"I can still be sneaky when I choose." He pretended to look affronted at the thought, even though it was a half-hearted attempt. "I must be growing careless if you no longer think that." Vlad knew it would be easy to get into Trenton's apartment if he wanted to, and an unfortunate accident could occur involving his precious stereo system - he might suspect who did it, but there would never be anything to substantiate it. If he could avoid leaving evidence at a murder scene, he could handle a little vandalizing. "Exactly. Why would you not be shocked? It would be terribly tragic, to lose the source of such amazing music."
It occurred to him that anyone who knew him from Romania would have never believed it if he told them about Helena. He was the sort of man no one ever expected to get married or have children - not by necessity, but by choice. He could live his life without a wife or offspring and be perfectly content. Relationships came and went, but there had never been any real depth to them - but then, he'd never met anyone like Helena. Their tale couldn't have had anything to do with it, because Dracula didn't love Mina. He was incapable of loving anything - he wanted to possess and conquer and destroy. It had to be genuine.
"You have no need to hope, Helena." He turned her head towards him with gentle fingers, his expression becoming serious. "Know that you could never wear out your welcome with me, no matter what you do."