Nathalia’s POV
I was currently playing chess with a young girl whose face had remained unclear up until now when someone suddenly called out to me.
“Nathalia!”
I paused my thoughts and furrowed my brow as I turned towards the source of the voice.
It’s him again.
“Why, Tep-Tep?” Even though I couldn’t make out his face, he seemed familiar to me.
He ran towards me and quickly grabbed my hand, pulling me up. “Come with me.”
“Wait! Ry and I are still playing! Where are we going?” I asked him in confusion.
“I just want to show you something. Let Ry be. Ley will surely challenge her again anyway.”
“As if he could beat me!” Ry retorted with an arrogant tone.
Before I could speak again, Tep-Tep had already pulled me away. I looked back and saw Ley take my place in an instant.
I turned to Tep-Tep, irritated. “Where are we going, then?”
“Just come!”
I didn’t speak again and just let myself be led by him.
After a while, we entered a familiar mansion and went straight to its farthest hallway. Then, we descended a staircase and stopped in front of a door.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s in there?”
He tightened his grip on my hand and then looked at me seriously. “This room is going to be our safe haven.”
I don’t know why, but I suddenly found myself smiling at what he said.
I snapped awake as my cellphone suddenly rang. I let out a deep sigh.
Another dream.
I groggily reached for it on the table. My forehead creased as I saw a text from Mads. I quickly opened and read it.
Mads
We might not be able to make it tomorrow. There’s an emergency.
I sat up abruptly at what I read. I immediately called her, but her line just kept ringing. I tried reaching out to the others, but I couldn’t get through to them either.
I bit my lower lip as I typed a message to her.
I hope you guys are okay. Just let me know if you need any help.

I hit send. When I placed my phone back on the table, my gaze lifted to the round wall clock.
It’s already eleven in the evening.
I scanned the surroundings. There’s still no sign of Stephen.
Where could he have gone again? All he said in his text earlier was that he would be coming home late.
Honestly, I really wanted to ask him about the information I learned from the man I bumped into earlier. But it would be better if we talked about it in person.
I stood up decisively, suddenly feeling thirsty. Upon leaving my room, I was surprised not to find Cole on guard duty. He was probably patrolling around the mansion, or maybe he had fallen asleep.
The whole place was quiet as I descended. There wasn’t much security inside at this hour. Stephen’s men tended to patrol more outside during the night.
I headed straight to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Leaning against the sink, I wondered what time my husband would be coming home again.
Above all, I couldn’t help but suspect whether he had something to do with the murder of my parents seven years ago, especially considering how well he seemed to know me.
It felt like a tightness formed in my chest at that thought.
I hope not.
I hesitated to ask Mads earlier if they had mentioned me to Stephen before. That was the only reason I could think of for him to know me.
I took a few minutes to gather my thoughts before deciding to go back. Even the dreams I’ve been having lately are just adding to my anxiety.
But before I could fully head upstairs, I remembered the one room that was separated at the far end of the hallway. I glanced around and noticed a guard stationed at the door in front of the mansion. He had his back to my position and was far enough away that he wouldn’t immediately spot me.
Once I confirmed that there were no other guards nearby, I quietly slipped away. I decided to pass by the control room to check on Stephen’s men there. I couldn’t help but grin when I saw two guards looking drowsy.
Once again, I moved silently but quickly towards my destination. I held my breath as I walked past the scattered CCTV cameras. But I tried to keep myself as calm as possible.
My heart suddenly raced as I finally came to a stop in front of a door. Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing here. It seemed like there was nothing for me to gain from this.
I swallowed hard as I noticed the eye-sensing security system next to it. It couldn’t hurt to give it a try, right?
Slowly and tremblingly, I approached it and aligned my right eye with the sensor. But I seemed to lose my balance when the words “Access Granted” suddenly appeared on the screen.
What the hell? How did I gain access here?
Cole made it clear that only Stephen had access to this area. Besides, I had only been to this room once, and Stephen hadn’t escorted me here to give me access.
So how...
I took a deep breath. I really need to talk to Stephen as soon as possible! This can’t continue, where I’m suddenly taken aback by the things I’m discovering.