"Until we meet again, my love," Ivan murmured, his voice laced with a dangerously seductive charm that sent a chill down Hannah's spine.
The soft click of the car door unlocking echoed like a starter pistol in Hannah's ears. She understood the silent message behind it—it was her moment to escape. And she wasn't about to waste it.
Heart pounding like a war drum, Hannah flung the door open and bolted from the vehicle. Her breath came in ragged gasps as her feet pounded against the gravel driveway, each step carrying the weight of dread and desperation.
The towering gates of the Salvador estate loomed ahead, like salvation itself, and she sprinted toward them as if her very soul depended on it.
Behind her, Ivan remained in the car, watching her every movement with quiet amusement. A smirk curled at the edge of his lips, dark and unreadable.
"Adorable," he mused to himself, eyes gleaming as they followed her panicked flight.
There was something intoxicating in the way fear radiated off her, in the way she stumbled with urgency. He had carved his presence deep into her memory, he made sure of it.
As soon as Hannah reached the gate, she immediately began to frantically slam her hand against the estate's ring doorbell, pressing it over and over in panic.
The night was still and silent, but the shrill chime of the bell shattered the peace like a scream in the dark.
Inside the nearby guardhouse, the two estate guards who were about to fall asleep on their shift jolted awake, startled by the sudden noise. One of them grumbled irritably under his breath as he stumbled toward the intercom, assuming it was some kid or confused resident near the area.
"What?! What is this nonsense?! Who dares to—!" the guard barked through the speaker, annoyance dripping from every word. However, he immediately froze mid-sentence as a terrified voice cried out from the other side of the gate.
"It's me! Hannah! Let me in! Please!" Hannah said, sounding like she's about to cry.
The guard's irritation vanished in an instant upon hearing her name. Shock registered on his and his colleague's faces, and almost immediately, his hand flew to the control for the monitor.
He adjusted the camera, zooming in to confirm the identity of the frantic figure at the gate. He wanted to make sure that it was indeed their eldest miss, so when he saw her pale, tear-streaked face fill the screen, his breath caught.
It really was her—the Salvador family's eldest young miss.
Panic surged through the guards. They didn't know the reason, but it was obvious—something was terribly wrong. Hannah wouldn't return like this unless it was serious. Without a moment's hesitation, one of them slammed the gate release, and the heavy doors began to slide open.
Hannah rushed in the moment the heavy iron gates parted, her breath coming in sharp, shallow bursts as if she were out of breath and gasping for air.
Even as she crossed the threshold of safety, she couldn't shake the feeling that he might come back. That any second now, Ivan's car would pull up, and he'd drag her away again into that suffocating darkness.
Her negative thoughts pushed her to run even faster towards the guardhouse. Anxiously, she spun around, her eyes searching frantically for any traces of him, but the car was gone.
He had disappeared, vanishing into the night like a phantom, almost as if he had never been there to begin with. Only the memories of everything that had happened since this morning were left in Hannah's mind.
"Señorita! Are you alright? What happened?!" one of the guards exclaimed, rushing to her side with wide, concerned eyes, while the other guard immediately dialed the mansion's telephone to let them know that Hannah had come home.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Kriiingg~ Kriiingg~ Krii—
The old-fashioned landline rang sharply, the loud sound of its ringing slicing through the calm of the night.
Arthur, the Salvador family's long-serving and ever-dignified butler who has been waiting for news about Hannah for hours now, picked up the phone on the second ring with familiarity.
"Good evening. Arthur speaking. How may I assist you?" he said, his voice smooth and composed, as always, not letting out a hint of his worry. Years of service had taught him how to remain calm even in the face of chaos.
"Butler! It's the eldest miss—she's back!" the guard announced, breathless and urgent. Hearing the tone of his voice, Arthur's already worried heart became even heavier as numerous horrendous thoughts of what might have happened came to his mind.
His eyes widened, and though his expression remained composed, a wave of emotion surged through him—relief, disbelief, gratitude. The eldest lady of the Salvador family had returned.
"Understood," he said firmly, forcing his voice to remain even. "I'll send Benjamin immediately to escort her from the guardhouse. Keep her warm and safe until then," he added.
As the line disconnected, Arthur didn't hesitate. He turned on his heel and, breaking the usual silence of the hall, shouted a command with a force few had ever heard from him.
