Chapter 3 Whispers in the Dark

The mansion felt colder than usual that night.

Despite the fireplace crackling in the corner of the grand living room and the expensive art hanging on every wall, an unsettling chill lingered in the air. Alexander stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the storm that brewed outside, watching as rain pelted against the glass like tiny fists.

Behind him, Eva sat quietly on one of the lavish couches, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She felt like an unwelcome ghost in a house built for someone else. Every corner of this home whispered Elena's name - the photos that remained on the mantle, the grand piano in the corner she supposedly played, the faint scent of her perfume clinging stubbornly to certain rooms.

But Eva remembered none of it.

The silence stretched between them like a growing chasm neither dared to cross.

"I don't belong here," Eva finally said, her voice soft, but the words seemed to echo through the empty room.

Alexander didn't turn. He kept his eyes on the storm, jaw tight, heart heavier than he wanted to admit. "Neither do I."

Eva's gaze dropped to her hands. She had no memory of her life before the clinic. The doctors had warned her that trauma could erase parts of the mind, shutting away unbearable memories. But deep down, a restless, unexplainable ache gnawed at her. Every time Alexander looked at her - with those storm-gray eyes filled with anguish and distrust - it hurt. As if somewhere, somehow, she should remember him.

"I need to leave," Eva whispered.

Alexander turned then, his stare sharp, almost dangerous. "You're not going anywhere."

His tone left no room for argument.

Eva's lips parted in protest, but no words came out. There was something about him - a commanding force that made the very air around him tense and electric. He was a man used to control, to people obeying without question. And though part of her resented it, another part of her... was drawn to it.

"Why?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Why keep me here when you don't believe I'm her?"

Alexander crossed the room in two long strides, stopping just in front of her. The firelight cast sharp shadows across his chiseled features, making him look both impossibly beautiful and terrifying.

"Because someone went through a hell of a lot of trouble to make you vanish," he said quietly. "And if you are Elena... if there's even a chance you're my wife, then keeping you close is the only way to figure out who's behind this."

"And if I'm not?"

"Then you'll still be safer here than out there." His voice dropped lower. "You don't understand the kind of people I deal with, Eva. Or the lengths they'll go to for what they want."

A shiver ran down her spine, not entirely from the cold.

Before she could reply, the room phone on the side table rang - a sharp, shrill sound that made them both flinch. Alexander moved swiftly, snatching up the receiver.

"King," he barked.

There was a pause. Then a low, crackling voice filtered through. It was distorted, unrecognizable.

"She's not safe," the voice hissed. "The walls have ears, Alexander. Watch the shadows."

The line went dead.

Alexander's eyes darkened. He placed the phone down slowly, his mind racing.

"What was that?" Eva asked, sensing the change in him.

He didn't answer. Instead, he turned toward her, his expression unreadable. "Pack a bag."

Eva blinked. "What?"

"We're leaving," Alexander said. "Tonight."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Somewhere no one can find you."

He was already moving, grabbing a set of keys from a drawer, his every movement sharp and precise. The sudden shift in energy made Eva's pulse quicken. She didn't understand what was happening, but something inside her screamed that this was no ordinary home, no ordinary man - and no ordinary life.

"Alexander," she called after him, her voice shaky. "What aren't you telling me?"

He paused at the doorway, his back to her. The muscles in his shoulders tensed. When he finally spoke, his words were like a knife.

"There's a reason someone tried to erase you, Eva. And if they know you're alive... they won't stop until you're dead."

The gravity of his words hung heavy in the air.

Eva's throat tightened. "But I don't even know who I am..."

"Then you better remember fast," Alexander said, his voice rough with emotion. "Because your life depends on it."

**

Thirty minutes later, they were in his sleek black SUV, the rain still lashing at the windshield. The mansion disappeared behind them, swallowed by the night as they sped down the winding road.

Neither spoke.

Eva stared at her reflection in the window, her heart pounding in her chest. Who was she? What life had she lived before waking up in that clinic? Why did she feel this bone-deep fear when Alexander mentioned danger?

And most of all - why did her soul ache when she looked at him?

Suddenly, a memory flickered in her mind.

A piano.

A pair of hands playing a melody in a sunlit room. Laughter. The scent of jasmine.

She gasped softly, clutching at her head.

"What is it?" Alexander demanded, glancing over.

"I... I remembered something," she whispered.

He slammed on the brakes, the tires skidding on the wet road. They both jolted forward.

"What did you remember?" he asked urgently, his hand gripping her arm.

"A room. With a piano. And... jasmine. I don't know what it means, but it felt... real."

Alexander stared at her, his heart thudding hard. Jasmine had been Elena's favorite flower. She used to fill the house with it.

For the first time since her return, a spark of hope flickered in his eyes.

"Hold onto that," he murmured. "It's a start."

Eva nodded, her fingers trembling. The rain slowed to a drizzle as the SUV took off again, leaving behind the empty road and the house full of ghosts.

But neither of them saw the figure watching from the shadows of the trees - a silhouette cloaked in darkness, a phone in hand.

"She remembered," the figure whispered into the receiver. "It's starting."

And then, like a wisp of smoke, they vanished into the night.