Chapter 3 - The House with Locked Doors
Vincent’s estate stood behind iron gates and a wall of old stone.
Harper had expected wealth.
She had not expected silence.
The house was enormous, but there were no signs of ordinary life.
No framed vacation photographs.
No childish drawings.
No family portraits.
No flowers on the dining table.
Everything was elegant.
Everything was cold.
Until Lily arrived.
The moment Harper’s little sister ran through the front doors, the house changed.
“Harper!”
Harper dropped her handbag and fell to her knees.
Lily collided with her chest.
“I thought they were taking me.”
“They’re not.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Lily looked over Harper’s shoulder.
At first, she did not notice Vincent.
When she did, she went completely still.
Harper turned.
Vincent stood several feet away.
Lily stared at him.
“You’re the husband?”
Vincent nodded.
Lily narrowed her eyes.
“Are you mean?”
Harper covered her mouth.
Vincent considered the question.
“Sometimes.”
Lily thought about that.
“At least you’re honest.”
Vincent raised one eyebrow.
Harper almost smiled.
That evening, Lily explored the enormous kitchen while Vincent watched from the doorway.
Harper prepared pancakes.
Lily climbed onto a stool.
“This kitchen is bigger than our apartment.”
“It was designed badly,” Vincent said.
Harper looked at him.
“Badly?”
“No place should need three refrigerators.”
Lily giggled.
For a few seconds, Vincent looked almost normal.
Then his phone vibrated.
The expression disappeared.
He walked into the hallway.
Harper followed with her eyes.
She heard him say, “Find the leak.”
Another pause.
“Not tomorrow. Tonight.”
He hung up.
When he returned, Harper asked, “What leak?”
“Plumbing.”
“You don’t talk about plumbing like that.”
Vincent looked at her.
“You notice everything.”
“Occupational hazard.”
“What occupation?”
“Waiting tables.”
He almost smiled again.
That night, Harper discovered that living with Vincent had rules.
Security guards patrolled the property.
A woman named Mrs. Delgado managed the house.
Two men named Jonah and Elias were assigned to security.
Lily had her own bedroom.
Harper’s room had an enormous bed, a private bathroom, and a balcony overlooking the gardens.
There was only one problem.
The hallway beyond her room ended at a set of black double doors.
They were locked.
“What’s in there?”
Vincent looked up from a file.
“Nothing you need.”
“That is exactly what people say when there’s something interesting behind a locked door.”
“You were told not to enter.”
“I noticed.”
He closed the file.
“Harper.”
It was the first time he had said her name like a warning.
She stopped.
“Stay away from that corridor.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
She crossed her arms.
“That may work on your employees.”
His gaze sharpened.
“I am trying to keep you alive.”
The words silenced her.
“Alive from what?”
Vincent did not answer.
Instead, he stood and walked away.
Later that night, Harper heard a noise.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
She stepped into the hallway.
The sound had come from behind the locked doors.
She approached.
Another knock.
Harper’s pulse accelerated.
“Hello?”
No answer.
She reached for the handle.
A hand closed around her wrist.
Harper screamed.
Vincent pulled her backward.
His expression was ice.
“What are you doing?”
“I heard something.”
“Get upstairs.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Something in his voice made her obey.
From the staircase, she watched him unlock the doors.
He disappeared inside.
Five minutes later, he came back.
He was holding an envelope.
His face looked older.
Harper saw him slip the envelope into his jacket.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
Vincent stopped.
“You think I owe you the truth about everything.”
“I think married people should be able to communicate.”
He stared at her.
“This is not a real marriage.”
“No.”
Harper stepped closer.
“But the danger seems real.”
He did not deny it.
“Go to bed.”
“Who is after you?”
“People who believe I stole something.”
“Did you?”
Vincent hesitated.
“No.”
“What did they think you stole?”
His eyes met hers.
“Their future.”
Harper did not understand.
Not yet.
Before he could say more, a crash came from downstairs.
Security shouted.
Vincent immediately drew his weapon.
Harper froze.
The lights went out.
Lily screamed from her bedroom.
Harper ran.
“Lily!”
Vincent moved faster.
He reached Lily’s room first.
A man was climbing through the shattered window.
Vincent tackled him.
The fight was brutal and fast.
Harper grabbed Lily and backed into the hallway.
Security rushed in.
The intruder escaped through the garden.
Vincent returned with blood across his knuckles.
Harper looked at him.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“Not my blood.”
Lily peeked from behind Harper.
“Mr. Husband?”
Vincent looked at her.
“Yes?”
“Did you catch the bad guy?”
“No.”
“Then you need to practice.”
Vincent stared.
Then he actually laughed.
It was quiet.
Rough.
Unexpected.
Harper had never heard him laugh before.
Lily smiled.
That night, Vincent installed reinforced shutters over every bedroom window.
Harper watched him work.
“You could send us away.”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you?”
He stopped.
“Because they came here because of me.”
“So this is my fault?”
“No.”
“Then whose fault is it?”
“Mine.”
Harper studied his face.
For the first time, she saw something beneath the ruthless businessman.
A man who carried guilt like another man carried a wallet.
She stepped closer.
“Vincent.”
He looked at her.
“You can tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What happened.”
He shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“When?”
“When I know who I can trust.”
Harper almost laughed.
“You married a woman you met in a diner after hearing her cry.”
Vincent’s eyes softened.
“Maybe I did.”
“Then why don’t you trust me?”
His answer came quietly.
“Because the people I trusted before you are the reason I sleep with a gun.”
Harper had no response.
He walked away.
But before he disappeared down the hall, she heard him add:
“And they are the reason I am afraid they will eventually take something I cannot replace.”
Harper stood alone in the hallway.
She thought he meant money.
She thought he meant his company.
May you like
She was wrong.
He meant her.