"Benjamin! Fetch the eldest lady at once."
There was no need for him to give Benjamin any orders, because the instant Benjamin heard that Hannah had returned and was staying in the guardhouse, he sprang into action.
He had been waiting nervously on standby for hours, his anxiety growing with each passing minute. The moment he heard the news, he didn't hesitate. Driven by a mix of urgency and concern, he rushed out with barely a thought, determined to reach Hannah as quickly as possible.
And with that, the mansion stirred to life despite how late at night it was, the wheels already rushing to welcome home the missing daughter of the Salvadors. Though shaken, but safe at last.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
While one guard stayed behind to see if there was somebody near the area who might have dropped off the young lady, the other gently guided Hannah toward the guardhouse—a small, dimly lit structure near the edge of the estate, cold and quiet in the early evening air.
They walked in silence, the heaviness of the moment weighing down each step. Once inside, the guard gestured to a brown chair by the wall.
"Please sit here for a moment, señorita," he said softly, his voice kind but uncertain, unsure of how to handle someone so clearly shaken.
Hannah, on the other hand, was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she did not notice how awkward the guard was as she sat on the chair without a word, her movements stiff and mechanical.
She sank into the seat and pulled the clean jacket the guards had lent her tighter around her shoulders, as though its warmth might shield her from the cold storm still raging inside her. Her hands wouldn't stop trembling. No matter how hard she clenched them, the chill of fear clung to her skin like ice.
Upon seeing her state, the guards exchanged glances with each other but said nothing, their silence awkward and filled with helplessness. They weren't trained for this.
Comforting someone so visibly shaken wasn't in their protocol. But just as the silence was beginning to stretch too long, the distant roar of a car engine cut through the air.
Moments later, the sleek black car sent by the butler pulled up outside, and Benjamin—Hannah's ever-loyal driver—burst from the vehicle as soon as it came to a complete stop.
"Señorita!" he cried out, panic lacing his voice as he sprinted toward the guardhouse.
He crossed the room in a matter of seconds, his footsteps pounding like thunder against the tile floor as he marched with his long legs. However, the sight that greeted him inside made his heart drop, and almost instantly, he stood frozen on his spot.
There was Hannah, sitting so small and fragile, her shoulders hunched, her eyes vacant, her body trembling. She looked nothing like the confident young woman he was so used to seeing.
Benjamin's chest tightened painfully, and his eyes stung with the threat of tears from the guilt of letting her ride a taxi alone. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice from cracking as he spoke.
"Señorita," he called out again, gently kneeling in front of her so she wouldn't have to move. His voice was soft, reverent, almost pleading. "Are you alright? What happened?" he asked, almost like he's going to cry anytime soon.
But Hannah didn't answer. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came. She seemed lost in a haze, her mind still trapped in whatever terror had gripped her before his arrival.
Benjamin hesitated, then slowly reached out, brushing his fingers lightly against her hands, hoping the gesture would anchor her, give her something real to hold onto.
"Señorita," he repeated, softer this time, his eyes never leaving hers.
At last, her gaze shifted. She looked at him. And though her eyes found his, they were still clouded, haunted by fear, and rimmed with unshed tears. She sucked in a shaky breath, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Benjamin…" she began, and even that one word trembled with the weight of everything she couldn't say.
She clutched the jacket even tighter, her hands white-knuckled with the effort to hold herself together.
"I… I want to go home," she whispered, her voice cracking on the final word.
Benjamin's heart broke a little at the sound. The mask of strength she always wore had shattered completely now, revealing the raw vulnerability beneath.
Without saying another word, he stood and gently offered her his hand. "Then let's get you home, señorita," he said, his voice steady now, because she needed someone who wouldn't waver.
And at that moment, Benjamin made a silent vow. Whatever had hurt her, whatever had terrified her like this, he would make sure it never touched her again.
Benjamin had no idea that the person who had frightened Hannah so deeply was someone far beyond his reach. This wasn't just an ordinary threat—it was someone powerful, someone who pulled strings behind the scenes and made even the strongest people in the city follow his orders.
A man whose influence ran so deep that facing him would be like standing against the city itself. And Benjamin, despite all his good intentions, wasn't ready for a fight like that.