Chapter 2 - The Sound of the Serpent
"Get them out," the guard finally blurted, shaking off the paralysis.
"No," Damian snarled, his voice suddenly thick with a dangerous, terrifying power. "If she leaves, you die. If anyone else touches this door, you die. Stay."
The guards hesitated, then retreated, closing the massive oak doors behind them. I was trapped in the room with the most dangerous man in Baltimore and my four-year-old daughter.
"Why?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Damian turned his head, staring at the ceiling. "Because your daughter is the first person in forty years who hasn't tried to kill me, steal from me, or pray for my soul. She just... felt the noise."
He looked back at Lila. She pulled her hand away, looking confused. She signed to me, her small hands moving with grace: The man is full of bees.
I frowned, translating. "She says... she says you're full of bees."
Damian stared, then a ghost of a smile flickered on his face. "The venom. It’s like a hive in my blood. A thousand stingers at once."
He looked at me, his gaze intense. "Who poisoned me, Sarah? The staff thinks it was an accident. The board thinks it was a heart attack. You’re a maid. You hear things. Who did it?"
I swallowed hard. I had heard the whispers in the kitchen—the hushed conversations between his nephew, Julian, and the lead doctor. "Julian," I whispered. "He talks to the doctor about the 'inheritance timeline.' Every morning at six."
Damian didn't scream. He didn't throw anything. He went deathly still. The silence in the room was absolute, save for the hum of Lila’s hearing aid, which gave off a soft, high-pitched feedback loop.
Damian’s eyes widened. He looked at the device on Lila’s ear, then at me. "The frequency. It changes when she's stressed."
He looked at Lila. "Can you... can you feel the bees when they move?"
Lila nodded. She leaned down and placed her ear against his chest, right over his heart. She closed her eyes. She remained there for a long time, her small brow furrowed in concentration.
When she sat up, she signed to me: The bees are awake. They are waiting for the man with the silver ring to feed them more.
"Julian wears a silver ring," I whispered, my blood turning to ice. "The doctor... he’s the one who brings the medicine."
Damian Volkov closed his eyes, his breathing slowing. "Sarah, listen to me. Under the floorboard near the fireplace, there is a ledger. If I die today, Julian takes everything. If that ledger is found, he burns."
May you like
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," Damian wheezed, his hand reaching out to touch Lila’s yellow boot, "I am the serpent, Sarah. But I have spent a lifetime ensuring that only one person could ever truly hurt me. I was wrong. I was only ever vulnerable to the sound of a heart I couldn't control."
