The words hung heavy in the room.
Evelyn lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly. She didn’t have to be told what would happen if she failed. She had lived enough nightmares to recognize the warning without it being spoken aloud.
Nora leaned back again, her voice taking on a deceptively casual tone.
"For now, eat. Wash up properly and rest. Tonight, you’ll et your family. I must remind you that You must behave. Especially in front of Eva. this could be your last chance."
Evelyn dared a glance up at her. "Eva Spencer?" she echoed, her voice full of barely-suppressed dread.
Nora’s smile returned soft and dangerous.
"So you do know here? And here I thought that you are all ignorant!" she said simply. "Yes, she is the only one worth eting in that family. Or do you want to et your father?"
Evelyn paled, her knees almost buckling, but she caught herself at the last second.
Nora stood, the chair scraping softly against the floor as she pushed it back.
"You may be nothing to them yet," Nora said, her voice dropping to sothing forbidden, whispering "I will guard you as long as you listen to so do not worry too much."
She walked to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob.
Just as Nora’s hand gripped the door, Evelyn’s voice, small and broken, stopped her.
"I thought..." Evelyn faltered, her fingers twisting the hem of the borrowed dress. "I thought they didn’t need . I am not her daughter after all. And they told that my father.."
Her throat worked painfully as she tried to force the next words out. A wave of sha and bitterness twisted her face.
Nora’s back stiffened slightly, but she did not turn around. For a long mont, silence stretched thin across the room.
Then, Nora let out a slow, weary sigh.
She turned back to face Evelyn, her expression unreadable, cold and resigned as if she had seen this ugly reality too many tis before to even flinch now.
"You are right," Nora said simply. Her voice was without comfort or apology, only a grim acceptance. "If left alone, that man would have used you however he pleased."
Evelyn flinched, her fingernails digging into her palms.
"And no one would have stopped him," Nora added rcilessly. "No one important enough to make a difference."
Tears welled in Evelyn’s eyes, but she blinked them back furiously. Crying never helped. It only made her feel smaller.
Nora’s expression softened very slightly enough to hint at sothing almost like pity, but harder, harsher, born of understanding rather than kindness.
"That is why," Nora continued quietly, "I want you to learn. To be more than a fragile body they can discard or use when convenient."
She walked forward, slow and deliberate, until she stood right in front of Evelyn. She bent down a little, making sure the girl looked her in the eyes.
"You will learn how to stand," Nora said, her voice low and fierce. "How to fight back, not with fists, but with mind, with presence. You will make them see you not as sothing to be broken, but as soone to be feared."
Evelyn’s lower lip trembled. She wanted to believe those words, desperately. But right now, they sounded so far away, like a dream she wasn’t allowed to have.
Nora straightened up again, her gaze cool once more.
"But for that, you need strength. And you cannot fight if you are starving." She gestured again at the untouched tray. "Eat. Then we will begin."
Evelyn stood there a mont longer, feeling like an animal trapped in a cage not beaten, not yet tad, but with no clear path to escape either.
What choice did she have?
She moved stiffly to the table and sat down, picking up the spoon with trembling fingers. She dipped it into the soup and brought it to her mouth.
It tasted like nothing.
Each swallow sat heavy in her stomach, like eating lumps of lead, but she forced herself to continue. Bite after bite, spoonful after spoonful, because deep down, so stubborn part of her refused to die quietly.
Across the room, Nora watched her silently, arms crossed.
Good. She was swallowing it down. Choking on it maybe, but not giving up.
Nora’s eyes glinted with a touch of grim approval.
"Finish it," she said. "Afterward, you’ll change again. Sothing more formal. We have a long night ahead of us."
Evelyn nodded faintly, the spoon still trembling in her hand. Nora left her alone then. She went to attend etings and discuss the project. Evelyn looked around confused. She could see all kinds of files. They seem important but she knew Nora did trust her. Why was she left here then?
She wanted to keep waiting. But the exhaustion was already taking over. Her eyes slowly gave up and she drifted to sleep. She did not notice that a cleaner ca to check on the room where she had taken bath.
She cleaned the bathroom and then took out a small packet. She collected the hair left in the comb with gloved hands and put them in the pocket. She returned silently after that.
When Evelyn opened her eyes again, Nora was standing in front of her and watching her intently. She gasped with a start and then felt embarrassed.
"I did not an to scream." she spoke in a low voice.
"We are late, we need to leave." Evelyn nodded and then they took the car. Nora told her about Eva and Alex. She told her about Alric too. Evelyn noticed how the cold woman;s voice softened at the ntion of Alric.
"You are going to live with for the ti being. Co out." The car stopped and they stood in front of a small villa. Evelyn followed behind Noa only to hear a lot of voices. A woman was sitting on the sofa surrounded by young n. She looked shaken.
"How many tis would it happen!"
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