Free Web NovelChapter 146: Dark Door
No One’s POV
Vivien stepped inside the room Enzo had pointed out. It was a perfectly neat, elegantly decorated guest bedroom with an attached bathroom. But she hadn’t actually come up here to wash her face.
Instead of heading into the restroom, Vivien cautiously poked her head out of the doorway and scanned the quiet hallway of the second floor. The entire villa was sparkling clean, yet there wasn’t a single maid or housekeeper in sight. It felt entirely empty and deeply unsettling.
As her eyes traveled down the corridor, she noticed something strange. Every single bedroom door on this floor was painted in a bright color, except for one at the very end of the hallway. That specific door was straight-up dark black.
Why would one door be completely different? she wondered.
Driven by pure curiosity she tiptoed down the hallway and stood before the dark door. She reached out and rattled the brass handle. It didn’t budge. It was firmly locked.
Frowning, Vivien crouched down on the floor, pressing her eye close to the old-fashioned keyhole to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was inside. It was pitch black. But as she leaned closer, a foul smell drifted through the tiny opening, hitting her nose. It smelled putrid, like rotting meat or something decaying.
"The whole house is shining clean, but this one room has a foul smell..." she muttered under her breath, a knot forming in her stomach.
Before she could investigate any further, the distinct sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the grand staircase. Someone was coming up.
"Shit," she muttered in a panic.
She scrambled to her feet and sprinted silently back down the hallway, bursting into the guest bathroom. She rapidly splashed cold water over her face and neck, not even wiping it off before rushing back to the bedroom door.
Just as Enzo reached out and wrapped his fingers around the guest room doorknob, the door suddenly swung open from the inside. Vivien stood there, breathing slightly hard, with water droplets actively dripping down her forehead and cheeks.
"Ah, sorry! Did I take too long for you to come looking for me?" she asked, forcing a nervous, innocent smile.
Enzo looked down at her wet face, his expression unreadable. He slowly shook his head. "Not at all. I was just worried that you might have gotten lost or couldn’t find the right room, so I came up to check on you."
"Ah, yeah... I found it just fine! So, shall we go back down now?" she asked, desperately trying to steer him away from the hallway.
Enzo nodded smoothly. "After you."
Vivien quickly walked past him, keeping her eyes fixed forward as she headed toward the stairs.
Enzo didn’t follow her immediately. He stood perfectly still in the middle of the hallway for a long moment. His cold eyes shifted away from her retreating back and locked onto the dark, locked door at the far corner of the corridor. A faint smirk touched his lips. He then turned his head back, his gaze tracking Vivien as she descended the steps.
Enzo stared at her back as she walked away. He could see the water droplets dripping down from her hair and sliding onto her neck. His fingers twitched slightly against his side, a strange impulse rising within him. After a silent moment, he turned and followed her down the stairs.
Back in the massive living room, he walked over to the kitchen counter and brought over two mugs.
"Here, have the coffee," he said smoothly, passing a warm mug into her hands.
"Thank you," she muttered, taking it tightly between her palms.
They both sat down on the sofa. Vivien stayed completely silent for a bit, her eyes fixed on the dark liquid inside the mug. Her mind was trying to process everything she had seen upstairs.
"Ah, let me go bring the study notes from my room. You stay here and enjoy your coffee," Enzo said, standing up with a polite smile and leaving the room.
She nodded quietly. Once he vanished from the room, Vivien lifted the mug and took a sip. Instantly, a deeply familiar, rich taste spread across her mouth.
Her eyes widened. This flavor...
Memories from her Transgression suddenly flashed through her mind. She vividly remembered the time she had met Elias, and how he had offered her a cup of coffee inside his house. Vivien drank coffee all the time to survive her university exams and coding sessions; she could never forget a specific blend. And she was right. This coffee tasted exactly, perfectly the same.
Her fingers curled tightly around the coffee mug, her knuckles turning white. Enzo was Elias. There was absolutely no doubt about it now.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Enzo stood directly in front of the dark black door at the end of the hallway. He stared darkly at the wood for a long moment. He reached out and touched the brass knob, turning it slightly to confirm it was still firmly locked.
Then, his eyes traveled downward. He looked at the edge of the floor mat sitting right in front of the threshold. It was slightly moved, shifted just enough to show that someone had crouched down right there.
A chilling glint appeared in his dark eyes. He let out a breathless chuckle.
Turning on his heel, he walked away to grab the study notes from his bedroom, holding the thick papers firmly in his hands as he prepared to go back down to his little guest.
