Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
In the dining room, a light breakfast had been prepared—fresh fruit, toast, and a smoothie alongside my fertility pills. I took a sip, the cool, sweet taste calmed my frayed nerves. I ate in silence, the occasional murmurs of conversation from the staff drifting in and out of earshot. I didn’t have class at the Chapel today and there was no service. With Alexander gone, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
The idea of wandering aimlessly around the estate was always appealing, but I knew there was a more pressing issue that needed to be addressed. So, after finishing my breakfast, I headed to the library. I had been talking myself up to this for days, changing my mind when it came down to actually following through. I needed to know though, even if it meant spiraling further into the twisted reality that I was now a part of.
As I stepped into the large room, the familiar aesthetic greeted me—a sanctuary of dark wooden bookshelves towering over richly upholstered chairs, and the grand fireplace casting a soft glow in the corner. The faint crackle of the fire was a comforting sound, but it couldn’t dispel the heaviness lingering in the air. On the side table sat the photo of Clarice and Melanie—beautiful, perfect, like everything on this Isle was supposed to be.
Their beauty was a lie, a delicate veneer masking the dark truths that festered beneath the surface. They had once occupied a place in Alexander’s life, but now, this was all that was left of them. He’d ordered Ambrose to burn the boxes, claiming he wanted no other women in our home unless they were there to serve me. He truly had only kept them for my curiosity’s sake, his twisted way of letting me in.
Their ghosts couldn’t even haunt these halls. He’d never allowed them into the estate beyond those photographs.
It was unsettling, giving me an eerie feeling. Unlike them, I wasn’t going to be another ghost banned from this estate. I had to be more than that. I made my way deeper into the library, passing rows of dark wooden shelves that seemed to stretch on endlessly, each one filled with volumes on history, theology, and the faith that governed this Isle. My fingers trailed over the spines of the books as I searched for any titles that might hold the answers I sought.
Bloodlines.
Lineage.
History of the Alistairs.
There had to be something like that on these shelves. Was it not the kind of book kept in a home library?
I didn’t give up, still searching. The conversation I had with Alexander the night he bent me over his altar had all but confirmed it—that I wasn’t just here by chance, that my bloodline was tied to this place and tied to him.
The reality of it weighed heavier on my mind the longer I tried to cling to denial. It was one thing to be trapped here and assimilate into a life I didn’t choose. But to know that this place may have been home all along, that whatever it was that made the Isle seem sentient ran through my veins too? That made everything complicated.
After what felt like hours of fruitless searching, I finally stumbled upon a large tome with a shiny gold title: Isle Lineages: A History of Families and Power. My heart skipped a beat. This could be it. I carefully pulled the heavy book from the shelf and carried it over to one of the plush armchairs by the fireplace.
The moment I sat down, I flipped open the book, scanning through names and dates, trying to make sense of the genealogies laid out before me.
Alistair.
Graves.
Asmo.
Delacroix.
Erebus.
I paused, my eyes narrowing as I traced the line connecting the Erebus family. A chill ran down my spine. Erebus. That name—it was familiar. Too fucking familiar. It clicked. The Erebus men owned the resort where I worked before all this. The same resort where Anya used to gush about the beautiful, mysterious men who seemed untouchable as if they belonged to another world.
My stomach churned and I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening with the realization. They weren’t just wealthy men running a business.
They were part of the same twisted web in which I was now entangled. Now I knew why they’d hosted that damn trade show. As I stared at the names, a new kind of fear began to creep in, tightening its grip around my chest. How deep did this rabbit hole go?
How many pieces had been moved and carefully manipulated, to keep me exactly where he wanted me? The thought sent a shiver down my spine, and I couldn't shake the feeling that my entire life had been orchestrated, each step leading me closer to where I was then.
I vividly recalled the day Anya, and I first got the job at the resort. We’d been looking for something better, something that paid more and didn’t involve greasy diner uniforms or handling raw chicken. Then, out of nowhere, the offer came. Shana approached us at a coffee shop, offering positions at the exclusive Erebus resort with the excuse two girls had just quit.