"House inspection?" Nick asked in an unsure voice. "I wasn't informed of this, but please come inside in any case."

Once the door was shut tightly, I peeked around the corner to try and catch a quick glimpse of the unexpected visitors. There stood three men, two of which didn't seem all that important as they were practically indistinguishable from each other. But the man who stood in the centre carried this certain air about him.

He was handsome beyond belief with his flowing shoulder-length platinum blonde hair. And his skin was almost sparkling with his translucency. I wondered if perhaps he might be a nobleman. Once I saw his eyes start to scan towards the top of the staircase, I quickly hid in the shadows once more.

"Dear boy, where is Mr Grigori?" The handsome man asked in a thick accent. It sounded almost Romanian.

"I'll go fetch him right away. Please, make yourselves at home." As Nick made his way upstairs, I felt my heartbeat start to accelerate. This was bad, everything is about to get derailed!

As I clenched my eyes shut and tried to calm myself down, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I jumped in response with a loud audible gasp.

"Vana, could you please keep them company while I look for Mr Grigori?" Nick asked me in a hushed voice.

"Is he not in his office?" I asked dubiously. Nick simply shook his head in response.

"I went looking for him in there earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. So, please?" He asked me once more.

With no other option, my hands were practically tied at this point. So, all I could do was quickly surrender with a small nod of confirmation. Once Nick was out of sight, I dusted off my apron and made my way down the stairs.

"Good evening," I announced politely. All of the men turned to look at me. "You're here to see Mr Grigori, correct?"

"Yes." The handsome man replied. "And what may your name be, my dear?"

"I'm Vana, Stefan's caretaker," I said with joy.

The man nodded his head softly in response as if he was thinking of something else. "Is that so? I haven't gotten the pleasure of meeting Stefan yet. So, I'm looking forward to seeing him tonight."

He speaks as if he's a long-time friend of Mr Grigori. And yet he's here to conduct a house inspection? How peculiar...

...

Wait. Is he perhaps here as a result of Stefan's secret? If so, I may have just made one big terrible mistake! As I braced myself for the worst, I was once more reminded that I was still in the presence of houseguests.

"I take it that you haven't been working here for long?" The man inquired.

"Ah, not too long. It's still early days for me." I answered with an awkward laugh.

The man stroked his chin suspiciously. "Is that so?"

Before long I was relieved to see Mr Grigori and Nick descend the stairs. Finally, it's about time!

"Count Borovsky!" Mr Grigori called out in joy. "I did not expect to see you tonight." The man said with a smiling face. Something told me that the smile was fake, Mr. Grigori doesn't strike me as the type of person to welcome surprises.

"Since we finished the last house call early, we thought we might as well visit while the night was still young."

And that's my cue to leave! As I slowly removed myself from the scene, Count Borovsky must have caught sight of it as he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Vana here was just informing me that she's been taking care of Stefan."

Oh, c'mon! Don't drag me back into this!

Mr Grigori turned to look at me with slight annoyance. "Yes, well Stefan is still quite sick. It's in his best interests for him to not have any visitors today."

"That is what you said last time as well," Count Borovsky commented. "Are you sure you're not just hiding him from me?"

Mr Grigori, who was caught off-guard by this claim was nearly tripping over his own two feet. "Good heavens, no!" He assured Count Borovsky. "You must understand that I must put my son's health above all, yes?"

Count Borovsky didn't respond. Instead, he folded his arms neatly and plastered on an ingenious smile. "Of course. Then how about Atticus?"

I felt myself nearly choke on my own breath. I hadn't told Mr Grigori about Atticus yet, so I had to quickly come up with some kind of excuse for his absence. "I am afraid that Atticus is asleep right now." I said quietly.

"So, both boys are absent?" Count Borovsky questioned dubiously.

With a soft sigh, Mr Grigori hung his head in shame. "It would appear so." Nevertheless, Mr Grigori shook off his nerves and stood upright proudly. "How about we discuss further matters in my office, yes?"

As Mr Grigori led the men away, I couldn't help but sigh in relief. Albeit I'll have to inevitably come clean after their meeting is adjourned. So, until then I decided to hang around near Mr Grigori's office door.

Once the sound of a door handle opening again could be heard, I quickly peered through the keyhole from the door opposite the office. Once I was certain that the coast was finally clear, I stepped outside to let my presence be made known.

Mr Grigori stood in the doorway with arms crossed as if he was expecting me. As I swallowed a gulp, I braced myself to deliver the worst news a father could receive. "Atticus is..." I hesitated.

"My son is dead, isn't he?"

Huh? I stared at the man with incredulous. How could he have possibly known...

"I knew he would not make it after Stefan had bitten him."

Based on what he was saying I was drawing my own conclusions about Stefan's little secret. But rather than try to guess, I stayed idle as I allowed Mr Grigori to finish speaking first.

"I am also aware of the kitchen incident. One of the other servants informed me on the matter."

I guess that explains Mr Grigori's sudden absence from his office. "Does this mean Stefan is a vamp—"

My voice was suddenly cut off as Mr Grigori covered my mouth with his hand. "Please do not raise your voice. They could be listening to us as we speak."

I slowly nodded my head to demonstrate my willing obedience. And with that Mr Grigori sighed in relief as he removed his hand from my face. "Come with me. There is something I must show you."