, “can detect body heat even through dense forest coverage.”
It was impressive. Intimidating. A reminder of just how dangerous Damien’s world really was that such extreme security measures were necessary.
We were walking down a hallway in the east wing when Louis stopped in front of a door.
“This room is out of bounds,” he said firmly, his friendly demeanor shifting to something more serious. “No one is to enter.”
I looked at the door. It was different from the others heavier, with an old-fashioned lock that looked like it required an actual key rather than the electronic keypads used elsewhere in the house.
“What’s in there?” I asked, curiosity pulling at me despite my better judgment.
“Elena’s personal belongings,” Louis said, his voice softer now, respectful. “Her private things. Mr. Alejandro had everything moved here after her death, and the room hasn’t been opened since.”
I felt a strange pull toward that door. A desire to see inside, to understand the woman whose shadow I was living under. What kind of person had Elena been? What had she kept private, hidden even from Damien? What secrets lay behind that locked door?
But I pushed the feeling down. “Okay. We won’t go in.”
Benita, however, had questions. “Why keep it locked?” she asked, her tone sharper than necessary. “Why not just clear it out or give the stuff to Sophia?”
“Benita,” I said quietly, recognizing the edge in her voice. The stress and grief making her confrontational, looking for fights where there weren’t any.
“What?” Benita snapped, whirling to face me. “It’s a reasonable question. Keeping a dead woman’s room sealed like some kind of shrine seems unhealthy.”
“That’s not your decision to make,” I said gently, trying to defuse the situation before it escalated.
“It’s fine,” Louis said, his tone still kind despite Benita’s rudeness. “Miss Benita has been through a trauma. I learnt about everything. I understand.”
Benita’s expression crumbled slightly, the anger draining away to reveal the raw grief underneath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just… everything feels wrong right now.”
“I know,” Louis said with genuine compassion. “And that’s okay. You’re allowed to feel however you feel.”
We continued the tour, Louis patiently answering questions and showing us every security feature. He pointed out the safe rooms, explained the backup generators, demonstrated how to use the encrypted phones installed throughout the house. He really did seem to know this house inside and out, every corner and hiding place, every strength and potential weakness.
Which made me wonder…
I stopped walking suddenly, causing Benita to nearly bump into me.
“Louis,” I said. “You seem to know so much about this family. About this house. About… everything. But I’ve never seen you before. Where have you been?”
Louis opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, footsteps approached from behind us.
“Brother,” the voice was stern, almost warning.
I turned to see Kai standing in the hallway, his expression hard, his eyes locked on Louis with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.
“Brother?“