Valeria returns to the Whitmore estate (ThePurpleD3viL)

Valeria

Valeria stood at the Whitmore estate doors, her knuckles hovering just a moment before she finally decided to knock. A strange, gnawing unease had followed her all morning. She kept circling the same thought: I’ve done something wrong. But every time she tried to pin down what it was, her mind went blank, leaving only the troubling aftertaste of guilt. She hated that sensation, not-knowing, the fracture in her usually pristine certainty.

Today, she decided she'd confront Chase. He was at the center of all this, she knew it. He had to be.

The door swung open instantly, before she’d even lowered her hand. The maid stood there, expressionless, almost as though she’d been waiting behind the door for the exact moment Valeria knocked. For a brief, stomach-turning second, Valeria swore she recognized her, something in the lines of her face, the curve of her mouth but then the thought melted away as if it had never been there.

“Come,” the maid said, her tone neutral, unyielding.

Without waiting for a response, she beckoned Valeria inside. The house was strangely quiet, as though every clock and every voice had been hushed. Valeria let herself be guided down a hall she hadn’t walked before, until they stopped at a heavy door. The maid pushed it open, gesturing her through, and then closed it firmly behind her.

The room was bare. No furniture, no paintings, nothing but a vast, floor-length mirror propped against the wall. It was so tall it nearly brushed the ceiling, its silvered surface throwing back Valeria’s reflection in stark detail. Chase stood beside it, hands tucked into his pockets, a knowing smirk curving his lips as though he’d been waiting for her too.

Valeria’s heels clicked softly as she crossed the hollow room, her eyes flicking from the mirror to him. The unease inside her flared again, sharp enough that she broke the silence.

“Why do I feel so… strange lately?” she asked, forcing her voice steady. “It’s like something’s missing or wrong. I don’t…” She faltered, then looked down, ashamed. “I don’t want to admit this to you, but I’ve been… different. More aroused than usual. I don’t understand it. You need to tell me what’s happening.”

Chase’s smirk widened, and he tilted his head, studying her like one might study a puppet they were about to string up.

“Unlace,” he said.

The word hit her like a hook through her skull. Her thoughts collapsed in on themselves, unraveling in an instant. She gasped softly as her posture slackened, her mind going slack with it, blank and open.

“Down,” Chase ordered, his voice a low, precise cut through the silence.

Her knees bent before she could even process the command, her body sinking to the polished floor. When her gaze lifted, it wasn’t to him it was to her own reflection, kneeling obediently in front of the massive mirror.

Chase’s hand came down slowly, deliberately, stroking through Valeria’s hair like she was a pet to be soothed. His fingers lingered at the base of her bun, tugging just enough to remind her who was in charge.

“You’ve been doubting me,” he said, his tone smooth but edged with reprimand. “Asking questions. That’s not your place, Valeria. That ends today.”

His words settled over her like a weight, heavy and inescapable, making her chest tighten.

“Tell me,” he continued, his voice almost casual, “what do you see in front of you?”

Valeria’s gaze focused on the mirror. Her lips moved automatically, the words spilling out without thought. “I see… myself.”

Her own reflection stared back at her, kneeling, blank-eyed. She began to describe it mechanically, as if reading off a chart. “White shirt. Black pants. Black heels. Hair in a bun.” A pause. “I came here to speak with you and then… I was supposed to leave for the hospital.”

Chase’s smirk sharpened. He bent lower, the scent of him filling her nose, and his fingers curled hard into her bun. With a sudden twist, he **** her head sideways until their eyes met, his nose brushing hers in a mockery of intimacy. He lingered there for a heartbeat, savoring the helplessness in her unfocused gaze, before he guided her head back toward the mirror with deliberate ****.

“Look harder,” Chase whispered, his lips grazing her ear, his voice velvet and venom at once. “Do you really see Dr. Valeria Rivera in that glass? Or do you see someone else… someone called Val?”

Her breath hitched as the mirror wavered in her mind. And then there she was. Not the stern, professional doctor she thought she was, but a twisted reflection: Val. Younger, flirtier, her blouse tugged low, skirt hiked too high, lips curled in a teasing smirk that promised cruelty just as easily as pleasure. Val leaned against the inside of the mirror as if she’d been waiting all along, eyes glittering with hunger and disdain.

