Chapter 36 – Glass Houses and Dark Rooms
Chapter 36 – Glass Houses and Dark Rooms
[Aurora]
The scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, soothing but laced with tension. Aurora sat in Luca’s car, her fingers clutching the photocopied page from the Venice ledger like it might combust in her hands.
C.L.
There were only so many names that could match those initials—and only one that made sense.
Celeste.
She looked at Luca, who was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, knuckles pale. “You’re quiet,” she said softly.
“I don’t like where this is going,” he muttered. “We came to Venice for clarity, not more shadows.”
“I trusted her,” Aurora whispered. “She was… warm. She knew Damon’s world. She comforted me when I was unraveling.”
“She still could be innocent.”
Aurora looked at the page again. “No. This visit was in 2019. Damon was here. She was here. And that’s before any of this nightmare between him and me began.”
Luca hesitated. “So… what do you want to do?”
Aurora’s jaw tightened. “I’m going to ask her.”
---
[Damon]
The hallway of the Moretti estate echoed with every step Damon took. He had told the staff to leave for the night—he needed silence, and more importantly, privacy. His phone lay abandoned on the entryway table, still displaying Elijah’s last cryptic message.
He couldn’t ignore it anymore. Elijah wasn’t just a casual acquaintance. He knew too much.
Which is why Damon had arranged a meeting. One-on-one.
In the underground wine cellar. Where no surveillance reached.
Damon waited in the chill of the cellar, surrounded by ancient bottles and fading dust. The door creaked open.
Elijah entered, impeccably dressed in a dark coat and gloves, as if stepping out of a noir film.
“Damon,” he greeted. “This is… dramatic.”
“You’ve been following me,” Damon said bluntly.
Elijah offered a smile. “Concerned might be a better word.”
Damon’s face remained unreadable. “Concern is for friends.”
“Exactly.”
The silence that followed was razor-sharp.
Damon stepped closer. “What do you want from me?”
Elijah paused, gaze calm. “To remind you of who you were before Aurora. Before this spiral. You were controlled. Disciplined. A man of focus.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Oh, I think I do.”
Damon’s fists clenched. “Who are you really?”
“I’m just someone who remembers,” Elijah said coolly. “You lost your edge, Damon. She made you soft. And softness gets people killed.”
A flicker of emotion passed through Damon’s eyes—grief? Rage?
Then it was gone.
“You’re full of riddles. And I don’t play guessing games.”
“Maybe you should start,” Elijah replied, walking to a wine rack. “Especially when your past isn’t as buried as you hoped.”
He ran a finger along the glass of a 1997 bottle. “Tell me, do you remember what happened in Verona?”
Damon froze.
Elijah’s grin was slow. “Ah. So you do.”
Damon’s voice dropped. “That file was sealed.”
“Not sealed enough.”
A long pause.
Then Damon said quietly, “If you ever bring up Verona again, I won’t hesitate.”
Elijah raised his hands in mock surrender. “See? That’s the man I remember. That’s the man they should fear.”
And with that, he strolled back out, leaving the chill of the cellar even colder.
---
[Aurora]
Celeste opened the door to her penthouse with a glass of red wine in hand and a confused expression. “Aurora?”
Aurora’s smile was tight. “Hi. Mind if I come in?”
Celeste hesitated. “Of course.” She stepped aside.
Inside, the air was scented with jasmine and an underlying note of rich mahogany. Aurora walked to the large glass windows overlooking the city skyline. She turned slowly.
“I was in Venice yesterday.”
Celeste blinked. “Oh?”
“Funny thing. I found an old church that kept visitor ledgers.” Aurora took a step forward. “Damon was there. 2019. With someone signed in as ‘C.L.’”
Celeste didn’t flinch. “And you think that’s me?”
“I know it’s you.”
A beat.
Then Celeste gave a breathy laugh and turned to set her wine down. “You should’ve just asked.”
Aurora stared at her. “You’re not even denying it?”
“What would be the point? Yes, I was there. Damon and I were… close. Years ago. But it ended.”
“Before or after you started showing interest again?”
Celeste turned. Her tone sharpened. “I’ve always been interested. He’s not just a man—he’s a fortress. And I don’t fall for easy puzzles.”
Aurora swallowed. “So you used our friendship to get closer to him?”
“I liked you,” Celeste said honestly. “Still do. But Damon? He’s the one I’ve wanted since Verona.”
Aurora’s heart sank.
“You were part of that?”
Celeste hesitated. “No. I was just a witness. But I saw who he became after. Cold. Efficient. Until you came along and ruined it all.”
Tears burned in Aurora’s eyes, but she held them in. “You think love is weakness.”
“I know it is.”
Aurora stepped back. “Then I’m sorry for you.”
And she walked out, leaving Celeste alone with her wine and her regrets.
---
[Damon]
Later that night, Damon stood in his office, staring at an old photo—Verona, 2019. A younger him in a tailored suit. Behind him, shadows.
He thought of Elijah’s words. Of the secrets still buried.
And of the voice from the unknown call: “It’s not the secrets that ruin you… it’s the people who remember.”
He didn’t trust Elijah. But he didn’t fully trust himself either.
Verona wasn’t a memory.
It was a ticking time bomb.
---
[Unknown Location – Shadow Figure POV]
In a dim-lit room filled with surveillance screens, the shadowy figure removed a glove and tapped one of the monitors.
Damon on his balcony. Aurora leaving Celeste’s apartment. Elijah pacing in his own study.
The figure muttered, “He’s starting to remember.”
A feminine voice answered from the dark corner. “Do we escalate?”
The figure’s smile was cruel. “Not yet. Let them think they’re winning. Let them swim in their illusions.”
“And then?”
The shadow leaned forward. “Then we bring back the real Verona.”
---
[Aurora]
Back in her hotel room, Aurora’s phone buzzed.
Message from Unknown Contact:
“You were right to ask. But Celeste isn’t your biggest problem.”
Attached: A blurry photo
Two men. One clearly Damon. The other? Elijah—smiling, younger, and holding a burner phone.
A second message followed:
“Ask Damon what he did the night before your father died.”
Aurora’s world tilted.
And just like that, the ground beneath both of them began to crack.
---