Chapter Eight – D’Ardenne’s Mask
Oct 04, 2025
He felt Lena’s presence behind him like heat—her sharp inhale, the shift of her weight on the tile. She wanted to follow. Curiosity burned off her in waves.
She doesn’t understand. She shouldn’t.
He motioned once, silent: Stay. Then he crossed the room, each step controlled, though adrenaline was already coiling in his chest.
Three sharp knocks—one pause—two more. Not the usual rhythm. An emergency call.
He unlatched the door, cracked it only an inch. A narrow face appeared: Kavan, one of his contacts, sweat glistening at his temple. Eyes wide, darting.
“They moved early,” Kavan whispered. “Two floors down. Unit 1203. We’ve got fifteen minutes before they scrub it clean.”
Elias’s jaw tightened. Too soon. The schedule wasn’t supposed to shift. Someone had leaked. Again.
Behind him, Lena shifted. He heard her whisper his name.
Elias blocked the gap with his shoulder, lowering his voice until it was blade-thin.
“Get out. Same drop point. Burn everything else.”
Kavan nodded and vanished down the hall.
Elias shut the door. His pulse was steady again—controlled, cold—but his mind raced.
He turned. Lena stood where he’d left her, arms folded, trying to mask her nerves. Her hazel eyes met his gray, demanding answers he couldn’t afford to give.
“What was that?” she asked.
The truth? A dead sentence.
The lie? Safer, but not for long.
“Wrong address,” he said simply.
She didn’t buy it. He could see it in the set of her jaw. Lena was dangerous in her own way—not because she was violent, but because she was stubborn. Curious. The kind of curious that got people buried.
And yet… he hadn’t wanted her to leave. He’d wanted her to stay. Even now, with risk hanging heavy in the air, part of him wanted to cross the room, take her face in his hands, and tell her the truth—just to see if she’d run or if she’d stand still.
But he’d learned long ago: truth was a luxury. One he couldn’t afford.
So Elias D’Ardenne gave her a smile he didn’t mean, smooth as glass.
“Don’t worry, neighbor. Some doors are better left unopened.”
Lena’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe I’m not good at leaving doors shut.”
His smirk flickered, but his pulse betrayed him. Neither am I.
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The Apartment Across The Hall
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When Lena Hayes finally escapes her controlling ex and moves into a charming old apartment building, she thinks she’s found the fresh start she desperately needs. The building seems ordinary enough—an elegant lobby, a polished elevator, neighbors who keep to themselves. But behind the faint, metallic tang in the air and the whispers that seep through thin walls, secrets are waiting.
Across the hall lives Elias D’Ardenne, a man who is equal parts captivating and unsettling. He’s charming in moments, evasive in others, with a past that never quite adds up. Lena's notebook gets stolen—along with receiving cryptic symbols and an anonymous photograph that points straight back to her—she realizes she’s caught in a web much larger than her own broken past.
As paranoia builds and trust grows harder to grasp, Lena is forced to question not only who Elias truly is, but whether the most dangerous secrets are hidden in the building… or inside her own apartment.
Because in this place, doors are never just doors, and sometimes the one thing more terrifying than the neighbor across the hall—is knowing he might be the only one who can protect you.
Across the hall lives Elias D’Ardenne, a man who is equal parts captivating and unsettling. He’s charming in moments, evasive in others, with a past that never quite adds up. Lena's notebook gets stolen—along with receiving cryptic symbols and an anonymous photograph that points straight back to her—she realizes she’s caught in a web much larger than her own broken past.
As paranoia builds and trust grows harder to grasp, Lena is forced to question not only who Elias truly is, but whether the most dangerous secrets are hidden in the building… or inside her own apartment.
Because in this place, doors are never just doors, and sometimes the one thing more terrifying than the neighbor across the hall—is knowing he might be the only one who can protect you.
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