Baldwin's Mansion
"See, Savannah." Blaze's voice cut through the thick, suffocating air as he held up his phone. "Today's the 26th of October, 2023."
Savannah's vision was a blur, a fog that clouded everything. She could barely make out the shapes around her—Blaze standing there, his posture stiff and guarded, the dim, grand room of the mansion stretching out beyond him—but the numbers on the screen were unmistakable. The date. The year. Her heart clenched painfully, knowing it was real, but still refusing to accept it.
But before she could gather her thoughts, a woman entered the mansion. The sound of her shoes clicking on the cold marble floor echoed in the silence, a sharp contrast to the heavy sorrow in the air.
Everyone turned away, as if instinctively avoiding her gaze, giving her the space to grieve in solitude. Their eyes flickered, uncomfortable, as they knew what had happened, but not how to face her in the aftermath.
Then came the voice, a soft, yet unmistakable sound that sliced through the stillness. "Sav?"
Savannah's body tensed. She turned, eyes hollow, looking for the source of that familiar voice. There, standing in the doorway with a mix of concern and confusion written all over her face, was Anastasia—her best friend, her rock.
Anastasia's eyes searched Savannah's face, desperate to understand. But Savannah only stared at her, too stunned to speak, too numb to cry.
"Sav... what happened to you?" Anastasia asked gently, crouching down in front of her, reaching out a hand, but Savannah instinctively pulled back, as though the touch could shatter something fragile inside her.
Blaze lingered in the background, his presence distant, a silent observer to the unraveling moment. He knew this was something only Savannah and Anastasia could share, yet it felt like he was intruding even by just standing there.
Savannah opened her mouth, but the words came out shaky, broken. "Ana... please... please tell me where Theo is?" Her voice cracked, raw and desperate, a plea for something she couldn't even bring herself to say outright. The words were a demand, an insistence—something she needed to hear, even if she already knew the answer.
Anastasia's face paled, the confusion shifting to sorrow. She shook her head slowly, as if trying to find the right way to say it, the right words to ease the pain. "What are you talking about, Sav?" she whispered, the edges of disbelief still hanging in her voice. "Theo isn't with us anymore."
The world seemed to stop. Savannah's chest tightened, her lungs constricting as she tried to inhale. The words echoed in her head, the finality of them crashing against her mind. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
And then, all at once, the dam broke. The control she had so desperately tried to hold onto shattered like glass.
"NO!" Savannah screamed, her voice ragged and full of anguish, as her hands jerked violently away from her body, her fingers curling into tight fists. She turned her face toward the ceiling, her tears flowing freely now, unchecked. "FUCKING STOP!" she cried out, her voice raw with pain, but her body trembled with the force of the denial.
Anastasia recoiled, her heart breaking as she watched her friend unravel. She reached out again, but this time, she hesitated. What could she possibly say to make this any better?
Blaze stood motionless, his throat tight, as he watched Savannah, knowing nothing he said could fix this. There were no words for this kind of grief. No way to stop the bleeding, the pain that clung to her like a second skin.
The mansion was silent now, except for the muffled sound of Savannah's sobs, echoing through the cold, empty halls.
Savannah had to remind herself that not everyone was deceiving her, that there were still honest souls out there, even if they were harder to find. The challenge was learning to navigate this new reality for her, to rebuild trust where it had been broken maybe? To find solace in a world that felt increasingly uncertain? Savannah didn't know how could she trust anything they're saying.
Tears streaked down Savannah's face as she stared at her best friend, the anger and heartbreak warring within her. The rawness of the moment, the crushing sense of betrayal, made her words come out sharper than she intended. "I thought you were here to tell me the truth about my Theo," she choked, her voice breaking with the weight of her grief. "But you're just like everyone else in this damn mansion. You're acting the same way. Liar."
Anastasia's heart sank, a sharp pang of guilt cutting through her chest. She couldn't bear to see Savannah like this, not like this—broken, lost, in such agony. Theo? Did Savannah forget what happened to him? Was this all a cruel game of confusion, or had something more sinister erased the memory from her mind? Anastasia's thoughts spiraled as she tried to process what was happening, the shock of it all seizing her.
She had rushed here the moment she received the phone call from Blaze's assistant, Arthur. He had told her Savannah was in distress, that something was terribly wrong. But Anastasia never could have prepared herself for this—a scene so heart-wrenching, it felt like the floor was giving way beneath her.
In the heavy silence that hung between them, it became clear: the others in the mansion shared the same grim conclusion. Savannah's memory had betrayed her. She had forgotten everything that happened in the past year. Everyone was quietly assuming she was lost in some fog of amnesia, but Savannah knew something wasn't right. She was certain of it.
The feeling of being trapped, of having the truth twisted, was suffocating. How could they be lying to me? Savannah thought, her hands trembling, the pulse in her throat hammering. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, not from the people she trusted the most. Not from Anastasia, her closest friend. How could they let this happen to her? To Theo?
Anastasia opened her mouth, her voice gentle, filled with a pleading softness, but she didn't get the chance to speak.
"Savannah, I'm not lying, honey—"
"GET OUT!!!!"
The words exploded from Savannah's chest like a violent storm, raw and unrestrained, each syllable heavier than the last. Her heart raced, her chest constricting with a suffocating fury. The fire of grief she had been holding back for so long now burned uncontrollably, turning her every thought into chaos.
