The door slams shut.
Caleb flinches as the echo bounces off the walls of the room. His father's voice follows like a storm—loud, ruthless, and scathing.
"Useless!" the chairman barks, his expensive shoes thudding against the floor with every step. "First your damn accident, now this? You were right there when it happened! At the exact spot! What the hell do you expect people to think?!"
Caleb stays silent, eyes lowered.
His father keeps pacing, his phone still clutched in one hand. "Now I have to waste money—again—on borrowing a lawyer just to make sure you don't become the prime suspect in a freaking murder case!"
His voice cracks with fury. "Do you ever think, Caleb? Or do you just roll around waiting to be everyone's problem?"
Still, Caleb doesn't speak. His jaw tightens.
The chairman glares at him for a long second, scoffs, and heads toward the door.
"You're nothing but a burden," he spits. "Always have been."
The door clicks as it closes behind him.
Silence returns, thick and suffocating.
Caleb stares at the floor, motionless.
His bodyguard steps forward quietly from the side of the room, eyes full of concern. "Caleb…"
"I want to sleep," Caleb mutters, his voice low and flat.
The bodyguard nods without question. He gently lifts Caleb from the chair and carries him to the bed. The sheets are thin but clean. He tucks him in carefully, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders like muscle memory. Then, with a light touch to Caleb's hair, he leaves and shuts the door softly behind him.
Now, it's just Caleb and the dark.
Outside, the wind whispers through the trees. Inside, the shadows stretch along the wooden walls, flickering under the dull ceiling light.
Caleb's eyes are closed—but his mind is wide awake.
He feels it almost instantly.
That presence.
A cold sensation prickles against his neck, sliding down his spine. His chest grows heavy, breath shallow. Something isn't right.
His limbs won't move.
Sleep paralysis? he thinks in panic. No, no—
He tries again, struggling to twitch a finger, move his lips, anything. But his body stays frozen.
Then, something brushes his inner thigh.
Soft.
Cold.
Almost… reverent.
Panic explodes inside him. His heart thunders in his ears. But he can't move. He can't scream.
No. No no no—
And then—
A voice.
Right beside his ear.
Whispering like a lover. Sweet. Chilling.
"I've got the perfect legs for you… brother."