Chapter 4: Sanctuary or Cage?

Every instinct screamed Run, but I was frozen, locked in his stare.

He didn’t wait. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me up to the third floor. When we stopped at a certain door, my eyelid twitched.

The hallway was long and dim, lined with family portraits. My heart beat like crazy as we stopped in front of that door—the one that had always been off-limits.

Since I was sixteen, Nathaniel had never let anyone inside this room.

I’d always wondered what was in there, but now I wished I’d never found out.

Nathaniel unlocked the door with his fingerprint, swung it open, and yanked me inside, flipping on the lights. The room blazed to life.

The air inside was cold, almost sterile. Goosebumps prickled my arms. The truth hit me all at once.

Looking around, I barely stopped myself from screaming.

I clapped a hand over my mouth, biting back a gasp. My knees buckled. The sight was unreal, like something out of a horror movie.

The walls were covered with photos of me. Some were clearly snapped in secret. Only then did I realize why Nathaniel always knew exactly what I was up to.

There were pictures from my first day at college, from art galleries with friends, even from late-night runs to CVS. I felt exposed, violated—like I’d been living in a fishbowl.

He’d been watching me all along!

The realization made my skin crawl. Every private moment, every secret, stolen by his lens.

I turned and glared at him, jaw clenched. “You’ve been spying on me?”

My voice shook with anger and fear. I wanted answers, but I was terrified of what he’d say.

He nodded, calm as ever.

He didn’t even blink, didn’t bother to explain. Like it was the most normal thing in the world.

He acted like it was nothing. The dread in my gut grew and grew.

I hugged myself. There was no safe place here.

Nathaniel walked toward me, slow and steady, his presence heavy. The cold, woody scent of his cologne surrounded me.

Each step was deliberate, predatory. I backed up until my shoulders hit the wall—cornered.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, leaned down, eyes dark, and whispered, “Do you really think you have a choice?”

His breath was warm on my ear, but his words were ice. Shit. My mind went blank. I wanted to scream.

I shoved him away and ran out.

Adrenaline shot through me. I didn’t look back. I just ran, my footsteps echoing down the empty hall.

After leaving the mansion, I pulled over on the side of the road, hands shaking on the steering wheel.

The streetlights cast long shadows across the dashboard of my old Subaru. There was a cracked bobblehead on the dash, nodding along with my panic. I stared at my reflection in the rearview mirror, trying to slow my breathing. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

There’d never been any sign Nathaniel was like this.

I replayed every memory, every conversation, searching for clues. Nothing fit. None of it made sense.

It was already full dark. If I went to a hotel, he’d find me in no time. I needed somewhere he wouldn’t think to look, even if he caught on.

I scrolled through my contacts, skipping over everyone obvious. I needed someone who wouldn’t ask questions, who’d get it.

After a minute, one face popped into my mind.

Mason Harper. The one person who’d always had my back, even when I didn’t deserve it.

I floored it. If I hesitated, he’d be on me.

The city streaked by outside my window. I kept checking the rearview, half-expecting Nathaniel’s car to appear.