Page 3 of The Truth Between

I figured that out immediately. While I suspected that Soren was six-three or six-four, this man looked to be slightly shorter and had a thinner frame. When he stepped into the dim light in the room, I noticed that he was older, with hair that had gone mostly gray. He was wearing a dark suit that was tailored to fit him perfectly. Given how professional he looked, he stood out like a sore thumb in this room.

I did know I hadn’t seen him before. Did he work here? Where was here? I could only assume that Soren had hired him to be a butler of sorts because that was the only explanation I could think of for what was happening in front of me.

He came closer to me, his eyes focused on what he was carrying instead of on me. In his hands, he balanced a tray with a cloche and a glass of water on it. My first thought was that he must be bringing me food even though I couldn’t smell anything indicating that it was so. Maybe that was wishful thinking.

I watched as he put the tray down near me with more grace than one should have in this situation. An idea appeared in my head, and I couldn’t stop myself from seeing where it might lead. It almost felt foolish for me to say anything, but I needed to try because the worse he would say was no. “Help me, please.”

Any hope that might have sprouted quickly vanished in the silence that surrounded us. He didn’t respond. The man didn’t even bother to look at me; it was as if I wasn’t there. I did notice that he shifted slightly at my voice, so I suspected he did hear me. What he did instead was pull the cloche off the tray, and underneath it was a sandwich on a white plate and a bowl of fruit. The setup looked more pristine and fancier than I would expect a sandwich to appear on. While I’d been expecting food, the sandwich somehow surprised me. Even if my stomach hadn’t chosen that moment to growl, I still would have been tempted to grab the food before this man left the room.

I didn’t want to stare at him, but I found my eyes drifting back over to his form, watching his every move. His presence here with me, being my first interaction with someone else in who knew how long, should have been welcomed, but I felt nothing but frostiness between the two of us.

“Please,” I begged as I stared at him, hoping that maybe, deep down, my plea would resonate with him. However, it was pretty clear where his loyalty lay.

He again remained silent as if I hadn’t said a thing. It seemed to add to the feeling of suffocation I was having, or maybe it was just due to being locked in this room.

“I’ll do anything if you let me out of here right now.” For some reason, I couldn’t give up pleading. After searching and spending who knew how much time down here, I was desperate, and to be honest, I didn’t care.

While my thoughts seemed a little shaky, I knew I needed to play this carefully. Threatening and screaming at the top of my lungs at him wasn’t going to solve anything. I was already taking a risk by asking him to help as many times as I had, but I suspected that Soren, and by extension, this man in front of me, expected that I would do this.

My words seemed to get to him for only a millisecond because I saw a slight change in the stoic expression that he wore like a badge. However, it was gone in an instant. That change forced me to realize that I was alone. That feeling of isolation had returned, stronger than ever.

The man didn’t spare me a glance as he turned away, walking back up the stairs from where he came. When I heard the door click shut, I waited a beat until I was sure I was alone again.

I finally moved my attention away from the mysterious man and down to the sandwich that felt as if it was staring at me, daring me to eat it. I didn’t really want to eat the meal for fear that something might have been put into it to poison me. But if there wasn’t anything in it, it could provide the strength I needed to get the hell out of here. I was leaning toward it being fine because wouldn’t it be easier to just shoot me dead and dispose of my body if Soren’s plan had been to kill me?

Poisoning me would potentially take longer and be more torturous, and that son of a bitch would probably get off on me suffering for a long time. A tear fell from my eyes as I debated my decision. I was desperate and needed the nutrients, but the potential of being poisoned—

My thoughts were interrupted by the growling of my stomach. I needed to eat, and I didn’t have a choice on what I could eat at the moment, so this sandwich was it. I sniffed the food before pulling back the bread to see if I could tell if something had been done to tamper with it. Not that I could see much in this room anyway. When my stomach began to hurt from hunger pains, I brought the sandwich up to my lips and took a big bite.

The first chew was euphoric as the flavors took over my entire mouth. I had no idea how long it had been since I’d eaten because I’d lost all meaning of time. It could have been the lack of food, but I was willing to say that this was the best-tasting sandwich I’d ever had. When I didn’t feel any numbness or pain, nor did I drop dead immediately, I felt more comfortable with taking another bite.

That initial bite turned into an all-out feast. I was practically inhaling the sandwich by taking large bites and then washing it down with gulps of water. In addition to the sandwich, there was a side dish of freshly cut fruit that I ate as well. I wiped away some of the pineapple juice that dribbled down my chin and took a deep breath. It felt so good to be full again.

Once I was done, I put everything back on the tray and pushed it away. I assumed at some point, Soren’s butler would return to pick it up, and if I was awake, we would have a stare-down. I would ask him questions, and he would continue to ignore me.

But the time to think of that was later. I needed to focus on getting the hell out of here.

It was then that I remembered what I’d found just outside the bathroom door. In case there were cameras on me, I wanted to be as discreet as possible in order to not alert anyone about what I’d found. I might be taking precautions against being seen for absolutely no reason, but I didn’t want to chance it.

I once again moved the blanket so that it was spread out more, hopefully covering myself from what I was about to do. Once I’d accomplished that task, I sat up slightly and swept my hand underneath me, grasping the piece of paper in my hand before I settled back down. I waited a beat before I moved again, staying still to see if I could hear anything that would indicate that someone was coming. When I didn’t hear a sound for a few seconds, I felt comfortable enough to move on to the next step.

Underneath the blanket, I used my hands to unfold the note and let it sit on my lap for a moment, allowing myself to calm my racing heart before I attempted to read it. I hoped the light that was shining into the room was enough for me to study whatever was on the paper. When I was once again certain that I hadn’t alerted anyone of my actions, I slowly moved the blanket back, giving myself full access to the note on my lap.

The note only had five words on it in a beautiful script, weaving together almost whimsically. It didn’t take much for me to appreciate the penmanship, but what was on the note left me more than slightly puzzled.

The scales must be balanced.

The piece of paper itself looked somewhat weathered and worn, and I wondered exactly when the note was written. Who was this note intended for? What did it mean?

I ran a finger across the handwriting, slightly frustrated by my discovery. What I’d hoped would be an answer to many of the questions I’d had, and the biggest problem I’d hoped to solve did neither. In fact, it only forced more questions into my already turbulent mind.

I quickly folded the piece of paper back up and bent down to stick it under the mattress, not caring any longer if there were cameras on me. The note, as it stood now, was pointless for me anyway.

What I needed to focus on was what was going to come next for me because, at some point, I was going to see Soren again, and I needed to get out of here. And if meeting his butler was any indication, this was my battle to fight by myself. I would be the one to save myself from this nightmare because there was no prince to save me from all of this. And none of this would deter me from finding out the truth about Margaret Turner and her connection to the Chevaliers.

3

SOREN

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