They killed Sienna. They sexually harassed her and when she fought back, they killed her.

Kai Park can't stop crying. He's been crying so much, so hard, he can barely talk. He loved her. He sat there with Sienna Yun's lifeless body on his lap for hours before they snatched her away and dumped her into one of those large graves, where other bodies were already thrown in.

I wouldn't say Sienna was a sister, she wasn't as close to me as Kai is. But. . .there's this squeezing pain in my chest. I can't stop thinking of the times she used to braid my hair with care like how a mother would and those times she called me pretty, despite my face being a burnt mess and my limbs holding iron rod bruises. She didn't deserve to die. They did.

Something dark festers within me. I was always supposed to be the monster they created. But they never anticipated what would happen if I turned on them. I just know. . .one more misstep, and I'm going to unleash my demons, devouring everything in its wake. Even if it's myself.

~from the journal entries of Daisy

--------᪥-------

☘︎ Eᴠᴇ Kᴀᴠɪɴsᴋʏ ☘︎

There's a total of sixteen languages I've mastered speaking fluently, learning each of them for a variety of reasons.

Curse words in all of them slip through my vocabulary the instant I wake up, not very pleasantly. Because escaping slumber-land and appearing to the good old earth, happens by me falling off the bed with a loud thud. This is a common occurrence for a person who tosses and turns a lot in their sleep, such as yours truly here.

"Ugh!" I groan, the back of my head making impact with the hardwood flooring and elbows bumping the mahagony bedposts.

My vision spins, head pounding partially from hangover and partially from the fall. My brain tries hard to remember even a single detail after I drunk from the wine bottle I'd grabbed off the bar's counter, while the cops put me in handcuffs and dragged me to jail. I don't even get high on strong alcohol consumption, what in the chemical drug did they put in that wine?

As if embarrassing memories returning, of me acting like a drunken retard and clinging to Axel wasn't enough, a face looms in my blurry peripheral.

Light brown eyes stare down at me with suspicion, very near causing me a cardiac arrest. The girl accessing me is dressed in another one of those Celine hoodies, legs clad in jeans, feet in sneakers and a school bag hanging on her shoulder.

Victoria's curls frame her face, sunlight bathing her dark skin into an ethereal glossy shine, "Xel was right at breakfast, you really do fall a lot." The teenager's voice imitates her uncle's signature blank tone.

"For Newton's sake!" I shriek, sitting upright from my laying position on the floor. Only for my hip to bump the nightstand, shooting a sharp pain up my sides, "You scared me, Vicky!"

"Vicky?" She tests the nickname on her tongue with a tilt of her head, "That's a new variation to my name."

Rubbing the scorching ache on my waist, my other hand lifts in a wave, "A little help here, please? I'm old to get up on my own."

Victoria considers me with narrowed eyes, reluctantly holding out her hand. I take it, clasping her small, warm hand and rising on my feet like an old crone. She pulls her arm back instantly once I'm up.

"Thank y-"

"I believe this is yours." The teenager cuts me off, lifting the container that had been stranded on the floor.

I expect her to hand it over, but she stares intently at the label on the metal box, "Methyl Isocyanate." Her gaze lifts to me, suddenly too intimidating for a kid a decade younger than me, "You were Michael Voroski's fiancé. Were you part of his chemical projects too, legal or illegal?"

"Is this an investigation session?" I don't attempt to snatch my belonging from her, despite the urge to do so. Instead, I opt to fall back against the soft mattress of the bed in a dramatic display of laziness.

Staring up at the charcoal ceiling with the bronze embellishments, "I could ask you why you were out in the black market, trading information from the underground criminals in return of codes, but I choose not to. Didn't I?"

I slide my eyes to her, letting a slow smile tug on my lips, "You were there for intel on Michael Voroski. I must say, I'm equally curious why. Just as I'm curious what codes you were trading them, without having the knowledge that if something high-tech gets in those people's hands, it could go very wrong very soon."

I also want to peek a glance at what Intel is there in the file you stole yesterday. I, ofcourse, don't voice that last statement out.

Victoria considers me silently, observing and calculating her pros and cons. She's so much like her uncle, I'm surprised she isn't Axel's daughter to begin with. But then, he basically raised her, so it makes genetic sense.

Coming upon a decision to let the matter slide, Victoria sets the container on the bed, muttering quietly, "I owe you a favor."

"Ah, that you do." I hadn't anticipated her to bring the matter first.

"I would like to get done with it. I don't fancy keeping a favor." Victoria frowns at my shit-eating grin, waiting for me to name my price.

"Favors, actually. Plural." I hold up two fingers in the air, "One for keeping your secret of sneaking out to the black market. And the other for. . ." I sit up on the bed to pass her a coy shrug, "Saving you yesterday."

The frown between her brows deepens, "I did not ask you to save me."

