Eline went completely silent.
He stared at Carlson as if the world had stopped moving. It felt as though his mind had frozen mid-thought. No anger. No fear. No disbelief.
Just emptiness.
Carlson noticed.
His voice softened — almost reassuring.
"You don't need to worry," he said calmly. "This may very well be the most comfortable year of your life."
Eline didn't react.
"We are prepared to give you everything," Carlson continued. "Whatever you ask for. A stable life. Protection. Luxury beyond anything you've imagined."
He gestured vaguely around the room.
"All you need to do is take care of yourself… and the child."
That word landed heavily.
"Because you are the only one capable of bringing a vampire into existence."
Silence.
Eline still didn't speak.
Carlson rose slowly from his chair.
The sound of it scraping lightly against the floor felt louder than it should have.
As Carlson stepped closer, something inside Eline snapped back into motion.
Instinct.
Carlson took another step.
Eline suddenly stood up.
And ran.
He didn't even think — his body moved before his mind caught up.
But he barely made it three steps.
Carlson was faster.
In a blink, he was there — gripping Eline's arm firmly, though not violently.
"Look at me," Carlson said, his voice no longer gentle.
Eline struggled, but Carlson's grip was immovable.
"Listen carefully," Carlson continued. "This can be easy for you. Or it can be difficult. That depends on you."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"You only have one task. Carry the child. Give birth. That is all."
Eline's breathing turned uneven.
Carlson's expression darkened.
"And there is something you must understand."
"You do not get to decide "
He released Eline slowly, but stood close enough to block any escape.
Carlson's final words still echoed in the room.
"Bring a vampire into this world".
The silence stretched.
Eline's chest rose and fell unevenly. His thoughts were finally returning — messy, loud, colliding with one another.
Carlson straightened slightly. "You will be given whatever you—"
"Stop."
Eline's voice cracked, but it was firm.
Everyone went quiet.
"I don't need anything," he said, shaking his head. "I don't want luxury. I don't want protection. I don't want whatever deal you think you're offering me."
His breathing grew heavier.
"What are you even talking about? Vampires? Giving birth? Black fruit? This sounds insane."
He looked around the room, searching for one face — just one — that might admit this was a joke.
"I'm happy with my life," he continued. "I didn't ask for any of this. I don't even believe vampires exist."
His voice lowered.
"I don't know what you're trying to do to me… but I don't want to be here."
His eyes met Carlson's.
"I don't want to do this."
A beat.
"Please," he said quietly, and this time the strength slipped from his voice. "Just let me go."
The room didn't move.
Lucian's jaw tightened.
Severin's gaze flickered toward Carlson.
And Carlson…
Carlson did not look angry.
He looked disappointed.
"You think this is about what you want," he said softly.
He took one slow step forward.
"It stopped being about that the moment you ate the fruit."
The words dropped heavily between them.
"You are not here by accident, Eline."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"And you are not leaving."
Why can't I just leave?"
Eline's voice rose, no longer shaky — angry now.
"This is my life. My choices. You don't get to decide what I do with it."
He stepped back, putting distance between himself and Carlson.
"You expect me to feel safe here? In this house?" He let out a bitter laugh. "You're a vampire. A vampire. Something I didn't even believe existed until five minutes ago."
His hands trembled, but he didn't lower them.
"This whole place feels wrong. It's been wrong since I walked in."
He looked around the study room — the long table, the unmoving figures, the heavy silence.
"And you think I'm supposed to just relax? Trust you? Believe that no one's going to hurt me?"
His voice cracked again, but he pushed through it.
"How am I supposed to believe that? How am I supposed to believe anything you're saying?"
He shook his head hard.
"It doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. And I don't even want it to make sense."
His eyes locked onto Carlson's.
"I just want to leave."
The words were steady now.
"You can find someone else. You have money. Power. Influence. Go fund some experiment. Do your science. Figure it out another way."
His breathing slowed, but the fear was still there.
"But I don't want to stay here. I don't want to live in a house where I don't feel safe."
A long pause.
"This place terrifies me."
Silence settled over the room.
Carlson did not interrupt.
Eline swallowed.
"I'm leaving," he said, quieter now — but resolute. "That's all."
Carlson listened without interrupting.
When Eline finished, the room remained still for several seconds.
Then Carlson spoke.
"No matter how much you try," he said quietly, "you cannot leave this house."
His tone wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
"You think this is a discussion. It isn't."
Eline's jaw tightened.
"We are not asking for your entire life," Carlson continued. "We are not chaining you here forever. But there is something that must happen. And it will happen."
A pause.
"You will give birth to a vampire."
The words were steady. Final.
Eline's breathing sharpened again.
Carlson tilted his head slightly.
His eyes held no softness now.
"No one here is going to harm you. That is my word."
The air in the room shifted — heavier.
A faint, humorless smile touched his lips.
"You are precious. You are rare. Do you think I would waste my time explaining any of this if you were not?"
He stepped closer — not rushing, not threatening — just deliberate.
"If you were ordinary… you would not be standing here right now."
The meaning hung unspoken.
His expression hardened.
"My patience is thinning."
Not shouted. Not dramatic.
Just true.
"You do not have a choice in this matter."
Eline felt the weight of that sentence more than the others.
Carlson's voice dropped to its calmest point yet.
"You are not a prisoner."
A beat.
"But you are not leaving."
He straightened his coat slightly.
"And you will give birth to a vampire."
That was all.
No raised voice.
No further explanation.
Just certainty.