Chapter 5
Seven Days
I remained standing in the middle of the dining hall, staring at the empty chair.
I couldn't explain what had just happened.
One second, he had been there.
The next...
Nothing.
I looked toward the doors.
Closed.
I glanced at the windows.
Still.
The only sound was the faint ticking of a clock somewhere in the distance.
I tightened my fingers around the pendant.
"Okay," I whispered to myself. "I'm officially losing my mind."
I let out a small, nervous laugh.
It sounded completely wrong in the enormous room.
I turned toward the door.
Maybe I should just go back to my room.
At least there, I knew what to expect.
Or... somewhat.
I had barely taken two steps when the dining hall door opened.
I spun around.
My heart jumped.
Joel stood in the doorway.
She looked at me for a moment before her eyes drifted toward the empty chair at the head of the table.
Something flashed across her face.
Surprise?
Fear?
I couldn't tell.
Then her expression returned to normal.
"Young Miss."
I stared at her.
"Where did he go?"
Joel's brows pulled together slightly.
"Who, Miss?"
I pointed toward the head of the table.
"The man who was sitting there."
Her gaze moved toward the empty chair.
"The young master?"
"Yes."
I waited.
Joel lowered her eyes.
"The young master has left."
"Where?"
"I'm not permitted to say."
I sighed.
"Of course you're not."
I turned away from her.
Apparently, I'm not permitted to say was the official language of this house.
I took another step toward the door.
Then stopped.
Something had been bothering me since I woke up.
Something far more important than the strange man disappearing from a chair.
I turned back toward Joel.
"How long have I been here?"
She looked at me.
For some reason, she didn't answer immediately.
That hesitation made my stomach twist.
"Joel."
She lowered her head slightly.
"You have been here for seven days, Young Miss."
I stared at her.
Seven.
Days.
For a moment, I thought I had heard her wrong.
"...What?"
"Seven days."
A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
"No."
Joel remained silent.
"No, I mean... I came here last night."
Her expression didn't change.
"You arrived seven days ago."
I shook my head.
"That's impossible."
"You were unconscious when you arrived."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"How long?"
Joel hesitated.
"Four days."
My fingers went cold.
"Four..."
I swallowed.
"Four days?"
She nodded.
I slowly lowered myself into the nearest chair.
Four days.
I had lost four entire days.
My mind immediately returned to the night I had been chased.
The men.
The stranger.
His voice.
The pain in my ankle.
The darkness.
Then nothing.
And now I was being told that nothing had lasted four days.
"What happened to me?"
Joel's expression softened slightly.
"You were brought here in a very weak condition."
"By him?"
She didn't answer.
"Joel."
"I'm sorry, Young Miss."
I rubbed my temples.
"Who brought me here?"
She looked away.
"I cannot discuss the young master's affairs."
I stared at her.
"Of course."
I was beginning to hate that sentence.
I leaned back in the chair and looked toward the enormous ceiling.
Seven days.
People knew I was missing.
My friends.
My family.
My phone.
My life.
I suddenly sat upright.
"My phone."
Joel looked at me.
"Where is my phone?"
"It was kept safely."
"Can I have it?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Of course."
She turned toward the door.
"Wait."
She looked back.
"You're actually going to give it to me?"
"Yes, Young Miss."
"Without asking why?"
"I don't need to ask."
That answer somehow made me more uncomfortable.
She disappeared through the door.
I stared after her.
A few minutes later, she returned with my phone.
The moment I saw it, relief washed over me.
Something familiar.
Something that belonged to my world.
I reached for it.
The screen lit up.
And my heart dropped.
There were notifications everywhere.
Missed calls.
Messages.
More missed calls.
I stared at the screen.
Mira — 17 missed calls.
My eyes widened.
Then I saw another name.
Lyla — 23 missed calls.
My stomach twisted.
And beneath them—
Brother — 31 missed calls.
"What the..."
I unlocked the phone with trembling fingers.
The messages loaded.
Mira: Bella, where are you?
Another.
Mira: You better not be ignoring me.
Another.
Mira: I'm actually getting worried now.
I swallowed.
I scrolled.
Lyla's messages were calmer.
Lyla: Bella, please call me when you see this.
Lyla: Something doesn't feel right.
Lyla: Just let us know you're okay.
My chest tightened.
I scrolled further.
Then I saw the messages from my brother.
They were different.
Shorter.
More direct.
Call me.
Bella, answer your phone.
Where are you?
Then the last one.
I'm coming to find you.
I stared at it.
My throat suddenly felt tight.
I hadn't even realized how much I had missed them until that moment.
Mira.
Lyla.
My brother.
They had been looking for me.
For seven days.
I looked down at the phone in my hands.
Seven days.
I slowly opened my calendar.
The date stared back at me.
I counted backward.
Once.
Twice.
My breathing stopped.
It was true.
I had been gone for a week.
My eyes moved around the dining hall.
The enormous chandelier.
The polished floors.
The elegant furniture.
The endless windows.
Everything that had seemed beautiful only moments ago suddenly felt different.
Too large.
Too quiet.
Too far away from everything I knew.
I looked at Joel.
"I need to go home."
She remained silent.
"Joel."
Her eyes lowered.
"I understand."
"No."
I shook my head.
"I don't think you do."
I stood, ignoring the pain in my ankle.
"My friends have been calling me for a week. My brother thinks something happened to me. They don't even know where I am."
I held up my phone.
"I need to go home."
Joel's expression became uneasy.
"I don't think that will be possible."
I froze.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Young Miss."
My heart began pounding again.
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"Why can't I go home?"
Joel lowered her head.
"I cannot tell you."
I stared at her.
Of course.
Again.
That same sentence.
I clenched my jaw.
"Then tell me who can."
Joel remained silent.
I looked toward the doors.
Something inside me hardened.
Fine.
If nobody here was going to give me answers...
I would find them myself.
I looked down at the phone one more time.
At Mira's messages.
At Lyla's.
At my brother's final text.
I'm coming to find you.
I swallowed.
For the first time since waking up in this strange place, I wasn't curious.
I wasn't fascinated by the mansion.
I wasn't interested in the mysterious man.
I wasn't even interested in the pendant in my pocket.
I wanted one thing.
I wanted to go home.
And if the people in this house thought they could keep me here forever...
They had seriously underestimated me.