The moment Enzo walked back downstairs, his eyes instantly locked onto the coffee table. It was empty. The mug was sitting on the coaster, but Vivien was completely gone, and the front door of his villa was wide open, letting in a cold breeze.
Enzo slowly walked toward the open doorway, a cold smile playing on his lips as he looked out to see the dramatic scene unfolding right in front of his estate.
Vivien was sprinting down the driveway toward a black luxury car parked right outside the villa’s iron gates. She was panting heavily. The moment she reached the vehicle, the tinted glass of the rear window smoothly slid down, and Dominic’s flawless side profile came into view. freēwebnovel.com
She gulped hard, freezing in her tracks as his icy eyes shifted to meet hers. The suffocating authority radiating from him made her want to sink into the ground.
"Get in," Dominic commanded. His voice was low, leaving absolutely no room for argument.
It didn’t take her a single second to obey. Vivien hurriedly pulled the door open and scrambled into the backseat, squeezing herself as far away from him as humanly possible, practically pressing her body against the opposite door. Her panicked eyes met the assistant’s in the rearview mirror; he gave her a pitiful, sympathetic look before shifting the gear and quickly driving away from the mansion.
Oh Lord, I am absolutely doomed! Vivien screamed internally, clutching her bag to her chest. Why on earth do I feel so incredibly guilty right now? It literally feels like I just got caught red-handed cheating on my boyfriend! But he’s just my grumpy, terrifying boss!
Back on the porch, Enzo stood perfectly still, watching the luxury car speed away down the private road. His smirk widened, his eyes darkening with absolute fascination.
"Seems like I wasn’t wrong after all," Enzo muttered into the quiet air, his fingers tightening around the study notes. "I really did write you perfectly... Dante Valerio Moretti."
Inside the retreating car, Dominic’s gaze glanced back through the window, his eyes locking onto Enzo’s figure. Enzo smiled warmly and raised a hand, casually waving goodbye to the billionaire.
Dominic’s expression remained stone, completely unbothered. Soon, the dark tinted glass rolled back up, closing the view and cutting off the connection between them as the car sped into the main highway.
"Now, care to tell me what exactly you were doing there?" Dominic’s voice was ice-cold, filling the quiet space of the car, yet the jealousy behind his words was impossible to miss.
Vivien shrank back into the seat. "I, uh... I was just there to get some study notes! Since, you know, I couldn’t attend classes for the past five months... I have a lot of catching up to do, after all."
Dominic turned his head slowly, glaring straight at her with absolute disbelief.
"Trust me! I am telling the absolute truth, boss!" she blurted out, her hands waving frantically in front of her. "There is absolutely nothing else going on! I just thought you were going to be late to the office today, so I figured I could arrive a little late too, and-"
He scoffed, cutting off her panicked rambling, and looked back out the window.
Why on earth do I feel like he is acting like a jealous boyfriend right now?! Vivien thought in pure panic.
The rest of the drive was awkwardly silent. Soon, the luxury car pulled up to the corporate headquarters. Vivien quietly stepped out and followed a few paces behind Dominic as they entered the building. The employees in the lobby and hallways watched them pass in complete silence, their eyes darting between the furious billionaire and the nervous student. Did she finally do something major to completely anger the boss? they all thought, holding their breath.
When they finally reached the door of the office, Dominic stopped and turned around.
"Get in first," he commanded coldly.
Vivien nodded rapidly and scrambled inside the office to get out of his direct line of sight.
Dominic didn’t follow her immediately. Instead, he turned his sharp gaze toward his lingering assistant, who was waiting for orders. "Prepare all the college notes she has been looking for. Every single Chapter she missed. Have them compiled and sent to her directly." With that final command, he turned on his heel and walked into his office.
SLAM.
The heavy door closed firmly in the assistant’s face. He stood there frozen in the hallway, his mouth hanging wide open in utter disbelief. Now I have to prepare undergraduate college study notes?! He looked down at his expensive notepad, suddenly feeling a deep crisis of identity. He was starting to feel like he wasn’t Mr. Valente’s high-powered corporate assistant anymore, but rather Miss Vivien’s personal school tutor.
Inside the grand office, Vivien felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand completely on end. The air was thick with tension. This grumpy suit was indeed furious. Me coming this late angered him so much? ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Am I finally going to be fired? she wondered, a small spark of hope lighting up in her chest. But wait, wouldn’t being fired actually be a good thing for my survival?
She glanced up at Dominic’s side profile as he walked over to his desk. Knowing how much she owed him, she instantly shook the thought away. Yeah, right. There was absolutely no way this man was ever going to let her fire herself from his life.
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TO BE CONTINUED
