He’s recording this.
Wait.
If he’s recording... is he watching?
My gaze drops to the desk. There is a sleek laptop sitting closed on the leather blotter. Next to it, a notepad.
I lean over and read the top page of the notepad.
It’s a list.
1. Nutrition. She is underweight. 1800 calories/day minimum.2. Clothing. Throw away everything from the apartment. Replace with silk/cashmere. Nothing rough against her skin.3. Art supplies. Order the oils she likes. The expensive ones.4. The Father. Locate him. Ensure he suffers.
I read the last line again.Ensure he suffers.
He promised my father he could walk away. He lied.
A sudden sound cuts through the silence of the penthouse.
Ding.
The elevator chime.
It’s soft, melodic, and terrifying.
He’s home.
I freeze. I’m in the one room I shouldn't be in. The door was locked for a reason. The key... the key was a test.
And I failed.
I hear the heavy tread of footsteps on the concrete floor of the hallway. They are slow. deliberate.
"Ivy?"
His voice is deep, echoing through the apartment. It sounds different than last night. Less monstrous. More... domestic. Which somehow makes it worse.
I can't move. I’m trapped in the office, standing in front of the wall of my stolen life.
The footsteps get closer. He’s walking toward the kitchen. He’s going to see the empty plate. He’s going to look for me.
I hear him pause.
Then, the footsteps change direction. They are coming down the short hallway. Toward the office.
He knows. He saw the door unlocked. Or he checked the camera on his phone before he even came up.
The door pushes open wider.
Silas stands there.
He looks devastating in the daylight. He’s wearing a charcoal gray suit today, tailored to within an inch of its life. His tie is loosened. He’s holding a leather briefcase in one hand and a paper bag from a bakery in the other.
He looks like a husband coming home from work.
Except for the look in his eyes.
His gaze slides from me to the wall of photos behind me, then back to my face. He doesn't look angry. He doesn't look embarrassed.