Her vision blurred with tears, but she didn't care anymore. The torrent of her emotions—the anger, the disbelief, the anguish—came pouring out in a reckless wave.
"How dare you!" Savannah's voice cracked, her fists clenching at her sides as her body shook with the intensity of her emotions. "How could you sit there and lie to me about my child being dismissed?"
The word "dismissed" was an explosion in her mind, a final blow that shattered the last vestiges of any control she had over herself. Her voice was hoarse, ragged, each word laced with a deep, bitter pain, a feeling of being betrayed by the one person who should have known her better than anyone.
Anastasia recoiled as if struck, her face pale, her lips trembling. She hadn't expected this—the raw, unfiltered rage in Savannah's eyes. She hadn't expected to be the target of it. But the pain in Savannah's gaze was undeniable, a reflection of the grief that was consuming her, and Anastasia's heart ached at the sight of it.
Savannah's eyes burned with accusation, each second stretching between them like an eternity. How could you? the thought screamed inside her. How could you stand there and lie to me, as if Theo was never real, as if he didn't matter?
Blaze, still standing in the background, shifted uncomfortably. He could feel the tension building, a heavy weight in the air that neither he nor anyone else could defuse. He wanted to reach out, to stop this before it spiraled out of control, but he knew this wasn't his battle to fight. This was Savannah's, and no one could win it except her.
As the words hung in the air, the suffocating silence seemed to press in on all sides. It was as if the world outside the mansion had disappeared, leaving only the two of them, tangled in a web of hurt, disbelief, and a desperate search for the truth. But for now, all that remained was the raw, searing pain in Savannah's eyes and the suffocating weight of betrayal in the room.
"You all think you can just pull the wool over my eyes and get away with it?" She continued, unable to rein in her emotions. The room felt too small, closing in around them all as the weight of her accusations settled. Anastasia's eyes were downcast. Savannah felt it was the betrayal of trust, the manipulation that made her question everything.
In the end, she couldn't deny the facts in front of her, the death certificate, which led her to question herself, she was so confused and emotional about the loss of her child that she couldn't defy what was true and what was wrong, and the funeral home paperwork was making her question herself too. But again she refused to believe everything.
In the quiet of the mansion, her sobs seemed to reverberate through the very walls, their echoes mingling with the dust and shadows of forgotten corners. The grand halls, once filled with life, now stood silent and somber, their faded grandeur overshadowed by her grief. As she wept, the sound of her anguish seemed to swirl around the room, bouncing off the high ceilings and ornate woodwork. Each cry seemed to touch the remnants of history embedded in the house, stirring up a resonance that was both haunting and intimate. It was as if the mansion itself shared in her sorrow, the creaking floorboards and rustling curtains joining in her lament. Her sobs were a mournful melody, weaving through the corridors and chambers, filling the space with a poignant reminder of the heartache that had found its way into this once grand abode.
Blaze did nothing but stand there staring at Savannah. It wasn't that he wanted her to cry and cry, but he thought maybe this would make her feel light and let all her sorrow out.
Despite trying to stand up from the floor, Savannah was unable to move herself because her legs would no longer support her. In the middle of all of this, she had forgotten about her injured leg. Anastasia supported her, "Do not fucking touch me!" sneering at Ana and jerking off her support, Savannnah again attempted to get up and she stood, moving to Theo's room on the right and disappearing behind the doors.
Having received some hard words from her friend, Anastasia could only watch her from a distance. Afraid of causing her more pain, she resisted following Savannah as she walked into the distance.
Blaze's eyes followed the blood line that Savannah made with her legs. From the way she entered to the Theos room, all the floors were covered in blood, as if something had happened here, even though blaze had seen blood every day. But seeing this blood at this moment made him feel pain for her.
Despite his desire to heal her and her foot, perhaps she doesn't need any of that right now, so he would leave her alone and talk to her later, because it's all too much for her and he doesn't want to hurt her anymore. As he looks at her in this state, his heart breaks. He wishes he could help, but it seems god has some other plans.
"Don't!" a voice called behind Anastasia and she halted and looked back in confusion. Blaze was telling her not to follow Savannah. Anastasia wanted to argue, but she knew he was right, Savannah needed some time alone with herself. She has woke up to such news, she must be struggling to live, because only Anastasia knew how much Savannnah loved Theo.
Study Room
In the room, there was more silence than usual, Savannah's voice or laughter would have been happening every time, but none of them could hear it right now. It was as if they had vanished from the world. "Here" upon entering the study room, Arthur placed some papers on his boss's table and watched him read a book on his desk.
"Now what, Boss?" As he sensed the tension throughout the entire mansion, he asked his boss what to do, it didn't look great to him, and he was worried if something bad would happen, so he anxiously asked Blaze, plus his Boss didn't looked good either he was trying his best to stay in posture but was shattered inside.
"Let her be, she needs some time to accept the reality." Arthur nodded as he thought about something else, he was concerned about his boss now, "Umm Boss..." he tried to say something, but he stopped midway. The again "What about your relationship?"
Author's Note:
It's like a roller coaster of events with everything going on at once.
Happy reading!
So sorry about the mistakes in the previous chapter, I've fixed it now.
Have a good day/night <3<3