The morning sun shines bright, birds singing their usual melodies outside Evelyn's window. None of them seemed to care that the girl in the bed had been fighting demons all night.
Evelyn's eyes opened slowly, the chemical fog still thick in her veins. The first thing they landed on was Elena, asleep in the chair beside her, neck bent at an awkward angle, one hand dangling close to the bed like she'd been reaching out even in sleep.
Something flickered in Evelyn's chest. Not the familiar vice grip of panic. Something warmer. More dangerous.
A flash. Small hands gripping hers. A giggle, high and bright, bouncing off sun warmed walls. "Don't let go!" A voice she almost recognized. "I won't. I promise."
Then shattering glass. Screaming. The smell of gasoline.
Evelyn sat up fast, the memory shredding like smoke. Her breath came in shallow gasps. She looked at Elena's sleeping face, then at her own bandaged hand resting on the pillow.
She needed air. She needed distance. She needed to understand why this woman made her feel like she was forgetting something important.
Without a sound, Evelyn slipped out of bed and padded barefoot to the door. She didn't look back.
The library was empty, cold, and silent. Perfect.
Evelyn sank into the massive leather chair behind Arthur's desk her desk now, though it still felt like sitting in a dead man's shadow. She pulled her knees to her chest, making herself small in the throne meant to intimidate.
The dream clung to her like cobwebs. The hands. The giggle. The name she couldn't quite hear.
Anne.
The word surfaced without permission. She'd seen it in the file. Elena had spoken it like a prayer. Now her own mind was throwing it at her like an accusation.
Her tablet buzzed on the desk. Marcus.
She answered on video, not bothering to arrange her face into anything resembling okay.
"My queen," Marcus said, his study neat and controlled behind him. His eyes scanned her like a diagnostic tool. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Evelyn's voice came out rougher than she intended. "Maybe I have."
Marcus interested asked, ''How scary was it?''
Evelyn still folded like a piece of laundry,
'' Psychological and mentally scary,'' she said. ''I can't seem to stop having this weird dreams and worst I feel like I am alone trying to solve this problem,'' she continued.
Marcus smiles, '' Do you know what makes one strong?'' he asked. '' What?'' Evelyn asked curious.
'' Their ability to be able to share their problems with the people they love, you don't have to figure out everything by yourself. Share it with Elena. I trust she cares about you, she literally spent the entire night with you ,'' He said.
Evelyn quiet for sometime, her mind still foggy and lost in thought, '' But I can't trust anyone. No. Not even her, it's too risky,'' She said fighting her own thoughts. ''That's what he told me, I can't Trust anyone, not even Elena ,'' she continued slipping her masked back in.
Marcus laughs, '' Is that your heart talking or your brain, bond with her, let her think she knows you, control the relationship the way you always do,'' He said arranging a folder on his desk.
Evelyn smiles looking at the heavy oak door,
'' That's the problem, Marcus. I can't control her, I don't need to pretend, she basically knows who is under the mask. Worst of all she is the reason why my brain can't have one atom of peace. I want to hate her, but I can't. I feel save around her and I hate her, maybe not.'' She says as she bows her head down.
Marcus notices the broken part of Evelyn, '' I can't let her emotions destroy her,'' he thought to himself.
'' Try to get some rest, Evelyn. You will soon be announced as the successor of Arthur, you have to have your sparkle, '' He said.
Evelyn nods her head and hangs up the call,
Her mind on Elena. I can't trust her especially because of her love for that overgrown fool, she thought.
★★★★★
Elena wakes up and Evelyn is nowhere to be seen, she gets up from the bed and heads towards the closet door.
'' Evelyn! Are you in there?'' She asked.
She moves in closer, pulls the door open and walks straight in.
'' Hello.''
She says as she enters, sparkling dresses caught her eyes. '' I guess she not here,'' she says as she turns to leave when her eyes got on to something, a sparkle from the behind the dresses. She moves in, and slides the dresses sideways and BOOM, a safe painted in pink glitters.
'' I wonder what's inside,'' Elena thought as she reaches for the lock.
''My deepest secrets, Miss snooper,'' Evelyn says hands folded. '' What are you doing inside my closet,'' she continued.
Elena turns startled, '' looking for you, dummy,'' she says trying to looking calm even after being caught in the act.
'' Hmmm..., so you actually thought I would fit in a tiny safe,'' Evelyn says smiling as she steps forward.
'' My little safe is private and I would appreciate it, if you stop meddling in my business plus your lover is searching for you,'' She says pointing to the door.
