All of us froze. The weight of the figure behind the butler was immediate.
The man seemed to be around thirty as his sleek, dark hair was combed back. His eyes were sharp enough to tear down anyone’s lie.
A short, trimmed beard covered half of his face, but even that couldn’t soften his features.
His jaw was strong, his cheekbones sharp, and his eyes....God, his eyes were the kind that could slice through anyone.
The kind that told you one wrong word, one wrong move, and you would not live to regret it.
He was tall, and there was nothing youthful about the way he carried himself.
His black suit was sharp, not a wrinkle in sight, his shoes polished until they shone under the chandelier light.
He didn’t smile. He didn’t need to. His very presence screamed danger.
All of us scrambled to our feet without thinking.
It wasn’t out of respect, but fear. The fear that had already settled in our hearts just by his mere presence.
My eyes then darted from him to Edward, and then to Sophia, who stood beside him.
Sophia’s hand immediately grabbed onto Edward’s arm, her knuckles white from how tightly she held him.
On the contrary, Edward did not even flinch. Instead, he covered her hand gently with his own, as if telling her to stay calm.
The man’s gaze moved slowly across the room, deliberate, unhurried. Original content can be found at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
I followed his eyes as they first landed on Edward. And the stillness of his stare made even Edward seem smaller for a moment.
Then, his eyes shifted to Emma, who was perched in Edward’s arms. For once, Emma did not squirm or giggle like before.
She just clutched her bunny close to her chest, her wide eyes blinking at the stranger like she was trying to decide if he was the saviour or the monster himself.
His stare lingered on her longer than I expected, his eyes unreadable, before sliding away.
Next, his gaze found Sophia. She stiffened, straightening her posture like she wanted to appear stronger than she felt, but sadly, even I could see the way her lips pressed together.
The way her breath hitched. He studied her like she was a puzzle he was deciding whether or not to solve.
And then...finally, his eyes landed on me.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe. His eyes weren’t just sharp.
Instead, they carried something else, something that struck right through me.
A flicker of recognition. Like he knew me or had seen me before.
My stomach dropped as my heart thudded painfully against my ribs.
The thought buzzed in my head, but before I could open my mouth, before I could ask, his gaze broke away, cutting off any chance I had to find out.
Instead, his attention returned to Edward.
And then, in a voice smooth but heavy with authority, he finally spoke.
"How long has it been... cousin?" His words hit like a thunderclap.
I blinked, sure I had misheard, but the reaction around me told me I hadn’t.
Sophia’s grip on Edward’s arm tightened so much I thought she might break it.
Emma’s little head tilted in confusion, her lips moving like she wanted to ask, "What’s a cousin?"
The butler kept his face perfectly neutral, though his hands folded neatly in front of him as if this moment was no surprise at all.
And Edward... Edward’s calm mask cracked, just slightly. His jaw tightened, his eyes narrowed, but he gave the faintest nod.
"It’s been... too long," Edward replied, his voice steady, though I caught the tension in it.
My mind reeled with each passing second.
Edward had a cousin? That too, such a dangerous person.
In this terrifying mansion, with guards at every corner, with each corner having its own secrets and danger thick in the air, whispering into the dead’s ear?
And not just a cousin...this man, this dangerous, commanding figure who seemed capable of killing someone just for breathing wrong.
Everything I thought I knew or assumed about Edward until now has been scattered into pieces.
The man, whom he calls his so-called cousin, took a slow step forward, his polished shoes clicking softly against the marble floor.
"You’ve changed," he said, his eyes slightly shifted on Sophia, who practically hid behind Edward before they came back on him. "
But then again... haven’t we all?" He shrugged as if it did not matter at all.
The way he said it made me shiver. It wasn’t just a casual remark; it was loaded, heavy with something I could not understand. Yet.
Edward’s lips pressed into a thin line. "We don’t need to do this here, Matteo," he answered firmly.
The cousin gave a short, humorless laugh. "Always so cautious."
His eyes flickered briefly back toward Emma, then Sophia, then, just for the briefest moment, me again. That look made my skin prickle. That sense of recognition... it wasn’t gone.
He finally turned, his coat shifting with the movement, and gestured with one hand. "Come. We will talk in private."
The butler immediately stepped forward, bowing his head slightly as though everything had already been decided. He began walking toward a set of tall doors at the far end of the hall.
For a moment, none of us moved. My legs felt frozen, my brain still stuck on that single word...cousin.
Then Edward shifted Emma in his arms, holding her closer, and gave Sophia’s hand a reassuring squeeze before stepping forward.
The rest of us followed, silent, uneasy, caught in the storm of secrets that seemed to grow thicker with every passing second, making it too hard to breathe at that point, making me choke.
As we trailed behind, my eyes wandered back to that man. His shoulders were straight, his steps smooth and powerful, like he owned every stone in this mansion, every person inside it.
And all I could think was that if Edward was his cousin, then just who exactly was Edward? What was his real identity?