Silken Chains

Chapter Sixteen: No Escape

Chapter Sixteen: No Escape

Alex’s footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor, a frantic rhythm in contrast to the calm silence that filled the mansion. His heart pounded in his chest as he ran, the cold air biting at his skin, making his breaths come out in ragged gasps. He didn’t dare look back at first—he couldn’t. But something pulled him to glance over his shoulder, a primal urge that he couldn’t resist.

There he was.

Viktor.

Taking slow, deliberate steps, his pace unhurried but full of purpose. His tall figure seemed to fill the entire hallway, his black suit casting long shadows against the walls. Though Alex was running as fast as his legs could carry him, Viktor was walking, his steps calm but heavy. And yet, somehow, Viktor was gaining on him.

Panic gripped Alex’s chest tighter, making it hard to breathe. He turned his head forward again, pushing himself harder, his legs burning with the effort. The dim lighting of the mansion blurred in his vision, every corner looking the same—endless, suffocating. He wasn’t even sure where he was going anymore.

But he knew one thing: he had to get away.

Another glance back—Viktor was closer now. Alex’s heart nearly stopped. His foot caught on the edge of a carpet that he hadn’t seen in his panic. His body pitched forward, and before he knew it, he was tumbling to the ground. The hard floor slammed against him, and a sharp pain shot through his ankle as it twisted awkwardly beneath him.

He cried out, his voice trembling with both pain and fear. "No... no..."

Viktor’s calm footsteps continued, drawing nearer. The soft, steady sound of them felt like a countdown, each step sending a spike of terror through Alex’s veins.

I have to get up. I have to run.

Alex scrambled to push himself off the floor, his hands slipping as he tried to regain his balance. But the pain in his ankle flared again, forcing him to collapse back down. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and tears stung his eyes.

He glanced up—Viktor was only a few paces away now.

No, no, no…

He heard the smooth, unhurried voice before he saw him. "Oh dear," Viktor said, his tone calm and almost... pampering. "Didn’t I tell you to be careful?"

Alex’s blood ran cold. Viktor’s voice was soft, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary—as if Alex hadn’t just seen something horrible, something unforgivable.

"You’ve gone and injured yourself," Viktor continued, his footsteps stopping just in front of Alex’s trembling form. The calmness in his voice was so out of place that it sent a fresh wave of fear through Alex.

Alex’s hands scrambled against the floor as he crawled backward, his movements frantic. He could feel the wall coming closer behind him, his back pressed against it a second later. There was no escape. No door, no window, no way out.

Viktor crouched down, his dark eyes locking onto Alex’s, full of something unreadable, something dark.

Alex’s breath hitched. His body trembled, his mind screaming for him to move, to do something. But he was trapped. His ankle throbbed, and the cold reality of his situation sank in.

"I can't escape," Alex whispered to himself, his voice barely audible as darkness began to cloud his vision.

His body sagged, and before he knew it, everything went black.

He fainted.

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The story is kinda cracked, but nothing is perfect, right?