Chapter 9: The Shift
Elsie’s POV
The aftermath of Stone’s inspection left the suite completely changed. The small luxuries were gone. Jeremy took the silver laptop away without a word, and Collin gathered the books from the floor, leaving my ruined bedroom completely bare. Only the expensive camera remained, sitting like a heavy black stone on the dresser—a cruel joke I still refused to touch.
But worst of all was the silence. The brothers no longer spoke to me, nor did they tease me. They guarded the suite like stone statues, their faces dark and hardened by their grandfather's threats.
I sat on the floor, my back pressed against the side of the mattress, my fingers working furiously in the dark.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
The adrenaline from almost getting caught had given me a danger
