The first thing Evelina did was scream.
The sound tore out of her throat before she even realized it, sharp and frantic, echoing against the blank walls. Her voice cracked halfway through, but she kept screaming anyway, as if pure desperation might force the door open, might reach someone—anyone—on the other side.
"Help! Please, somebody!"
Her cries echoed back at her, shrill and painful, amplifying her fear instead of summoning rescue. No answer came. No footsteps. No angry guard rushing in to silence her. Just her own voice bouncing off the walls, louder in her ears than it should have been.
Evelina's fists pounded the door. She slammed with both hands until her knuckles throbbed, until the sharp sting of raw skin spread through her bones. "Open this door! Please—let me out! I didn't do anything!"
Her chest heaved, her breaths ragged and shallow. She pressed her ear to the door, straining for even the faintest sign of life. Nothing. The silence was suffocating, heavier than chains.
Then she noticed it.
Not silence—something beneath it. A faint vibration, almost inaudible, like the low hum of hidden machinery running deep inside the walls. Evelina staggered back, her wide eyes darting around the room. There were no windows. No vents she could see. The air itself seemed weighted, pressing against her ears.
The realization hit like a slap.
The walls weren't just bare. They were padded. Soundproof.
Her screams could rip her throat raw, but the world outside would never know.
"No…" The word was a whisper, strangled by fear. Her knees weakened, but she forced her lungs to push out another cry anyway. "Help! Please! Somebody, hear me!"
Her voice came back to her louder, mocking, swallowed by the walls and hurled back into her face. Evelina clutched her head, pulling at her hair in desperation. The room had become a tomb, a place where even her voice was imprisoned.
The panic was unbearable. She screamed until her throat burned, until her cries sounded less human and more animal, broken howls clawing at the void. She sank to her knees, pounding her fists against the unyielding floor. Her body trembled uncontrollably, tears spilling fast, soaking into her palms.
She wanted her mother. Her father. The familiarity of her tiny dorm bed, her textbooks, even the dull hum of her café job. Anything but this. Anything but being locked away like a forgotten object.
Kairo Volkov's voice returned to her memory—deep, steady, cutting. You belong to me now.
Her body shuddered violently. Who was she to him? Why her? The thought of his eyes, calm yet merciless, sent fresh terror coursing through her veins.
Time lost meaning. Minutes, maybe hours passed as she cried, screamed, begged, until her body betrayed her. Her voice rasped into silence, her lips trembling soundlessly. Every breath hurt. Every sob scraped her lungs raw.
Her body finally gave out.
She curled into herself in the corner, arms wrapped around her legs, her body rocking unconsciously, as though she could soothe herself by moving. But nothing worked. The silence pressed closer and closer, crawling under her skin, filling her skull.
Eventually, exhaustion pulled her under. Not sleep—just a blackout, the body collapsing when it had nothing left to give.
The door opened without a sound.
Soft, deliberate footsteps entered. Evelina didn't stir. Her cheek rested against her knees, her lashes damp with dried tears.
A woman stood over her. Her features were difficult to make out in the dim light, but the impression of her presence lingered—elegant, deliberate, unfamiliar. She smelled faintly of jasmine, a scent too delicate for this suffocating place.
Kneeling beside Evelina, the woman's hands worked quickly. Her fingers brushed against Evelina's wrists, pausing at the angry red grooves carved deep by rope. The woman's lips pressed into a thin line, unreadable—disapproval, perhaps pity, perhaps both.
With practiced ease, she loosened the ropes. Evelina's wrists sagged forward, the circulation rushing back in hot, painful waves. A soft groan escaped her lips, but she didn't wake.
The woman lingered a moment longer, her hand hovering as though she might reach out to stroke Evelina's hair. But she didn't. Her fingers withdrew, curling into her palm. Whatever tenderness she carried, it was buried under restraint.
The ropes slid soundlessly onto the floor.
The woman rose, her shadow gliding back toward the door. For a brief second, Evelina's world shifted—a faint sliver of golden light pierced the darkness as the door cracked open. The woman's silhouette was framed against it like an apparition. And then, as quietly as she came, she vanished.
The door closed.
Darkness reclaimed the room. Silence smothered everything once more.
Evelina stirred. Her body twitched first, then her eyes fluttered open. At first, she thought she had dreamed the whole thing. But her wrists—she froze.
The ropes were gone.
Her hands trembled as she lifted them, staring at the red welts that circled her pale skin. The rope burns remained, but no bindings held her now. Her chest tightened, her breath catching. Slowly, she turned her head toward the floor.
There, in the dim light, lay the ropes. Coiled neatly, like snakes at rest.
Her mouth went dry. She didn't free herself. She knew she hadn't.
"Hello?" Her voice cracked, the word fragile in the heavy silence. She forced herself to speak louder. "Who's there?"
Nothing.
Her gaze darted to the corners of the room, her pulse thundering. She scanned the shadows, half-expecting eyes to glimmer back at her, half-expecting a hand to dart out and seize her throat. But she was alone.
Or at least, she appeared to be.
Evelina hugged herself, pressing her back to the wall, trembling so violently her teeth chattered. Someone had been there. Someone had touched her. Freed her. And then left her in this nightmare.
Why? Mercy? A cruel game? A warning?
She squeezed her eyes shut, but the silence pressed in harder, louder than her thoughts. It filled every gap in her chest, every hollow place where hope used to live.
And through it, one truth clawed at her mind:
This silence was not empty.
It belonged to him.
And Evelina was trapped inside it.
To be continued…