𝐄𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬: 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞|𝟏𝟖+

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭#𝟑

"God save me."

As she lay in bed, the absence of any sound around her became increasingly evident. The stillness was so thick that it almost seemed to have a physical weight. In an attempt to break the eerie silence, she quickly reached out for her phone which was resting on the nightstand next to her bed.

"2:35 am" her phone showed, she thought of contacting her sister at first but remembered the time. Vera didn't want her parents to worry at this time so instead of calling anyone, the bed creaked as she stood up and approached her bedroom door.

As she opened it, she saw all the hallway lights turned on. All of a sudden a maid came running towards her making her flinch, confused.

"Ma'am, there has been havoc in the mansion. The boss ordered us to take you to the emergency bunkers," She informed Vera who nodded immediately while the young woman stood outside her door.

She followed the maid outside after wearing her coat and shoes. By the girl's accent, she didn't seem Russian to Vera.

"Do you know what exactly happened?" She questioned the girl as they both were hurrying towards the elevator.

"Not sure ma'am but till now there's a possibility that someone might have trespassed into the mansion and they could be the boss's enemy," The girl answered quite frightfully as Vera's eyes widened in dread. Entering the elevator, she pressed the number which indicated "basement."

Just as the doors splayed open, the girl grabbed Vera's hand, leading her down to a narrow path which then unraveled some stairs but she stopped.

"I'm not allowed down there so you should go ahead," she announced while Vera glanced down the dimly lit stairs.

Vera knew it wasn't the time to ask any questions so she nodded. "Thank you," But as she was about to leave, she paused. "What's your name?"

The girl, surprised, didn't say anything for a second as it was rare for anyone to talk to her. "Oh, it's Penelope."

"Good to meet you, Penelope."

Vera descended the stairs after replying to her and reached a small hall leading into a room. Suddenly the room opened and a brown-haired woman, in her forties, looked at her in shock.

"Oh, come inside. Hurry," She whispered toward Vera who quickly went inside the room which was then heavily locked shut.

She eventually became aware of her surroundings. The dimly lit room had a few comfortable sofa chairs placed in the corners, while a small kitchen and fridge could be seen just around the corner.

"You must be Vera Borisova. I'm Yustina, Rurik's sister," she introduced herself to a timid-looking Vera who shook her hand in shyness.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she retorted as Yustina smiled and pinched her cheeks.

"You're very cute and beautiful." Her response made her blush in sweetness. "Oh, let me introduce you to these three."

Vera finally noticed 2 young women sitting on the sofas while a boy in his teens was busy playing games on his phone.

"This is my daughter, Raisa." Raisa, a girl who looked to be around in her early twenties, then waved toward her with a smile as she smiled back. "He is Anton, my youngest." Anton also just waved at her without paying any attention to them. "And lastly, this is my husbands sister, Yulia."

Yulia glanced up from her phone and genuinely passed a smile but Vera couldn't help but notice how she had moved her eyes all across her figure in disgust but she could be wrong. What can you say about a person when you've just met them?