Chapter 60 CHAPTER 60: Risk Too Great to Undo

Chapter 60 CHAPTER 60: Risk Too Great to Undo

The moment the guards disappeared down the corridor, their flashlights fading into distant beams of restless light, the air around me felt too thin to breathe. My pulse still thundered in my ears, each beat echoing the same terrifying truth—they’re searching the house. Neille stood beside me, arms wrapped tightly around herself as she stared toward the hallway where the guards had vanished. The foyer suddenly felt too open, too exposed, as if the walls themselves might start whispering what I had done. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to steady my voice before speaking. “Neille… I think I left keys upstairs,” I said quietly, hating how thin the excuse sounded even as the words left my mouth.
She turned to me immediately, her brows knitting together. “Upstairs? Now?” she asked, disbelief slipping into her voice. “Sera, they just said no one should be alone. The guards are searching the house.” Her worry was genuine, and that made the guilt twist even deeper in my chest. I forced a small, apologetic smile. “It’ll only take a minute,” I insisted softly. “It’s in Miss elara room. I just need to grab it.” The lie burned on my tongue, hot and bitter, but I pushed through it anyway. “I’ll come straight back.”
Neille hesitated, chewing on her lip as she glanced toward the staircase and then back at me. For a moment I thought she might insist on coming with me, and panic spiked so sharply it made my hands tremble. But then she sighed and nodded. “Fine. But hurry,” she said firmly. “This whole thing is making me uneasy.” Relief washed over me so fast it almost made me dizzy. “I will,” I promised, already stepping backward toward the stairs before she could change her mind.
The staircase loomed ahead like a climb back into danger. Each step creaked faintly beneath my feet as I hurried upward, my hand gripping the banister tightly to steady myself. The mansion felt even darker now, heavier with the knowledge that security was sweeping the rooms below. Every shadow stretched longer, deeper, turning the familiar hallway into something strange and threatening. My breath came quicker with every step. Hurry, my mind screamed. You have to warn him.
When the upper floor came into view, the silence felt suffocating. I moved faster down the corridor, my heart pounding louder with every step until it drowned out everything else. The dressing room door waited exactly where I had left it, barely closed, hiding everything behind a thin barrier of wood. Fear tightened painfully in my chest as I reached for the handle. What if someone had already come? What if I was too late?
I slipped inside and shut the door quietly behind me, turning immediately toward the wardrobe wall. “Wilder,” I whispered urgently, my voice shaking. “Security knows someone broke in. They’re searching the house.” The words tumbled out in a rush, panic making them breathless. “You need to hurry. They could come upstairs any second.”
Wilder’s head snapped up the moment the words left my mouth. Even in the dim moonlight, I saw the shock flash across his face, sharp and immediate. “They know?” he whispered, his voice dropping into a tense hush. The tools in his hand stilled, frozen against the metal of the safe. For a second, the room felt completely silent except for the frantic rhythm of my breathing. I nodded quickly, stepping closer, panic rising higher with every heartbeat. “Security guards,” I said urgently. “They’re sweeping the house. They could come upstairs any minute. You need to leave. Now.”
I grabbed his arm, my fingers tightening around his sleeve as fear pushed the words out faster. “Through the window. The way you came. Please, Wilder.” My voice cracked on his name, desperation spilling through the cracks of my composure. The image of flashlights sweeping the hallway flashed through my mind, and my stomach twisted painfully. “We don’t have time anymore.”
But he didn’t move. Instead, he turned back toward the safe, his jaw tightening as if the decision had already been made. “I’m close,” he muttered, voice low and stubborn. The faint scrape of metal against steel resumed, quiet but relentless. The sound sent a fresh wave of terror crashing through me. “Wilder,” I whispered sharply, stepping in front of him as if I could physically block him from the safe. “Did you hear what I said? They know someone broke in.”
“I heard you,” he said, not looking at me. His hands worked faster now, more urgent but no less determined. “And I’m telling you I’m close. Five minutes. Maybe less.” The certainty in his voice made my chest tighten painfully. Five minutes felt like a lifetime in a house full of searching guards. “Five minutes is too long,” I pleaded, shaking my head. “You don’t understand. They’re already suspicious. If they come upstairs—”
“They won’t,” he cut in quietly, though tension edged every word. “Not before I finish this.” His shoulders were rigid with focus, his entire attention locked onto the safe as if the rest of the world had vanished. I stared at him in disbelief, panic clawing up my throat. How could he stay so calm when everything was falling apart around us?
“They could catch you,” I whispered, my voice barely steady now. “They could catch us.” The last word slipped out before I could stop it, heavy and terrifying in the silence. Wilder paused for just a fraction of a second at that, but then the tools moved again, faster than before. “I didn’t come this far to leave empty-handed,” he said quietly. And in that moment, I realized he wasn’t leaving—no matter how close the danger crept.
I stared at him for a long second, the stubborn set of his jaw telling me there was no point arguing anymore. Fear still clawed at my chest, but a different kind of urgency pushed its way through the panic. If he wouldn’t leave, then he couldn’t stay standing in front of the safe when the guards reached this floor. “Fine,” I whispered breathlessly, forcing the word out even though it tasted like defeat. “But you need to hide until they finish sweeping upstairs.” My eyes flicked toward the door as if expecting it to burst open at any second. “You cannot be here when they come.”
He finally looked at me fully, tension etched into every line of his face. “Hide where?” he asked quietly. The question hung in the air like a challenge, and for a split second my mind went completely blank. The dressing room suddenly felt far too small, far too obvious. They would search this room first. They would check the wardrobes, the windows, the walls. Panic surged again, fast and suffocating, until I forced myself to breathe.
Think.
My gaze darted around the room, desperate for an answer that refused to come. Then my eyes landed on the connecting door partially hidden behind the wardrobe—the door that led directly into Elara’s bedroom. My stomach twisted hard. The risk felt enormous, terrifying… but it was also the only option. Security might check hallways and guest rooms first. They wouldn’t immediately search the mistress’s private bedroom unless they had reason. “I know where,” I whispered suddenly, my voice barely more than air.
“Follow me,” I said quickly, already moving toward the hidden door before fear could stop me. My fingers trembled as I pushed it open just enough to slip through. The darkness inside Elara’s bedroom felt deeper than the dressing room, thicker with silence and shadows. Moonlight filtered faintly through the tall windows, painting pale streaks across the floor and the enormous bed in the center of the room. I stepped inside, my heart pounding louder with every second he followed behind me.
“This way,” I whispered urgently, glancing back to make sure he was close. Every sound felt amplified—the faint rustle of fabric, the quiet creak of the door as it eased shut behind us. The bedroom smelled faintly of Elara’s perfume, soft and floral, a reminder of just how wrong this felt. We were standing in a place that wasn’t ours, hiding a secret that could destroy everything.
I moved quickly across the room toward the far side, my mind racing through possibilities. The wardrobe? Too obvious. The curtains? Too exposed. My chest tightened painfully as seconds slipped away. Footsteps could appear in the hallway at any moment. “There has to be somewhere,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.