The journey to the city was a descent into a nightmare that clung like damp fog. Inside the sleek black sedan, its engine humming like a restless heartbeat, Vanessa sat in the backseat, her eyes locked on the rain streaked window. The drizzle traced chaotic patterns on the glass, mirroring the turmoil churning inside her. Beside her, Raven sat stiffly, his hands clenched in his lap, his face pale as moonlight on a grave. Vanessa watched him closely, catching the subtle clench of his jaw, the faint tremor in his fingers, the restless flicker in his blue eyes,a storm of fear he tried to bury. Raven wasn't one to bare his soul, but his unease was too raw, like cracks spreading across brittle ice, ready to shatter at the slightest pressure.
"Raven, are you really okay?" Vanessa asked softly, her voice nearly lost in the patter of rain. She brushed his arm, hoping to reach past the walls he'd built around himself.
Raven glanced at her, forcing a thin smile that didn't touch his eyes. "Just tired, Vanessa. Don't worry," he murmured, but the faint quiver in his voice betrayed him. Vanessa knew he was lying. He was a bird trapped in a gilded cage, wings bound by chains of unspoken pain. She wanted to press him, to crack open his silence, but she knew it was futile; Raven always locked his suffering away, unreachable even to her.
In the front seat, Diana drove with steady focus, her hands firm on the wheel, her green eyes flicking to the rearview mirror to check on them. Diana, a trusted ally who'd joined their cause for reasons Vanessa didn't fully understand, was their anchor in this storm. Beside her, Roni slept, his small, boyish frame curled against the window, his breathing soft and even. Roni, a wiry kid with tousled hair, looked younger in sleep, almost fragile, far from the fierce protector he tried to be when awake. He'd wanted to come along, but he and Diana had other tasks in the city perhaps gathering information or avoiding the suffocating grip of Sylviana's house. Vanessa glanced at Diana's steady profile, grateful for her presence. 'Without Diana, we'd be lost,' she thought, her heart heavy with the weight of what lay ahead.
Exhaustion overtook Vanessa, her eyelids drooping as the car's rhythm lulled her. In the darkness behind her closed eyes, a dream surged forward, sharp and vivid as a fresh wound, a memory that refused to fade.
In the dream, she was younger, standing in a vast room of cold marble and glittering chandeliers. Before her stood Sylviana, her face a map of wrinkles, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, her white hair pinned neatly, her smile a mask hiding a twisted obsession to control others like marionettes. "My son loves you so deeply, marry him, you wretch!" Sylviana spat, her voice thick with venom, her finger jabbing at Vanessa like a blade.
The younger Vanessa stood defiant, her hair tangled, her eyes blazing with fury. "I've told you, old hag, I want to stay with my parents! Why can't you act your age?" she shot back, her voice fierce, though fear clawed at her insides.
Sylviana muttered, her face flushing with rage. "Ungrateful brat! He's given everything for you…"
"Everyone knows that!" Vanessa shouted, her voice echoing in the suffocating room. "Raven and I never planned to marry. He said he'd only marry me when I was ready!"
Sylviana stepped closer, her eyes narrowing, her breath heavy with menace. "I don't care. If you don't marry him, I'll make sure your parents don't live, no matter how high they stand!" she hissed, turning away, her steps heavy with malice, leaving Vanessa drowning in a sea of dread, as if invisible strings were tightening around her throat.
Vanessa jolted awake, gasping, cold sweat slick on her forehead and neck. Her heart pounded as if the dream had happened moments ago. The car had stopped. Outside, the grand house loomed, its towering gates and manicured gardens masking a sinister heart. The house Vanessa despised, where her nightmares were born. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. 'If Sylviana didn't hold the antidote to my father's poison, I'd never have come here,' she thought, her heart burning with hatred and resolve. Diana turned from the driver's seat, her eyes heavy with concern. "You sure you want to go in there, Van? Roni and I can wait in the city if you need backup."
Vanessa nodded, though doubt gnawed at her. "We have to do this," she said, glancing at Raven, whose face was still pale. They stepped out, leaving Diana and Roni to their tasks in the city, far from Sylviana's reach.
The house swallowed them in its opulence. They were led to a guest room, its antique furniture and heavy red velvet curtains oppressive, the air thick with the cloying scent of Sylviana's rose perfume, making Vanessa's stomach churn. She left Raven briefly to fetch water, her heart uneasy at leaving him alone. Returning, her blood ran cold. Sylviana stood in the room, her posture regal, her hand having just struck Raven's cheek with a vicious slap. His cheek burned red, his eyes cast downward, his body rigid as stone, silent in the face of her cruelty.
"What have you done?" Vanessa rushed forward, trembling with rage, the urge to shield Raven a fire in her veins. "You mad old crone! How dare you touch him!"
Sylviana turned slowly, her smile deceptively warm, but her eyes glinted with a dark obsession. "Oh, Vanessa, always so dramatic. I'm merely teaching my boy some manners."
"Manners? You're the one who knows nothing of manners!" Vanessa snapped, her voice shaking, fists clenched until her nails bit into her palms. "You think you can control us like puppets? I won't let you!"
Sylviana's laugh was brittle, like glass on the verge of shattering. "You'll learn, girl. Everyone learns to obey me in time." She swept out, her exit slow and deliberate, leaving behind the sharp sting of her rose perfume. The door closed softly, but to Vanessa, it was a thunderclap.
Vanessa's fists tightened, her breath ragged. Her anger wasn't just at Sylviana,that obsessive, venomous woman, but at Raven's silence, his acceptance of the abuse as if it were his fate. "Why do you just take it, Raven? Why let her treat you like this?" she demanded, her voice thick with frustration and pain, her green eyes searching his face for answers.
