Chapter 2 - the voice behind the mahogany
The haunting melody hung in the air for three agonizing seconds before dissolving into the quiet hum of the central air conditioning.
Damon stood frozen in the center of his study, his fingers clamped tightly around the velvet ring box. The hair on his arms stood on end. His broad chest rose and fell in heavy, ragged breaths as he stared out into the dark, empty corridor.
Naomi clutched Zuri tighter against her chest, her soft brown eyes wide with genuine terror. She had worked at Ashford Manor for two years, knowing the estate was vast and quiet, but she had never heard a sound like that before.
"Mr. Ashford..." Naomi whispered, her voice shaking violently. "Who... who was that?"
Damon didn't answer her immediately. He shoved the velvet box into his suit coat pocket, strode past Naomi, and stepped into the hallway. The high arched corridors of the west wing were completely deserted. The oil paintings of his ancestors stared down from the silk-covered walls in silent judgment.
"Marcus!" Damon’s deep voice roared through the estate like thunder.
Within seconds, the heavy footsteps of his head of security echoed down the marble stairs. Marcus, a broad-shouldered man in a dark suit, appeared around the corner with his hand resting on his tactical belt.
"Boss? What happened?" Marcus asked, scanning the hallway with sharp, trained eyes.
"Who is in the west wing?" Damon demanded, his voice chillingly calm.
"No one, sir," Marcus replied instantly. "The estate perimeter is locked. The outer security cameras show zero movement. Only Ms. Carter and the staff are inside."
Damon looked back at Naomi, who was standing in the doorway of the study, holding her quiet daughter. Zuri was sucked her thumb peacefully, completely unbothered by the terror she had just unleashed.
"Naomi," Damon said softly, his tone shifting from outrage to a quiet, intense focus. "How did Zuri know about the gold lion on my desk?"
Naomi swallowed hard, her fair skin pale against her light-blue uniform. "I... I don't know, Mr. Ashford. Zuri has never been inside this room before today. I swear on my life, I've kept her in the staff quarters."
Damon walked up to the mother and child. He crouched down until he was at eye level with the three-year-old girl.
"Zuri," Damon murmured gently, his voice rough with emotion. "Where did you see the sad lady?"
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Zuri pulled her thumb from her mouth and pointed her little hand down toward the floorboards beneath their feet. "Under the house. Where the blue doors are."
Damon’s eyes locked onto Naomi’s. There were no blue doors on the main floor or the second story of Ashford Manor. The only blue door on the entire fifty-acre property was the reinforced steel gate leading into the abandoned wine cellar deep beneath the east wing—a door that had been welded shut four years ago on the day Elena died.