"I still did though." I beam at her.

Victoria seems disturbed by my glee, "What will I have to do?"

"Okay so. . ." Getting serious, I note down my requests, "Firstly, I need you to show me a place in this house where no one lingers by, not even Axel. And secondly, tell me how you sneak out of the house, unnoticed by the cameras and the security at the gates."

Victoria goes utterly standstill, taking my words with a suspicion so great, "How can you tell I escape unnoticed?"

"Surely the hallelujah of guards at the gates would've known and informed your uncle of your absence at the house last night. Yet somehow you're not grounded, and are ready to leave for school without any extra security hovering around you right now. Which only means, no one knew you even left the premises."

I admit there's guilt ripping at me for tricking the teenager into this proposition. But I can't help it. A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do to acquire her goals. Fortunately for me, Victoria is mature enough to be cautious yet genius enough to provide me with aid, however displeased with it. I know she's doubtful of me but she's equally curious what I wish to do with these two accesses.

In her dictionary, I'm that exotic specimen one rarely finds, and she's careful yet intrigued enough to observe my actions, for her own reasons. That doesn't mean she's willing to tell me anything without considering how much to reveal.

Which is exactly why she states rather icily, "Fine. But I'll show you both of those after I return from school."

...

I look like a peacock fanning it's feather; clad in a black mini-dress, a beige fur coat draped over my shoulders. Stockings sheath the length of my legs, feet bound in pretty platform heels. A gigantic hat with a large bow shields my head from the blazing sun. What can I say? I was so bored waiting for Vicky, it ended in me dressing up over-the-top fancy and going Paris city exploring to pass time.

I lift a lacy glove covered hand to fix the sunglasses up the bridge of my nose, accessing myself in the Porche's tinted window. Snapping a picture, I send it to my mother from my burner phone.

Her reply is instant.

Maa : Beautiful child of mine, found any information?

Eve : Except for the fact that the entire French elite would be present at the party my supposed husband's grandfather would be throwing the day before the elections? And that the to-be president of France is a chief guest? Nothing else, Maa.

Maa : You hit a jackpot with that husband, shona. I looked up his photos, he's smokin' hot too.

Eve : The smooth entry into the party is lady luck finally visiting me, Maa. And stop stalking Axel, you creep. I'm telling dad.

Maa : Where do you think your Appa is right now?

She sends a selfie with Dad sitting next to her on the couch, rolling his eyes. Crow's claws mark the edges of his eyelids, imprinting his smooth korean skin. The thing about Dad is, he looks so young, you could mistaken him to be in his thirties instead of fifties. My mother matches the beauty quo right along with him.

Stuffing the phone back into my purse, I smile at my reflection on the tinted window like a maniac. Those two are a formidable pair, that I can guarantee on my soul.

My recently appointed security team of bodyguards awkwardly hover around me in a circle, one of them squinting his eyes at the cage clasped in his hands where a rat eats powdered croissants. Why a rat, you might ask. Well, the answer is simple; in order to perform an experiment, I need a lab rat.

Which was depressing because I had to venture over to Paris streets right after breakfast to buy myself a rat, along with doing my other chores. And surprise surprise, rats are expensive these days. Good thing I still have Axel's Black Amex he so nicely shoved into my mouth.

As if speak of the devil saying was spoken to taunt me, Axel's familiar Aston Martin DBS halts next to the Porche parked on the Hernandez estate grounds, the Porche in which I went shopping and was admiring myself on.

I watch with fascination as Axel gets out of the car, his focus attached to his phone. Sunlight casts beautiful shades over his tall stature, making his bronze skin gleam and his blonde-brown locks of hair look very near metallic. The sharpness of his jaw becomes even more pronounce as he grits his molars, frowning at his phone's screen as if the electronic object frustrates him.

I lean back against the car, quite enjoying the view. Maa was right, Axel Hernandez indeed is a sight to behold. Like a scandalous French painting, made to seduce and tantalize.

Because I love ruffling his feathers, I croon in greeting, "Home early today, Charming?"

Axel stops on his track, elegantly long strides pausing. When he lifts his head to look in my direction, I try not to gawk at the way his dark lashes shadow his stormy eyes like a gossamer curtain.

"Miss Eve." That french-accent laden, velvety voice makes me want to whine akin to a toddler throwing a tantrum.

God of gene producer, why must someone be granted with that carved face, those beautiful eyes and such seductive voice all at once. How is it even fair on us normal folks?

"If you're done staring, I'd like to know why you intercepted me." Axel states without an emotion, tucking his phone into his black suit jacket. He catches sight of the white rat my bodyguard holds, resulting him to peruse me with a raise of an immaculate brow.

His constant indifference makes me grin, "Do you speak to every woman with such affection?" I drawl mischievously.

