Chapter 2 — The Enemy Inside the House

The doorknob moved again.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Someone outside the bedroom wasn’t trying to enter.

They were waiting.

Listening.

My entire body went still.

Alexander’s fingers were still wrapped around my wrist, weak but desperate, as if even unconscious, he knew I was the only person standing between him and death.

Marcus Hale noticed the door too.

For the first time that night, the calm mask on his face cracked.

Only for a second.

But I saw it.

And that terrified me more than anything else.

“Stay behind me,” Marcus whispered.

I almost laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because for the first time, Marcus Hale sounded afraid.

The man who negotiated with criminals without blinking.

The man who had walked into rooms filled with armed enemies and walked out untouched.

He was afraid of whoever was standing outside Alexander Romano’s bedroom.

The door opened.

Just an inch.

Then stopped.

Marcus reached inside his jacket.

I held my breath.

A shadow moved beneath the doorway.

Then a voice came.

“Mr. Hale?”

It was Dr. Bennett.

Alexander’s personal physician.

Marcus lowered his hand.

But I didn’t.

Something felt wrong.

The doctor stepped inside carrying a black medical bag.

“His condition?” he asked.

“Worse,” Marcus answered.

Dr. Bennett walked toward the bed.

I stepped in front of Alexander.

The doctor stopped.

His eyebrows lifted.

“Nina?”

I held up the bottle.

“Explain this.”

The room became silent.

Dr. Bennett looked at the medicine bottle.

Then at me.

Then at Marcus.

And something changed in his expression.

Fear.

“What did you say?”

“The label says one milligram.”

I opened my palm.

“But the pills inside are three milligrams.”

Dr. Bennett’s face lost all color.

“That’s impossible.”

“No,” I said quietly.

“It’s not impossible.”

I looked at Alexander lying on the bed.

“Someone changed them.”

Marcus moved closer.

“Doctor…”

His voice was colder now.

“Who has access to Alexander’s medication?”

Dr. Bennett didn’t answer immediately.

And that silence was enough.

Because everyone in the room understood.

Someone inside the mansion had betrayed Alexander.

Someone close.

Someone trusted.

A loud crash suddenly came from downstairs.

Everyone turned.

Then the security alarm started screaming.

Marcus looked toward the door.

“They know we found out.”

Twenty minutes later, the entire mansion was locked down.

Every exit.

Every camera.

Every servant questioned.

But the person responsible was smart.

No fingerprints.

No witnesses.

No evidence.

Except one thing.

The missing medication record.

Marcus placed the file on the table.

“The person who changed the pills didn’t break into this house.”

He looked at me.

“They were invited.”

My stomach tightened.

“Then everyone here is a suspect.”

Marcus nodded.

“Exactly.”

A weak voice came from the bedroom.

“Nina…”

I ran back immediately.

Alexander’s eyes opened.

Barely.

But he was awake.

“Don’t…”

His voice was almost nothing.

“Trust…”

He struggled to breathe.

“Anyone.”

Then his eyes closed again.

But before he lost consciousness, his hand tightened around mine.

And I understood something.

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