015: The Promise

Elena was terrified.

She slowly backed away from the door, her heart pounding against her chest.

The doorknob kept turning.

For a moment, she thought someone was about to break into her room.

The door slowly opened.

It was Damian.

He had come because the security system alerted him that someone had been outside her room.

Without wasting another second, Damian stepped into the hallway and looked around carefully.

The corridor was silent.

There was no sign of anyone.

Just as he was about to return, something on the floor caught his attention.

A single black rose.

He bent down and picked it up.

His expression darkened.

The person behind the threats had left it behind on purpose.

It wasn't a gift.

It was a warning.

Damian tightened his grip on the flower.

"This wasn't a prank," he said quietly.

Behind him, Elena's fear only grew stronger.

She looked at him with trembling eyes.

"Why is this happening to me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Damian remained silent for a few seconds.

He wished he had an answer.

Instead, he stepped closer and looked into her frightened eyes.

"As long as I'm alive," he said firmly, "no one will touch you."

His words were calm, but they carried a promise.

For the first time that night, Elena felt a little safer.

She nodded slowly, though the fear in her heart hadn't completely disappeared.

Damian called two guards over immediately.

"Double the security around this room," he ordered.

"No one comes to this floor without my permission."

"Yes, sir."

The guards took their positions outside Elena's bedroom.

Only then did Damian leave to inspect the rest of the mansion.

Every corner was searched again.

Every security camera was checked.

Every guard on duty was questioned.

Nothing.

It was as if the intruder had vanished into thin air.

Damian stood in the garden, staring at the black rose in his hand.

"This person knows my security too well," he murmured.

"They've been watching us."

Not far away, hidden behind the thick branches of an old tree beyond the estate wall, someone watched the mansion through a pair of binoculars.

A faint smile appeared on the stranger's face.

"So, Damian Blackwood..."

"You've become her shield."

The stranger lowered the binoculars and disappeared into the darkness before anyone noticed.

The next morning, Elena woke after a restless night.

She barely touched the breakfast Mrs. Harper brought to her.

"You should eat something, Miss Elena," the elderly woman said gently.

"I'm trying," Elena replied with a weak smile.

Mrs. Harper sighed.

"Mr. Blackwood has barely slept. He's been checking the security team since dawn."

Elena lowered her eyes.

She hadn't expected Damian to worry so much about her.

Guilt settled in her chest.

She didn't want her presence to bring danger into his home.

Just then, Damian entered the dining room.

"You didn't eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need your strength."

She looked at him.

"I'm sorry."

He frowned.

"For what?"

"For bringing trouble into your life."

Damian shook his head.

"You didn't bring this."

"The people after you made that choice."

"I won't let them win."

Before Elena could respond, Damian's phone rang.

It was the head of security.

Damian answered immediately.

"Talk to me."

The man's voice was tense.

"Sir... we've finished examining the black rose."

"And?"

"We found fingerprints."

Damian's expression hardened.

"Whose are they?"

There was a long pause.

Then the head of security spoke again.

"One set belongs to a person who was officially declared dead five years ago."

Damian's eyes widened.

"What?"

"That's impossible."

"So we thought, sir."

The call ended.

Damian stood frozen, the phone still in his hand.

If a dead person had returned...

Then this nightmare was only beginning.