The Girl Who Returned
The Thompson estate had not changed.That was the first thing kailena noticed.The iron gates still stood tall and black against the evening sky. The long driveway was still with perfectly trimmed hedges.The enormous mansion still looked exactly as it had ten years ago. Beautiful.Cold. And completely undeserving of the word home.Kailena stood outside the gates with one hand resting lightly against the handle of her suitcase. For a moment,she simply stared. Ten years. Ten years since she had last stood here.Ten years since they had looked at a sixteen-year old girl and decided she no longer belonged. A soft breeze moved through her dark hair.Kailena smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.”Still ugly”, she murmured.The mansion, unfortunately had no response.She reached into her coat and removed a small black envelope.Inside was an invitation.THE THOMPSON FAMILY’S ANNUAL FOUNDER’S DINNER.Her fingers tightened slightly around the paper. An invitation. How amusing. For ten years, nobody had searched for her. Nobody had called. Nobody had asked whether she was alive.And no one wanted her to come home.Kailena folded the invitation neatly.“Should’ve left me alone”.Behind her,a black car slowly came to a stop.Kailena didn’t turn around immediately. She had heard the vehicle long before it reached the gates.The engine.The tires against the gravel.One person in the front.Two in the back. No immediate weapons being drawn.Probably not an assassination attempt. DIssappointing.The car door opened.Then another.Kailena finally turned.And saw him.Lucien Valtier.For a brief moment,neither of them spoke.Lucien looked exactly like the kind of man people warned others about in quiet voices.Tall.Impossibly composed.Dressed entirely in black.His face was calm,but his eyes were not.His eyes were watching her.carefully.As though he had just seen a ghost step out of the grave and politely ask for directions.Kailena tilted her head.”Well’”,she said.”That expression is a little rude”.Lucien blinked once.Then his eyes narrowed.“You’re alive”.Kailena smiled.”Unfortunately for several people”.Silence. The wind moved between them.Lucien took a slow step forward.Lailena did not move.She simply watched him.He had changed.Of course he had.The boy she remembered had disappeared years ago.In his place stood a man with colder eyes and far too many secrets behind them.But she recognized him.And judging by the look on his face….He recognized her too.”You disappeared”,Lucien said.”No”.Her smile faded.”I was removed”.Something flickered across his expression.So quickly most people would have missed it.Kailena didnt.Guilt.Interssting.She folded her arms.”What?”she asked softly.”Did someone tell you I died?”Lucien said nothing.That was answer enough.Kailena laughed quietly.Not because it was funny.Because suddenly,everything was becoming very interesting.”Wow”.Lucien’s jaw tightened.”Kailena”.She raised a brow.“Don’t say my name like you have the right”.His gaze hardened.“And you don’t get to come back after ten years and pretend nothing happened.For the first time,something cold entered kailena eyes.”oh, dont worry”.She stepped closer.Close enough that lucien could smell the faint perfume she wore.Something soft.Something expensive.Something almost sweet.Venom beneath silk.”I didn’t come back to pretend”.Her voice dropped.”I came back because I remember everything.”Lucien stared at her.And kailena watched something dangerous move behind his eyes.Not fear.Not exactly.Recognition.He knew something.Maybe not everything.But something.Kailena stepped away before he could speak again.Her heels clicked against the stone as she turned toward the mansion.”Wait.”She stopped.Lucien’s voice came from behind her.Kailena slowly looked over her shoulder.”What?”For several seconds,he said nothing.His eyes searched hers.As if he were looking for the sixteen year old girl she used to be.He wouldn’t find her.That girl had died a long time ago.Finally,Lucien spoke.”You shouldn’t have come back.”Kailena smile.A beautiful smile.A dangerous one.“That’s funny.”She turned fully towards him.”Someone else said the same thing to me once”.Lucien’s expression changed.Only slightly.But enough.Kailena saw it.And her smile widened.”Oh.”She whispered the word almost playfully.”You know more than you’re supposed to.”Lucien went completely still.Kailena picked up her suitcase.Then she walked toward the gates.Lucien followed.”Kailena.”She didn’t stop.”Lucien.”His footsteps came closer,”You don’t understand what your walking into.”This time,kailena stopped.Slowly,she turned her head.The smile was gone.”Your right.”Lucien watched her carefully.Kailena eyes darkened.“I don’t understand”.A pause.”I understand perfectly.”She leaned slightly closer.”My family threw me away when I was sixteen ”.Lucien expression remained unreadable.Someone made sure nobody looked for me.”Her voice was calm.Too calm.”And somehow,after ten years,I receive an invitation to walk straight back into the house where everything began.”She smiled again.”Your right,Lucien.”Her eyes held his.“I have absolutely no idea what’s waiting for me inside.”Then she whispered:”But I promise you this.”The gates slowly opened.Kailena stepped forward.“I’ll find out.”And somewhere inside the Thompson estate…..Someone was waiting.Someone who had spent ten years believing Kailena Thompson would never return.Someone who had made a terrible mistake.Because the girl they had thrown away had come back home.And she was no longer a girl.She was no longer weak.No longer afraid.The old assassin that raised her once told her something she would never forget.”The most dangerous poison is the one they never realize they’ve swallowed.”Kailena Thompson walked through the gates.Beautful.Silent.And carrying death behind her smile.The Thompson family had invited a ghost back into their home.They simply hadn’t realized….the ghost had teeth.
~End of Chapter One~ The Room That Never Forgot