Chase’s grip tightened cruelly around her bun, jerking her just enough to sting. “Now,” he murmured, almost gently, “describe Dr. Valeria Rivera for me. Not her clothes. Her. Who is she as a person?”

Valeria’s throat bobbed as she struggled to summon the words. “She… she’s composed. Intelligent. A woman of discipline. She’s proud of her work, of what she’s achieved. She wants to protect her son, to hold her life together. She’s…strong.”

Chase hummed approvingly, fingers stroking along her scalp before clenching once more. “Good. Now describe Val. What’s important to her?”

Her eyes flickered helplessly back to the mirror. Val winked at her, tilting her head with mocking charm. Valeria’s lips trembled as she spoke. “Val… she’s flirty. Shameless. She laughs at rules, at decency. She… she likes power, but not through hard work. She likes breaking people down, enjoying their pain. She-” Val smirked wider in the glass, her arms folded under her chest as if mocking the good doctor, “she’s cruel. And selfish. And she loves it.”

The words tasted bitter but they spilled freely, as if Val herself whispered them into her mind.

Chase leaned down, his mouth brushing her cheek as he breathed the next words. “If both of them were to fight inside that mirror… who’d win?”

Valeria blinked, trembling. “I… I’d want Dr. Valeria to win,” she stammered quickly, her voice almost pleading.

The response earned her nothing but a sharp yank of her bun, snapping her head back, followed instantly by the crack of Chase’s palm against her cheek. The sound rang in the hollow room, and her eyes watered as the sting spread across her skin.

“I didn’t ask who you want to win,” Chase snarled, forcing her head back toward the mirror, making her nose nearly touch the glass. “I asked who would win. Be logical.”

Her reflection stared back, the doctor’s face paling, Val’s grin widening like a predator scenting blood. Valeria swallowed, her mind spinning.

“She… she would,” she whispered.

“Say it,” Chase demanded, tightening his grip.

Her voice cracked, spilling into a confession. “Val would win. Because she plays dirty. Because she doesn’t care about right or wrong. She… she’s a bully. And she’s evil.”

Her reflection in the glass sneered as if savoring the admission, while Chase’s smirk deepened above her.

“Switch”

Valeria’s vision blurred as Chase’s command pulled her deeper into the part of herself he wanted. Her spine straightened, her lips curling into a cruel smile that didn’t quite feel like her own- no, it was Val’s. The bully’s confidence rushed through her veins like fire, and when she looked up into the mirror, she no longer saw herself kneeling. Instead, reflected back was her other self, Dr. Valeria Rivera trapped behind the glass, poised and trembling, trying to hold on to her dignity.

Val licked her lips, her eyes narrowing. “Well, look at you,” she sneered, her tone venomous yet playful. “Dr. Rivera. All polished and professional, acting like you’re better than everyone. But here you are, stuck. Weak. Do you see the look on your face? You’re scared.”

The figure inside the mirror shook her head, voice tight with desperation. “No- I’m not scared. I’m trying to hold on. I have a duty, to my son, to myself. I’m not going to let you take me down.”

Val laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. “Your son? Diego?” She spat the name with mockery. “He’s pathetic. Just like you. Hiding behind your title, your stupid lab coat, your lectures about responsibility. But when push comes to shove, you can't even answer simple questions. Couldn’t even remember the things that make you a doctor. What does that make you now?”

“I- I’m still me,” the doctor stammered inside the glass, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m still Valeria. I’ve worked my whole life for this. I can’t let it go.”

Val’s smile widened, almost predatory. “Oh, you’ve already let it go. You just don’t realize it yet. Look at you, begging, crying. You’re an imposter, and you know it. Every patient who ever trusted you, every colleague who respected you, they'd laugh if they saw you now. You can’t even stand up to me, and I’m just a piece of you. That’s how pathetic you are.”

“No…” the figure whispered, shaking her head, pressing her palms against the inside of the mirror as if trying to push her way out. “I can’t… I can’t be this weak…”

Val leaned in closer, her voice turning to a hiss. “You are this weak. And you’ll always be this weak. That’s why I’m going to win. Because I don’t care about rules, or pride, or what’s right. I do what it takes. I take what I want. And that’s why you’re going to stay down there while I have fun.”

The reflection crumpled, collapsing to her knees inside the mirror, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. The doctor buried her face in her hands as Val’s laughter filled the room, cruel and victorious. Val threw her head back, enjoying the sight, the taste of triumph.