Elena heads out, still trying to figure out what just happened in there.
'' what's going on with Evelyn'', she thought to herself.
Her mind trying to figure out what's inside the safe.
'' I wonder what's inside,'' she says to herself as she bumps into someone.
Elena stumbled back, her hand flying to her chest. "Lucas. You scared me."
"Clearly." His eyes narrowed, scanning her face with the cold precision she'd learned to fear. "I've been looking everywhere. You weren't in our room. You weren't downstairs. The maid said you never came down for breakfast." A pause. "She also said you spent the night in her room."
The way he said her made it sound like a disease.
"Lucas, she collapsed. She was bleeding. What was I supposed to do? Let her choke on her own blood while you strategized with vultures?"
His jaw tightened. "Don't. Don't make me the villain for asking why my fiancée is more invested in my enemy than in me."
"Your enemy?" Elena's voice rose despite herself. "She's a seventeen-year-old girl, Lucas. A traumatized, medicated girl who just inherited a empire she never asked for."
"Never asked for." He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You really believe that? You think my father did anything without calculation? She's exactly where he wanted her. And you're exactly where she wants you confused, protective, and blind."
Elena opened her mouth to argue, but Lucas's phone vibrated sharply against the marble console.
He glanced at the screen. His expression shifted something flickering beneath the mask. He turned slightly, answering in a lower register.
"Victor. This isn't a good time."
Elena's ears pricked. She stepped closer, pretending to straighten a painting on the wall.
Victor's voice was muffled but urgent through the speaker. "Lucas. Carol is missing. Three days now. Her car was found this morning at the bottom of the lake on your father's property."
The air left the hallway.
Lucas went still. "What lake?"
"The one near the east boundary. The old fishing pond your father stocked years ago. Cops are there now. They're dragging the water."
Elena pressed closer, no longer pretending. "What happened? Lucas, what is it?"
He held up a hand, silencing her. "Victor, slowly. Tell me everything."
"She didn't show for a meeting Tuesday. No calls, no texts. We thought she was sick. Then this morning, a groundskeeper saw tire tracks leading off the road. Followed them to the water's edge. The car's plates match hers."
Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose. "Accident. It could be an accident. The road's narrow there, especially at night."
"It could be." Victor's voice dropped, heavy with implication. "Or it could be that someone wanted to send a message. Someone who knows the property. Someone who knows the lake exists."
The silence stretched.
Elena's blood ran cold. "You can't possibly think"
"Is that Elena?" Victor's voice sharpened. "Put her on."
Lucas hesitated, then handed the phone over, his expression unreadable.
Elena took it, her hand steady despite the pounding in her chest. "Victor. I heard everything. It's terrible. But if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting"
"I'm not suggesting, Elena. I'm investigating. Carol was vocal about her concerns regarding the new heir. She didn't hide her contempt for the situation. And now she's missing."
"That doesn't mean Evelyn had anything to do with it." Elena's voice was firm, almost fierce. "Think about it logically. Evelyn has been under my supervision for the past twenty-four hours. She collapsed yesterday morning. She's been in and out of consciousness. She's physically incapable of driving anyone anywhere, let alone disposing of a car in a lake."
Victor was silent.
Lucas watched Elena with an expression she couldn't read suspicion, confusion, something that looked almost like jealousy.
"You've been with her the entire time?" Victor asked.
"Yes. All night. In her room." Elena felt Lucas flinch beside her. "She couldn't have done this, Victor. Even if she wanted to which I don't believe she does she physically couldn't."
Another long pause. Then: "I'll keep that in mind. Lucas, we need to meet. The board needs to know. And we need to discuss what happens if Carol doesn't come back."
The implication hung in the air like smoke.
Lucas took the phone back. "I'll be there in an hour. My study. Don't involve the press yet."
He ended the call and turned to Elena, his eyes searching her face.
"You defended her."
It wasn't a question.
"She's innocent, Lucas. Anyone with eyes can see that."
"That's not what I asked." He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "I asked why you my fiancée, the woman who's supposed to be on my side why you jumped to defend her before I even finished the conversation."
Elena held his gaze. "Because someone has to."
The words landed like stones in still water.
Lucas stared at her for a long moment. Then, without another word, he turned and walked toward the study, his footsteps echoing down the long, portrait lined hall.
Elena stood alone, her heart racing, Carol's face floating in her memory, and one thought screaming louder than all the others:
If Evelyn didn't do this... who did?