Chapter 2. The Shadow By The East Wing
He stood tall, his shadow wrapped in a tailored black suit. His jaw is sharp with stubble. Then his eyes. He has golden eyes, smitten and dangerous, like fire trapped from a volcano. His gaze stripped me bare, as it locked on me for the first time, unraveling me with surgical precision.
Is he really the Devil of the Bishops’?
“You’re late,” he said. His words were cool, yet carried the weight of judgment.
My throat closed.
“So sorry sir… I…I…didn't,” My words tangled and died on my tongue as I tried to respond but he didn't blink. His striking eyes still pierced on me, promising nothing but ruin.
Then, for the very first time, I realized the real danger wasn’t the forged identity in my pocket. It was the man standing right in front of me.
Nathan’s lips curved slowly as he finally spoke. “Welcome to my house, Elena. Let’s see how long you will survive here.”
I have never seen a handsome and smitten man like this. His gaze lingered on me, molten and merciless. For a breath, I wished the marble floor under me would split open and swallow me whole.
His mouth curved into a devilish smile when he noticed my fright, the kind that belonged to a predator who had just cornered his prey. There was this aura about Nathan Bishop that felt almost infernal. It was an authority carved from shadows. An energy that demands submission without a word.
“Listen,” he said, his voice laced with steel as he spoke unapologetically. “Don’t ever make a habit of this. I despise sluggishness among my staff, and to me, it is the first sign of incompetence.”
“Y..yes sir”. I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat nearly choking me. “Sir, please I don’t usually do this,” I stammered, every syllable in my words trembling.
My mind spun, already bracing for the punishment hidden behind his eyes. His smile vanished, leaving behind a sharp edge of darkness as he kept staring at me.
“We shall see,” he said bluntly.
The words sank into my chest, confirming every rumor I’d ever heard about him.
Nathan Bishop wasn’t just powerful. He is dangerous. The most feared billionaire in his family’s history. The kind of man whose empire was built not only on numbers, but on the ruins of those who had dared to oppose him.
Suddenly, the air between us thickened, strung with tension that bordered on something unspoken and dangerously close to curiosity, but despite that, I loved the burning fire in his eyes. One that can make any woman melt. At this moment, I realized that this wasn’t simply a job. It was an invitation into a labyrinth where each corridor might end in ruin.
Wait! Or is there something else other than that?
Later that night, I climbed the sweeping staircase toward the sacred library. The silence of the mansion still pressed against my ears, louder than any city street I had ever known.
That was when I saw it, at the far end of the East Wing. What? A shadow.
It clung to the door, portraying the figure of a helpless woman, faceless, motionless and yet radiating presence.
My breath faltered, my knees shivering against the marble steps at the sight of it. Are the Bishops not just billionaires? Are they also abductors?
Who is there?
Who is that?
I thought.
There were no footfalls nor sounds. Just the unknown figure, half-submerged in darkness, standing and watching from a distance.
A chill threaded down my spine like icy fingers. My lips parted in a whisper that barely escaped me.
“W…what are you?” I murmured, as if expecting a response from the unknown figure, but the shadow didn’t move. It lingered behind the bars. I was so amused. My heart thundered violently in my chest to a point I felt like it might crack my ribs.
Then, suddenly, the figure dissolved, swallowed whole by the iron frame of the door and vanished as if it had never been there. Where did it go? I pondered in shock.
“Elena!”
A sharp voice cracked through the hall like a whip behind me as it called my name, or rather my fake name. The call almost ripped my heart out of my cheat. I jerked, spinning around.
There stood a woman in grey. The same woman who had led me to Nathan’s chamber earlier, stood at the top of the stairs. Her brows arch, with her mouth drawn into a thin line of suspicion.
Her gaze drilled through me like a spear. “Young lady, what are you doing there?”
My throat tightened as my words tangled. My hands shook at my sides, and for a terrible second, I wondered if she already knew that I wasn’t Elena Cruz at all, but Clara Moretti. A fraud I have engaged in, holding on by a thread.
To my shock, she didn’t wait for an answer.
“Follow me,” she commanded.
I nodded stiffly. My body trembled as I obeyed. We descended the glass stairway together, my thoughts still shackled to the East Wing. Something lived behind that door, and I knew I had only scratched the surface of the Bishops’ secrets.
As we went downstairs, the lower quarters were quieter. The lights dimmed to an amber glow, the air less perfumed, heavier and almost oppressive. Staff moved quickly, avoiding eye contact and their faces blank like porcelain masks. There was not a word of casual conversation among them. Only obedience and silence to their duties.
Will this be what I will become throughout my stay here? Living like a manicure?
As I gambled with my thoughts. A woman I learned was the head housekeeper, Mrs. Lanier, thrust a uniform and a clipboard into my arms. Her posture carried the dignity of royalty, though she wore no crown.
She spoke with her clipped and commanding tone. “Young lady. Your job here is simple. Clean and speak less, except when spoken to and if Mr. Nathan calls you, you'll respond without hesitation. Am I clear?”
“Yes… Ma’am,” I responded abruptly, my throat tightening as though a rope coiled around it. The atmosphere here was suffocating and everyone was moving like perfectly wounded machines.
As I turned to leave, another staff member brushed past me. Her breath grazed my ear as she whispered something quickly to my ear.
“Listen to me, don’t ever go close to him.” Her tone was steeped in jealousy and fear.
I froze.
“Who?” I asked, though my voice betrayed my panic as she glared at me with an envious look this time.
“I’m talking about the boss, Nathan Bishop. Don’t ever cross your boundary with him. Stay in your lane.” She said, with a smirk curling across her lips. How would she even think I have anything to do with Nathan? Or is she an ally?
She didn't even wait for my response as she walked away, not looking back as my thoughts raced in head.
Her warning clung to me like smoke.
The Bishops were rumored to be ruthless, but could one man be worse than the devil himself?
