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Leaving the food behind, I twisted around, looking for the knife, and I grabbed it off the floor where I’d dropped it when I was sleeping. Taking it, I dashed into the bathroom, filled a glass of water, and downed a cup before wiping off my mouth and heading past his treadmill for the door.
I only hesitated a moment before pulling the chair away and slowly twisting.
The pulse in my neck pumped hard, even though I knew I wasn’t in any more danger outside t
his room than in. If they had wanted to get in, they would’ve. I only put the chair up to give myself a warning before they broke through.
But I needed food not made by someone else, and I needed a better look at my surroundings.
Peering into the hall, I glanced left and right, half expecting to see a guard posted at my door, but the night outside the windows around the foyer darkened the floors and walls, the beautiful glow of the glass chandelier the only thing lighting the empty second floor.
There was no one.
That was weird. Were they that confident I wouldn’t try to run again?
I looked right, scanning the wall and seeing the crack in the paneling. Doing one more sweep to make sure I was alone, I stepped out into the hall and dug my nails into the crack, trying to pry the panel away.
I knew it opened. Maybe someone hadn’t been watching me in that mirror, but I knew the room was here, dammit.
After it didn’t give, I planted both hands on the panel and pushed instead, hearing the springs snap and watching as the door immediately opened.
My heart skipped a beat, and I almost smiled.
I swung the door wide and looked inside the small room, seeing a chair sitting on a concrete floor, surrounded by concrete walls. I stepped inside and walked to the glass, turning to look into Aydin’s room, the view spanning the entire width.
I shook my head. Unbelievable. Was Will here hours ago? Watching me?
Was someone else?
So many questions, but mostly…were there more secret rooms and were they here when Blackchurch was someone’s home?
Or were they installed when it became a prison?
Because if so, that meant there was indeed some kind of surveillance. Someone might be checking up on them more than just every thirty days. If there were hidden chambers, then there were hidden ways for people to get in and out.
I backed out of the room and closed the door, scanning the landing again. The shadows of the leaves on the trees outside danced across the railing that loomed over the foyer, and the water falling outside surrounded the house like a metronome—steady and constant.
Inhaling, the scent of old books and burning wood hit my nose, and I clutched the knife tightly at my side as I descended the staircase.
I wanted to go everywhere. See every room, inspect every closet, and get the lay of the land, but I had no idea what time it was, or which rooms would be occupied at this hour.
Stepping off the staircase, I walked through the foyer, passing a dark and empty drawing room, as well as a dining room on my right, and a ballroom and library to my left.
Candles flickered on antique silver candelabras that stood as tall as me around the foyer, and I stopped at one, staring at it for a moment.
The place had electricity. Why the ambience?
I picked up the matchbox on the nearby table and stole a couple of matches out of it, sticking them into my pocket.
Lightly stepping through the house, I sneaked right, toward the kitchen, but a cry echoed down the hall from my left.
I stopped and looked, the hair on my arms rising as I heard a grunt.
“Just leave it, Will!” someone growled.
I narrowed my eyes, inching toward the voice even though I should just run.
I passed a sitting room and an office, and kept walking down the hall, seeing movement on my left.
