Chapter 35 – Panic
Sam's POV
I shouldn’t have come back here.
My hands were shaking as I slid open Declan’s drawer again, my breath shallow. The necklace wasn’t where I’d last seen it on his dresser. He must have moved it. My chest tightened, panic clawing at me. If I didn’t find it now, I might lose the only proof tying him to my sister forever.
The wood groaned as I pushed aside cufflinks, receipts, and crumpled bills. I was too loud. Too desperate.
I froze when the door handle rattled.
My blood turned to ice.
“Ward? You in there?” Nolan’s voice.
Shit.
I scrambled, shoving everything back into the drawer, but my fingers slipped, dropping a pen that clattered to the floor. I lunged for it, heart hammering so loud I swore Nolan could hear it through the door.
The handle turned harder this time. “Ward?”
I backed away, my pulse spiking. If he walked in and saw me, it was over. I’d have no excuse, no lie strong enough.
Then—
“Yo, Nolan.”
My head whipped toward the hallway. Elias’s voice. Calm. Steady.
The handle stilled.
Nolan groaned. “Man, don’t sneak up on me like that. What are you even doing out here?”
“Walking back from the showers.” I heard Elias’s shrug in his tone. “What about you?”
“I was looking for Ward. Thought I heard something in his room.”
“Pretty sure he’s not in there,” Elias said smoothly. “Unless he’s started talking to ghosts.”
Nolan laughed, but it was short, suspicious. “You sure?”
“Positive,” Elias replied. Then, louder, “Right, Ward? You in there?”
Silence stretched. My throat closed up.
Elias spoke again, a little sharper now. “See? Nothing. Let’s go.”
A beat of hesitation. Then Nolan muttered, “Fine. You’re weird, man.” His footsteps retreated down the hall.
My knees almost buckled in relief.
The next second, Elias’s shadow slipped through the crack of the door. He shut it softly behind him, and his eyes found me immediately.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. My lungs were still trying to catch up.
Elias crossed the room in two strides, his jaw tight, his voice low so no one outside could hear. “Sam. Tell me you didn’t just break into Declan Ward’s room.”
“I—” My voice cracked. “I had to.”
“You had to?” His tone cut sharp. “Do you even realize how insane that sounds?”
I swallowed hard. “You don’t understand.”
“Then make me,” he said. His eyes pinned me in place, dark and unyielding. “Because right now, I just stopped Nolan from catching you red-handed, and I want to know what’s worth that kind of risk.”
My chest ached with the weight of the truth clawing to get out. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
“I was just… curious,” I muttered, hating how weak it sounded.
Elias let out a humorless laugh. “Curious? Sam, curiosity doesn’t drive someone to ransack Ward’s drawers like a thief. You’re lying to me. Again.”
“I’m not—”
“You are,” he cut me off. His voice dropped, softer but more dangerous. “And one day, it’s going to get you killed.”
I clenched my fists, frustration burning in my chest. “Why do you care, Elias? Why does it matter what I do?”
His expression flickered, like I’d caught him off guard. Then his gaze hardened again. “Because if Ward catches you, he won’t just scare you off. He’ll destroy you. And I…” He trailed off, exhaling sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to watch that happen.”
The room went still. My throat closed, my heart twisting. He didn’t want to watch me get hurt.
I forced myself to look away. “You shouldn’t care. It’s not your problem.”
“Maybe it is,” Elias said quietly.
That made me glance back at him, startled. His eyes were steady, too steady, like he was weighing every word.
I couldn’t take it. The closeness, the intensity.
“I need to go,” I muttered, brushing past him.
He caught my wrist before I reached the door. Not tight, not threatening—just enough to stop me.
“Sam.”
I froze. His voice wasn’t angry anymore. It was low, rough, almost pleading.
“You’re hiding something,” he said. “And whatever it is… you don’t have to do it alone.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. For a moment, I almost told him. Almost spilled everything right there—who I really was, why I was here, what Declan had done.
But the memory of the necklace burned in my mind, sharp and cruel. And I knew I couldn’t. Not yet.
I pulled my hand free. “I’ll be fine.”
Elias’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t stop me this time. He just watched, his eyes following me all the way to the door.
I slipped into the hallway, heart still racing.
Back in our room, Elias’s words haunted me. You don’t have to do it alone.
But I did. I had to.
Because this wasn’t just about me. It was about her. My sister. And if I trusted the wrong person—even Elias—it could all come crashing down.
Still, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the image of his hand closing over mine, steady and warm, pulling me back from the edge.
He’d covered for me. He’d saved me from being caught.
And now, he wanted answers.
I couldn’t keep dodging him forever.
The question was, when he finally pressed hard enough… would I be able to keep the truth from slipping out?
My chest tightened at the thought.
Because if Elias knew who I really was, everything would change.
And maybe not for the better.