Grabbing the flower bouquet I'd simply bought for myself since they were pretty, I approach him with small steps. A scowl and the narrowing of his eyes is the only answer I receive, as I make my way over to stand in front of him and present him the flowers. He doesn't take them from me.

"At this rate, I might swoon and fall, and you'll have only yourself to blame." A slow smile tugs across my lips, stretching until it's so bright I'm sure it blindsides him.

"There, these are for you." Taking the chance, I quickly deposit the bouquet in his hands. Our fingers briefly make contact as I lean next to his ear, whilst pretending to straighten the lapels of his suit, "The guards are watching, don't throw the flowers back at me, handsome."

Axel stiffens. When I inch back, his eyes trace the curve of my lips with a heated skeptism causing my heartbeat to increase it's pace. What's with these Hernandez's and their allergy to smiles? It only makes me grin wider to annoy him.

Seeming to catch onto the fact that I'm baiting him to slip on his composed mask, Axel's features close behind his statue expression.

"Tu es la femme la plus exaspérante que j'aie jamais rencontrée." His tongue pronounces in smooth French under his breath, before striding away into the house with the bouquet, completely ignoring me.

Those sixteen languages I know? French happens to be one of them. And he just called me the most infuriating woman he's ever met.

Because I'm absolutely depraved, a genuine laugh escapes my lips, filling my insides with a warm content. The joys of annoying Axel Hernandez is divine.

...

"The only place where no one visits is a room filled with poisonous reptiles?!" Scanning the vast entirety of the green house, I come to the conclusion that people are smart not to step foot here.

Because there aren't plants in this dome-like place with ample sunlight, a few yards away from the villa within the lands of Hernandez estate. Crawling behind the many glass panels are eerie reptiles straight out of National Geographic. Such as the lizard-like Gila monster the size of a grown dog, staring at me from the other side of the glass, it's fork tongue lapping in threat every five seconds. The scorpion moving its hands like scissors slish-slashing. The venomous snapping turtle that doesn't look cute when turtles out to look cute.

There are eight reptiles behind the glass panels, each separated from one another through divisions, and each more scathing than the other. If those weren't enough, my eyes squint in caution at the python looped around Vicky's neck, snaking up and down the side of her face as if it's consoling her.

"Is that thing even safe?" At my words, the snake stops in it's movement to crane it's neck to look at me with serpentine green eyes, as if it can understand me and doesn't appreciate what I said.

Victoria simply runs a finger along its leathery head almost comfortingly as though she believes my words hurt the snake, "Medusa doesn't bite." Her eyes skid over to my face and she smiles, small and deadly, "Unless I tell her to."

I gulp, feeling ominous. The teenager is more dangerous than I give her credit.

"Despite the eerie creatures, this place is amazing." And a perfect ambience for me to experiment with the chemicals. "Are you sure Axel doesn't visit here often?"

"Reptiles make Uncle Xel skittish. He avoids them the best he can, but lets me collect them." Victoria deadpans, but there's a tinge of affection in her words, little but still there.

My lips twist into a coy smile, "He does?" The imagery of Axel being skittish around anything is oddly cute.

Victoria's guard gets back on place. She furrows her brow a little, as if wondering whether she slipped on the wrong information. Alas, she settles with, "Maybe."

"Aha." I click my tongue, stiffling back a laugh. Atleast his niece is loyal in keeping his secrets.

"So, what of the sneaky escape route?" I pose the question in jest, but she and I both know this is a serious part of the favors.

Victoria seems reluctant about this one, which being why she'd shown me the green house first. Her shoulders tighten with tension, but she nods stiffly, motioning for me to follow her.

We make it back to the villa, up the stairs to the library room I hadn't even known existed on the third floor. A library straight out of a medieval daydream; thousands of books line the floor-to-celing wooden shelves—hardcovers and original copies arranged according to genres in alphabetical order.

I watch in awe, taking it all in wonder, "I really should've done a little house exploring. If I had, I'd have found this place sooner and escaped in a world of literature."

"Books are a way of escape." Victoria nods solemly, "My grandparents were criminals and they liked being never caught when the police looked for them. I always wondered how the authorities couldn't ever find them inside the villa, why uncle Xel's parents were so adamant on buying this property. And when I was ten, I found the answer in this library."

Victoria pulls a reptiles encyclopedia from the shelf, only halfway that it's still on the shelf but slightly tugged out. I watch in concentration, my eyes widening when a gentle groan follows before the entire bookshelf splits into half, separating like doors and revealing a devastatingly large, darkened pathway inside.

Victoria gestures to the endless black tunnel, "This house is full of secret passages, which runs under the city and opens right in the heart of Paris."

--------᪥♔︎᪥-------

What's Eve upto with all her planning and spying?👀

I just wanted to write about a house with secret passages okay🏃‍♀️🥲

The way I'm excited for the upcoming two chapters....if y'all don't get the shock of your life imma cry.