Chapter 1 – The Woman Who Never Left
The sound of the bucket hitting the marble floor echoed through the Castillo mansion like a gunshot.
No one moved.
The servants stood frozen.
The butler lowered his eyes.
Even the security guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Alejandro Castillo stared at the woman before him, unable to breathe.
Her hair was shorter than he remembered, unevenly cut as if someone had hacked at it with kitchen scissors. Her once elegant figure had grown painfully thin beneath the plain gray servant's uniform. Faint scars marked her hands, and purple bruises ringed both wrists.
But none of that mattered.
He would have recognized those emerald-green eyes anywhere.
"Elena..." he whispered again.
The woman trembled.
For a brief second, hope flickered across her face.
Then it vanished.
She lowered her head immediately.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said in a flat, emotionless voice. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."
Alejandro felt as if someone had driven a knife into his chest.
"No."
He stepped closer.
"No... look at me."
She didn't.
Instead, she instinctively took a step backward.
Fear.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
That terrified him more than anything.
Before he could reach her, the sharp click of high heels echoed across the staircase.
Vivian Moretti descended with effortless elegance, dressed in a silk emerald gown that shimmered beneath the crystal chandelier. A diamond necklace rested against her neck—the very necklace Alejandro had once bought for Elena on their fifth wedding anniversary.
His jaw tightened.
Vivian noticed where his eyes had landed and smiled.
"Oh?"
She touched the necklace lightly.
"Do you recognize it?"
Alejandro ignored the question.
"Who is she?"
Vivian laughed softly.
"The new maid."
"I'm asking for her name."
Vivian looked toward the trembling woman.
"Number Twelve."
Alejandro frowned.
"What?"
"The servants aren't allowed to use their real names."
The room became colder.
"They're assigned numbers."
Alejandro slowly turned toward the head butler.
"Is that true?"
The old man swallowed.
His lips trembled.
"...Yes, sir."
"Who ordered that?"
Silence.
Vivian answered for him.
"I did."
She sipped her wine.
"It keeps things professional."
Alejandro's voice became dangerously calm.
"Since when do guests make rules inside my house?"
Vivian's smile faltered for the first time.
"I'm hardly a guest."
She walked closer.
"We've been running this estate together since Elena disappeared."
"No."
Alejandro's answer was immediate.
"You've been living here."
He looked around the foyer.
His gaze swept over every servant.
Every single one avoided eye contact.
Something was terribly wrong.
He had spent the last three years traveling between countries, negotiating mergers, and searching endlessly for his wife.
He had trusted Vivian to oversee the mansion.
He had trusted the staff reports.
He had trusted everyone.
Now...
He trusted no one.
He walked toward Elena again.
"Please..."
His voice cracked.
"Look at me."
Slowly...
She raised her eyes.
Tears shimmered inside them.
Not because she recognized him.
Because she was terrified of what would happen next.
Alejandro reached for her trembling hand.
She flinched violently.
As though expecting to be struck.
His blood ran cold.
Who had taught Elena to fear a gentle touch?
He gently rolled back the sleeve covering her wrist.
Deep bruises.
Old scars.
Burn marks.
Some were weeks old.
Others had clearly healed months before.
"What happened to you?"
Elena immediately pulled her arm away.
"I fell."
Vivian answered before Alejandro could speak.
"She's clumsy."
Alejandro stared at Vivian.
"You seem to know quite a lot about her."
Vivian shrugged.
"I supervise the household."
"You supervise bruises?"
The room fell silent again.
Vivian's confident smile became thinner.
"You're overreacting."
Alejandro ignored her.
Instead, he looked toward every servant standing nearby.
"Who did this?"
No one answered.
Not a single person.
Some appeared frightened.
Others looked ashamed.
Then, from the back of the room, an elderly housekeeper suddenly dropped a silver tray.
The crash shattered the silence.
"I'm sorry!"
She quickly knelt to gather the broken pieces.
But Alejandro noticed something.
She wasn't shaking because of the broken tray.
She was shaking because Vivian had looked at her.
One glance.
That was all it took.
Fear ruled this mansion.
Not loyalty.
Not respect.
Fear.
Alejandro slowly stood.
His face revealed nothing.
But everyone who had worked with him knew that expression.
It was the face he wore before destroying a business rival.
He took out his phone.
"Marco."
His chief of security answered immediately.
"Yes, Mr. Castillo."
"Lock every exit."
A pause.
"...Sir?"
"No one leaves this mansion."
Vivian laughed.
"You've lost your mind."
Alejandro continued calmly.
"Deactivate every vehicle."
"Yes, sir."
"Replace the current security team with Blackstone personnel."
"They'll be there in twelve minutes."
"Good."
He ended the call.
Vivian crossed her arms.
"This is ridiculous."
"No."
Alejandro looked directly into her eyes.
"This is an investigation."
The color slowly drained from Vivian's face.
"You can't imprison people."
"I own this estate."
His voice became colder.
"And until I know why my missing wife has been cleaning floors inside my own house..."
He looked around the grand foyer.
"...everyone is a suspect."
For the first time since Elena had appeared...
Vivian stopped smiling.
Meanwhile, Elena stood motionless.
Fragments of memories flickered inside her mind.
A wedding.
A promise.
A white rose garden.
Alejandro placing a ring on her finger.
Then...
Darkness.
A needle.
A locked room.
Someone whispering in her ear over and over.
"You're nobody."
"Your husband abandoned you."
"No one is coming."
"Forget your name."
She squeezed her temples.
Pain exploded inside her head.
Alejandro noticed immediately.
"Elena?"
She staggered.
The room spun around her.
Vivian's expression suddenly changed.
Almost... worried.
"No!"
Vivian shouted.
"Don't let her remember!"
The words escaped before she could stop herself.
Every servant looked toward her.
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"Remember what?"
Vivian realized her mistake.
She forced another smile.
"I mean... she's mentally unstable."
Alejandro didn't believe a single word.
He stepped toward Elena again.
This time, she collapsed.
Before her body hit the marble floor, Alejandro caught her.
She felt impossibly light.
As if she hadn't eaten properly in months.
He carried her into his arms.
The servants watched in stunned silence.
Because for three years...
No one had touched Number Twelve with kindness.
Alejandro looked at the butler.
"Call Dr. Harrison."
Vivian interrupted instantly.
"He's unavailable."
Alejandro slowly turned.
"How do you know?"
She hesitated.
"I... assumed."
"No."
Alejandro pulled out his phone again.
"I'll call him myself."
He pressed the number.
The call connected.
"Doctor."
"Mr. Castillo?"
"I need you at the mansion immediately."
There was a long silence.
Then the doctor's voice became strangely nervous.
"I... I don't think that's a good idea."
Alejandro frowned.
"What did you just say?"
Another silence.
Finally...
The doctor whispered something that made Alejandro's blood freeze.
"Mr. Castillo..."
"...if Elena is alive..."
"...then someone inside your mansion has been lying to you for three years."
Outside, thunder exploded across the night sky.
And hidden beneath the oldest wing of the Castillo estate...
Inside a locked underground room that appeared on none of the mansion's blueprints...
A red security light blinked to life.
May you like
Someone had just remotely erased hundreds of surveillance files.
But they were already too late.