Raven looked down, his hand brushing his reddened cheek. "You don't understand, Vanessa. I… I have to endure this. It's part of who I am," he murmured, his voice faint, heavy with resignation.
"Endure what? You don't have to love me if it means suffering like this!" Vanessa's voice broke, tears threatening to spill. Her heart was torn between her love for Raven and her rage at the unfairness of it all. She felt powerless, like a marionette dangling on invisible strings.
With trembling hands, Vanessa took a damp cloth from the side table and tended to Raven's cheek, her touch gentle as if he might break. Her mind sank into dark memories; she was no stranger to Raven's scars, whip marks snaking across his skin, strange scratches like claw marks, faint burns hidden beneath his clothes. Those scars didn't shock her anymore; what broke her was knowing Raven bore it all alone, hiding his pain behind a fragile smile, never sharing it, not even with her. "Why don't you ever tell me, Raven?" she whispered, her voice cracking, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You don't have to carry this alone."
Seeing her tears, Raven's eyes softened with gratitude. He reached out, wiping her cheek with rough, warm fingers. "Don't cry for me, Vanessa. I'm glad… so thankful you're here. You make this bearable," he said, his voice soft but earnest, his blue eyes holding a love that anchored her.
Vanessa pulled him into a tight embrace, her tears soaking his shoulder, their bodies pressed close in a fleeting haven amidst the storm. For a moment, they were safe, wrapped in warmth against the cold of the house.
That night, as Raven slept, his breaths slow and steady, his face peaceful for the first time, Vanessa couldn't rest. Her mind churned with Sylviana's madness, her obsession to control them like puppets on strings. She slipped out of the room, her steps silent to avoid the creaking floorboards that whispered secrets. The air was colder here, heavy with the house's ghosts. At the end of the hall, a faint light spilled from Sylviana's study, the door ajar. Her heart pounded as she crept closer, catching a chilling voice.
"Two birds, one stone," Sylviana said, her tone cold as ice, speaking to an unseen listener. "Poison them at dinner tomorrow. Vanessa and Raven… they'll be my marionettes forever, or nothing at all. They won't slip from my grasp." Her words were a venomous vow, a spell of control even in death.
Vanessa pressed a hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Poison. Sylviana planned to kill them both in one cruel stroke, her obsession spiraling into murder. Vanessa retreated, her heart ablaze with fear and a fierce resolve to protect Raven.
The next day, Sylviana's demeanor shifted to an unsettling warmth, her smile a cracked mask. She invited them to a grand dining room, the table laden with tempting dishes, steaming soup, roasted meat, and ruby-red wine that gleamed like blood. But Vanessa knew it was a trap. Raven sat rigid, his eyes avoiding Sylviana's, as if she were a predator ready to pounce. Vanessa forced light conversation, her hand trembling beneath the table. "This house is beautiful, Lady Sylviana. How long have you lived here? It must hold so many stories," she said, feigning cheer, squeezing Raven's hand for courage.
Sylviana's smile was a sharpened blade. "Long enough to know what I want, dear Vanessa. Eat, my boy. You look weak," she said, pushing a plate toward Raven with a gesture too kind, too calculated.
When Sylviana pressed them to eat, her tone sharp with insistence, Vanessa's resolve snapped. With a swift, feigned stumble, she shoved the table, sending plates crashing, soup spilling, glasses shattering in a chaotic cacophony. "Oh, I'm so sorry! My hand slipped!" she cried, her heart racing with fear that her ruse might fail.
Raven stared, eyes wide with shock, while Sylviana rose, her face crimson with rage. "You foolish girl! How dare you be so careless?" she roared, her voice a storm.
Sylviana's fury unleashed her men, shadows emerging from the room's corners. "Lock them up! Let them face the consequences!" she commanded. Vanessa fought, kicking and screaming, dodging their grasping hands, but only she was caught, dragged into a small, airless room, dark as a tomb. Raven, his eyes desperate, was held back by Sylviana's grip, his despair tearing at Vanessa's heart. "Don't touch him! Let Raven go!" she screamed, but the door slammed shut, sealing her in darkness.
In the suffocating room, Vanessa's rage was a wildfire. She smashed the small table, kicked the walls, pounded the door until her hands bruised. "Open this door, you cowards!" she shouted, but the door stood unyielding, her bruises a testament to her fury and fear.
Desperate, she reached for the phone Diana had given her days ago, a faint hope for rescue. The screen was dead, its battery drained, mocking her need. "Damn it!" she cursed, hurling it against the wall, where it shattered into useless fragments, joining the wreckage of her prison.
Then, a faint sound from the window pierced the night. Diana appeared, slipping from the darkness, her face taut with urgency, her eyes wild. "Vanessa, listen!" she whispered. "Roni and I just got here from the city. Sylviana,she's torturing Raven. Whipping him mercilessly, I saw it through a window!"
"How did you get in here? This is the fifth floor!" Vanessa demanded, her voice sharp with disbelief, her heart racing.
Diana waved off the question, her focus unbroken. "It doesn't matter. He's in danger, Van!"
Vanessa's world spun, her rage erupting like a volcano. She pounded the glass with her bare hands, heedless of the blood streaming from her torn skin. "I'll kill her! I'll destroy Sylviana!" she screamed, her voice raw with vengeance and despair, tears mixing with blood on her face. The night stretched endlessly, and the shadow of Sylviana's marionette strings loomed closer.