The man, Creekmore, I think, scoffs. “Enough with the ego. Don’t tell me things are getting out of control, Herron.”
Another beat of silence. Hayden takes a few long seconds to respond.
“Everything is contained. I have it taken care of.”
“If you don’t go through with it, and I mean all the way, this will be a huge issue.”
My fingers curl against the banister. The words hit like ice water. Go through withwhat?
Another long silence stretches between them, thick with unspoken tension. My heart hammers against my ribs.
Then, Hayden speaks. Slower this time. Measured. “I told you. I’ll take care of it.”
A sharp exhale. Then the clink of ice in a glass.
“You should’ve done it already.”
There’s movement, footsteps, the slow pour of liquid into crystal.
“This isn’t a game, Hayden. If she’s still breathing by the next gathering, I won’t just question your loyalty. I’ll force your hand.”
Silence again. Then a slow sip, the ice shifting against the glass. Hayden’s voice remains calm.
Almost too calm—sinister in his tone.
“I’m going to complete the task.”
Creekmore snorts. “Then get to it.” A beat. “Or someone else will.”
My breath catches. My entire body goes cold.
I barely remember moving, barely remember slipping back down the hallway, my pulse deafening in my ears. I stumble into my room, closing the door softly behind me. My hands shake against the wood.
If I’m breathing by the next meeting, something is going to happen to me? What the hell does that mean? Is Hayden protecting me? The terrifying display of the items available to me in this room is a clear sign that he had been preparing for this. Everything is as I would like. Had he just been waiting for his chance to steal me away? This is too much effort for a temporary fixation.
I press my forehead against the door, my breath ragged, my mind spinning with no solution, no escape. No idea what this conversation could have meant, but I have a feeling I’m in more danger than I truly know.
Dragging my feet towards the bed, I fall onto it, and by the time sleep drags me under, my face is damp with silent tears.
I wake up to sunlight filtering through the heavy curtains, casting long streaks of gold across the room. For a moment, I forget where I am. Then it all rushes back.
The night. The voices. The sealed window. The suffocating weight of knowing nothing at all.
I force myself out of bed, my body stiff, my limbs heavy. My dress from last night clings to me, the fabric now wrinkled and stale. I strip it off quickly, rummaging through the dresser until I find a pair of white cotton panties and a matching bra. I pull them on, along with some socks and a pair of simple jeans. Then I grab a heavy vintage knit sweater and a cream-colored pair of Keds from the closet. The sweater is calming as I slide it on, the thick fabric settling over me like a comforting weight. Smooth like butter. It seems vintage, as though it belonged to someone.
In the bathroom, I turn on the faucet and brush my teeth with a toothbrush that’s an exact copy of the one I usually use from a french apothecary. The minty taste is sharp and grounding. Quickly, I splash cold water on my face, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are swollen, my lips raw where I must have bitten them in my sleep. I look like a ghost.
I need coffee. More than that, I need to think. To plan.
Coffee first.
And then, I need to find my way back to the life that was stolen from me, back to my dormitory at Eulogia, where his presence doesn't suffocate every thought, where I can finally breathe without fearing what he’s planning next, or what the Brotherhood is planning.
If I can get there, I can call my family’s lawyers. They must have been trying to reach me, unless they think I’m safe—or worse, they’ve been told not to look for me. The thought sends a chill down my spine.
And then there's the horrific need to plan a funeral for those I loved. For my brothers who deserve to rest in a beautiful placewith our mother. Even Father, for all his cruelty, has a spot in our family plot. And while I worry it’s too late to honor my family, I remember—I’m the fool who doesn’t even know where their bodies are located.
And if Hayden won’t let me leave, if he refuses to send me back to Eulogia, then I’ll have to find another way—a crack in his control. At the very least, I need access to a phone. Somewhere, somehow, there has to be a way to reach the outside world, to plan my next steps. My only problem is—I’m not quite sure who I’d call.
