It was raining terribly outside like someone is mourning for his loved ones death.
The knock came at noon barely audible over the constant raining voice but sharp enough to alert him.
Thomas paused mid-sip of coffee, eyes flicking toward the door. Alina, seated at the dining table with her hands folded too neatly in her lap, felt her pulse spike. No one ever came to the house anymore. Thomas had made sure of that.
"I'll get it," he said pleasantly.
Alina stood. "I can—"
Thomas's hand landed on her shoulder. It wasn't rough, but it was final. "Sit."
Through the narrow gap of the door, a man's voice floated in. Calm. Curious.
"Daniel Cross. Independent reporter. I'm doing a piece on the Birch Lane disappearances."
Alina's breath caught.
Thomas opened the door wider, smile ready-made. "Disappearances? I'm afraid you have the wrong house."
Daniel's eyes slid past Thomas, scanning the dim hallway, the drawn curtains. He smiled too—but his didn't reach his eyes. "Funny. This house comes up a lot when people talk."
Thomas chuckled. "People talk."
"May I come in?"
The silence stretched. Alina's nails dug into her palms.
Finally, Thomas stepped aside. "Of course."
Daniel noticed everything. The locks. The way Thomas positioned himself between Daniel and the rest of the house. The way Alina didn't move.
"You must be Alina," Daniel said gently. "I tried contacting you at work."
Her mouth opened.
Thomas answered for her. "My wife's been unwell."
Daniel nodded, pretending to accept that. "Mind if I ask a few questions?"
They sat in the living room. Thomas across from Daniel. Alina on the edge of the couch, trapped between them. Daniel asked about schedules, routines, whether they'd noticed anything strange.
Thomas answered smoothly.
Too smoothly.
Daniel's gaze kept drifting—to a faint stain on the carpet. To a door at the end of the hall with a new lock. To Alina's bruised wrist, half-hidden by her sleeve.
"You look scared," he said suddenly, looking straight at her.
Thomas laughed. "She's anxious around strangers."
Daniel leaned forward. "Alina, are you safe here?"
For half a second, the world held its breath.
Then Thomas stood.
The movement was fast. Controlled. His hand clamped over Daniel's mouth while the other drove something hard and heavy into his temple. Daniel collapsed, knocking over the chair. The sound was dull, final.
Alina screamed.
Thomas turned to her, eyes alight. "I told you," he said softly. "No interruptions."
He dragged Daniel down the hall, the reporter's shoes leaving faint marks on the floor. Alina followed despite herself, horror rooting her to every step.
The basement swallowed them.
Daniel came to tied to a chair, wrists bound so tightly his hands had turned purple. His mouth was gagged. His eyes met Alina's—wide, pleading, apologetic.
Thomas circled him like a craftsman inspecting work.
"You noticed too much," Thomas said. "That's always the mistake."
He removed the gag.
Daniel gasped. "W-what the hell? A-alina?." Before he can say more thomas struck him again. Not wildly. Precisely. Each blow measured. He wasn't angry. He was focused.
Pain was not an accident here—it was a method.
Thomas asked questions while Daniel cried out. Who sent you? Who else knows? Each wrong answer earned silence followed by something worse. Time stretched, elastic and unbearable. Thomas used fear like a tool, letting it build, then breaking it down again.
Alina turned away when she couldn't watch anymore. But she couldn't escape the sounds—the muffled sobs, the choking breaths, the way Thomas spoke kindly while doing unspeakable things.
At last, Daniel's voice faded into whimpers.
Thomas leaned close and whispered something only Daniel could hear.
Then it ended.
Thomas cleaned up carefully. Always carefully.
When he finally came upstairs, his shirt spotless, his hands warm, Alina was still frozen where he'd left her.
"You see?" he said gently. "People like him ruin lives."
He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. "I did this to protect us."
Alina's eyes were swollen,red from crying.
She tried to speak,to check if she has voice left
T-tho..
He smiled keeping his finger on her lips silencing her
Calm down! No need to speak , you love me that's what you want to say right?