Chapter 1 - The Forbidden Room
The deafening crash of heavy silver hitting the marble floor echoed through the grand American estate.
Downstairs, Claire dropped the serving tray, her face instantly draining of all color. Her heart slammed against her ribs in sheer, paralyzing terror. She didn't stop to pick up the shattered porcelain. She just ran.
She sprinted desperately up the forbidden grand staircase, her modest estate worker uniform catching on the ornate banisters. Her mind screamed a single, horrifying thought.
“Nora... no!” Claire gasped, breathless and terrified.
She reached the third floor, a place strictly forbidden to all staff. At the end of the long, dimly lit hallway, the heavy oak door to the master’s restricted bedroom stood wide open. No one had been allowed inside that room for three years.
Claire forced her trembling legs to move faster, sliding across the rich, ornate rugs. She reached the doorway and froze, the air leaving her lungs completely.
Inside the luxurious, warm lamplight of the bedroom, a fluffy white cat was casually strolling across the dark wood floor. Right behind it was little Nora, Claire’s three-year-old daughter.
Nora wore her favorite vintage yellow puffed-sleeve dress, white socks, and tiny brown shoes. Her brown hair was tied back with a little yellow bow. She looked completely out of place in the dark, mourning atmosphere of the room.
But it wasn't the cat that made Claire's blood run cold.
Sitting on the edge of a tufted bench was Adrian, the untouchable master of the house. He wore an unbuttoned black dress shirt and dark trousers, his handsome face usually a mask of cold, terrifying indifference.
But right now, Adrian wasn't angry. He was completely paralyzed.
He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes wide in absolute shock, staring directly at the tiny three-year-old girl standing inches away from him. He had not spoken a single word to anyone in the house for over a thousand days.
Adrian’s jaw trembled. "How did you get in here?" he asked, his voice hoarse, barely a whisper.
Nora looked up at the towering, terrifying man with wide, innocent eyes.
"Snow looked cold," she said in a sweet, quiet voice, pointing at the fluffy white cat.
May you like
But Adrian wasn't looking at the cat. His trembling eyes were locked entirely on the heavy, unique silver locket dangling prominently over Nora’s yellow dress.
👉 What is inside that locket, and why is the ruthless billionaire suddenly shaking?
