Page 106 of Veil of Obsession

I pull the car through the gates, the metal closing behind us with a quiet finality. The place looms before us, all stone and dark windows, towering against the night sky.

It’s isolated. Remote. No one will find her here.

No one but me.

The house belonged to a contact of my pops, someone who owed him a favor before they disappeared off the face of the earth. It’s been sitting here for years, empty, untouched.

The air is heavy with silence. The kind of silence that’s too thick, too deep. The kind that makes a person feel like they might lose their mind if they’re trapped in it too long.

I cut the engine, sitting there for a moment, staring at the house, the still water of the lake stretching behind it.

She shifts beside me. I hear the hesitation in her breath, the slight shake in the way she exhales.

She’s waiting. Waiting for me to say something. To explain.

Instead, I push the door open and step out.

I don’t check if she’s following. She knows better than to run. She knows I’d catch her.

I hear her door open, her footsteps soft against the gravel as she follows me inside.

The house is cold, untouched, smelling faintly of dust and old wood. Everything is pristine, elegant but suffocating. The high ceilings make the space feel hollow, the marble floors stretchinginto vast rooms, the grand windows overlooking the black water of the lake.

It’s the kind of house that would feel like a home to someone who had people in it.

But now? Now, it’s just a cage.

And she’s the one locked inside.

I push forward, heading straight into the sitting room, my footsteps echoing against the high ceilings. She hovers in the entryway, arms wrapped around herself, looking too fucking small for the vast space around her.

I turn to face her, my voice flat, unreadable. “No going outside. No trying to contact anyone.”

She flinches like I’ve hit her. “Lucio?—”

I shake my head. “The only reason you’re still breathing is because I got to you first. The fact that you’re not in your parents’ house gives me an advantage. But not by much.”

Her breath shudders, tears pooling in her eyes. I ignore them.

“You’ll stay here.” I move toward the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water and setting it on the counter before looking back at her. “The fridge is stocked. Clothes are in your size in the first room on the right, up the stairs.”

She’s breathing too fast, her hands clenched at her sides.

I should feel satisfaction. Should feel vindicated. She lied to me. She broke my trust. This is what she fucking gets.

So why does my chest feel like it’s ripping open?

She licks her lips, voice small, barely above a whisper. “Are you leaving me here?”

My stomach twists. I grip the counter, grounding myself. Then I force the word out, flat and sharp.

“Yeah.”

She inhales sharply, her entire body tensing. “Lucio?—”

I turn toward the door. I need to leave. Now. I can’t fucking do this. I can’t look at her when she’s falling apart like this.

I yank the door open, stepping out.