Chapter 7 : should I tell him truth
"Realiana, I'm talking to you," Leo's sharp voice broke through the silence.
"Huh?" I blinked at him, startled.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked
"Boss, be polite," Joshan muttered under his breath.
The room fell quiet. Every eye was on me.
"Realiana?" Leo repeated, his tone softer now.
Should I tell him the truth… or not?
Reali-
"I was in the library," I said finally. "I was looking for books when I saw some stairs. I went to check where they led, and then… I found this. What is this, Mr. Leo?"
"Stairs? Library?" Leo frowned in confusion and asked smith "Do we even have hidden stairs in the library?"
Smith turned to him, irritation flickering in his eyes. "Don't you remember? You were the one who suggested we build secret pathways between the library and the garden. wasn't it?"
"Oh, right," Leo said, chuckling. "That was my idea."
I stared at them in disbelief. They were talking so casually, as if this was normal.
What were they even hiding?
"Why would you want secret ways in the first place?" I demanded.
Leo met my gaze without hesitation. "Because if we ever need to… move someone quietly, it's easier that way. Through the garden or the library."
"Move someone?" My voice rose. "You mean kidnap someone? Then why stop at two secret ways? You might as well make tunnels from the living room, the gym, and the kitchen too!"
Leo sighed. "I told my contractor the same thing. But he wanted too much money. So I only built two."
I took a step forward, anger rising. "And what's that?" I shouted, pointing toward the body lying motionless on the floor. "You're building secret ways to move killing alive people now? What's going on here? Why am I even here?"
The words had barely left my mouth when the "dead" man's eyes flicked open.
He turned his head slowly—toward me.
I screamed and jumped straight into Leo's arms.
He caught me, his arms firm around my waist. For a heartbeat, our eyes met—his dark, steady, mine wide with fear.
"Ohhh, someone's lucky today," dead body teased.
Laughter echoed around the room.
"It's just a shoot, Realiana," Leo said calmly.
"What?" I gasped. "A shoot? You mean… all this was acting?"
He nodded, suppressing a smirk. "We were filming a scene. That man's one of our stunt actors. We were trying to make it look real—to scare our enemies."
I groaned. "You made me a scaredy-cat instead!" I cried, pouting as the others laughed again.
"You idiot!" I said, glaring at at that man (dead body). "Why didn't you move earlier?"
"Ma'am, we were filming. I didn't want to redo another take—we've already done too many because of this fool," he said, pointing at johsan.
Leo chuckled. "Realiana, could you please get down? My arms are getting sore."
Realizing I was still in his arms, I quickly stood, my cheeks burning red. "Forget it, I'm leaving," I muttered, heading for the nearest door.
"That's the garden exit," Jack called out.
I spun and ran to another door.
"That's the library entrance," Smith added.
I huffed and darted to a third.
"That one's just decoration, dear," said an older man with a grin. "No way out there."
The room erupted in laughter again.
"I'll kill you all, you jerks!" I shouted, running out through the library door, my face hot with embarassment.
I was halfway to my room when Natasha came running after me, panting.
"Ma'am! Realiana!" she gasped. "Where were you? I was so worried!"
"I wasn't jogging, if that's what you think," I said dryly.
She glared at me, still catching her breath. "You scared me! Why didn't you tell me where you were going?"
"Calm down, Natasha. Breathe. In… and out," I said softly, handing her a glass of water.
Should I tell her the truth? No. If she didn't see it, she didn't need to know.
"I just went for a walk," I lied.
She sighed. "I looked everywhere for you. Anyway, I'll call you when dinner's ready."
"Alright."
Later, I ate dinner alone. The house was quiet—too quiet.
As I got into bed, I whispered, "Good night, Natasha."
"Good night, ma'am," came her gentle reply from the hallway.
And then, silence.