Page 14 of Castle

It was an origami rabbit.

And there was a note on the backside again. Someone wrote the message in the same cursive handwriting as the note I received earlier.

It read:

It was Dayana.

FIVE

I didsome research on the Montgomery family and was honestly surprised how little information the family had online. It’s like someone had done a good job of keeping their family history wiped from the databases.

I found a family picture with the parents that had supposedly died in the boating accident. It was taken when the kids were still very young. I could spot Castle easily in the picture. The sable hair and the golden-brown eyes were unmistakably alluring. He stood behind his parents, who sat on a couch with Devin and Dayana on either side of them. He looked no older than seventeen. Theodore was in his mother’s lap, while Chandler wasn’t even born.

To an onlooker, they seemed like a happy family that had everything that anyone would ever want: wealth, power, status, a lovely wife and four beautiful children, and yet, things had gone so horribly wrong in the end. It just made me sad looking at the picture, and realizing that nothing lasted for a long time.

You could lose good things in life in an instant.

“Miss. Millie, it’s time for Castle to go outside in the garden for a walk.” The voice made me jump.

I quickly shut the laptop and turned to look at the petite figure standing by the door.

It was Sally, the quiet maid who liked to keep to herself. She’d rather sweep the non-existent dust off the floor for hours than engage in the maid’s gossip. With so many staff spread throughout the mansion, I was sure I hadn't even met some of them.

“I’ll be right there,” I said, climbing to my feet and walking out of the door.

Castle was already waiting for me in the sitting area, wearing a maroon t-shirt over denim. His usually neatly combed hair was unruly, and for a moment, his gaze briefly met mine before he looked away. He kept his eyes downcast and kept clenching something in his hand.

“Good Evening, Castle. Do you want to go outside?”

When he didn’t respond, I took that as a yes and started walking ahead of him. I knew he was following me. I wore a long-sleeved summer dress and had tied my hair up in a long ponytail. According to the rule book, it mentioned that I was supposed to dress appropriately at all times. They had a few caretakers that tried to entice Devin in exchange for a few favors, but Devin had made it pretty clear that he didn’t need such people in his house and, more importantly, under his employment.

We walked through the mansion gardens; the way paved ahead was surrounded by well-manicured lush green shrubs. Castle trudged behind me slowly, kicking pebbles, and suddenly he raced ahead and blocked my way.

I stopped short and kept my distance from him. At five-seven, I was taller than most women, but he was still huge and stood close to me, so close that I could smell the faint scent of soap and something like a hint of wood spice.

Stop thinking about his scent! He’s not even capable of reciprocating any type of those feelings. And shouldn’t I be feeling guilty to have my heart racing for someone like Castle?

“What is it?” I asked, feeling more nervous now than ever.

What if he hurt all those caregivers before me and forced them to flee?

There was no one close here to witness if anything wrong were to happen to me. Castle could wring my neck for “fun” and hang me to dry outside the mansion without breaking a sweat, and his family would probably be like ‘here we go again, well, let’s just post another ad for an unsuspecting lady.’

Who am I kidding? The family had tons of money, and good political connections as well. Hiding a murder wouldn’t be that difficult.

Castle watched me intently. His brown eyes looked light golden in the sunset. I looked down at what he was holding out in his palm for me.

“It’s for you.” He whispered.

It was an origami flower.

“For me?” I asked stupidly, even though I knew it was. “That’s really sweet of you, thank you.”

“Beautiful.” He whispered, not taking his eyes off me.

It shocked me to hear the words coming from him. “You think I’m beautiful?”

He gave me a nod.

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