Chapter 22 The end
ADRIANA
The honk of the bus made me raise my dropped head.
I got up and swung my bag over my shoulder while waiting for the bus.
The scene of Anderson hopping to my house with a wide grin on his face couldn't stop playing in my mind. I hated myself for leaving him that way.
Well, I was of no good anyway. People hated me for a reason, and I knew Anderson would hate me too.
I had to do this to fulfill my promises to not just Salvador but Ma'am Felicia.
I sighed loudly and trudged towards the bus when it stopped and opened the door, but a hand gripped my wrist, stopping me.
I spun around, my brows raising in surprise.
“Who are you?" I snapped and shifted back.
“Help me!" An old woman bent over, pleaded.
I huffed loudly and swung my head around in confusion.
“What do you want?" I asked, trying so hard to sound kind even though I was irritated that the bus might leave me.
“My grandchild, she's dying,” she whispered and coughed.
My heart unclenched, and guilt slipped in.
"Where is she?” I asked, and she pointed at a building.
"There.”
My eyes dimmed in suspicion as I stared at the building. It didn't look like a place poor people would live in.
"Uhm… Granny…"
“Please, help me, my son is at work and there is no one at home aside from me and my grandchild,” she mumbled, gripping my wrist tighter.
I sighed again and nodded, then followed her out of the bus stop.
My throat knotted as I watched the bus drive away. I doubted that another bus would arrive to take me to the train station.
Taking a cab will cost me a fortune, and I couldn't afford to do that even if I had the money.
I trailed after her as she limped into the building and took the elevator that rode to the elevator where they lived. If her son were comfortable living in a place like this, then he could have hired a nanny to take care of his daughter.
The elevator pulled open, and we stepped into a hallway that had two apartments in it, each facing the other.
One of the apartments seemed to be unoccupied, which meant the other one was hers.
The woman punched in the passcode, and the door pulled open.
My jaw would have dropped if I hadn't lived in a luxurious place before, even though no place beats the luxury in the manor, the living room could put up a competition.
“She's lying in her room," the woman said and began to lead me in.
She twisted the knob and pulled the door, inviting me in.
I hesitated for a moment before following her in.
“What happened to her?" I asked when I walked in and found a pretty girl who should be Jaden's age lying on the bed. Her face was as pale as that of a ghost, and dark circles were under her eyes.
“She had an attack," the woman said and squeezed her hand.
“You should have called a hospital or something," I said, and the woman sighed loudly.
“I came to wake her up and found her this way. Please, do something," she pleaded, tears in her eyes.
I bent over the girl and checked for a pulse to be sure she was still alive. Thankfully, I found one and sighed in relief.
"We need to take her to the hospital. She's still breathing,” I said as I rubbed her hand.
"Oh, money, I should get some money,” she fidgeted.
Pity engulfed me as I watched the old woman panic to save her grandchild.
"Don't worry, I have some money with me,” I said and turned to carry the girl.
“Mom!" A voice pierced through the air, and I turned.
A man ran into the room, panting loudly. His tie was hanging loose around his neck, and his hair stood like raven feathers.
“Dear! She had an attack again!" The woman cried as she rushed towards the man. I guessed from the situation that the man was her son.
“Don't worry, mama, it's just an asthma attack, it's not that serious," the man laughed.
“It is serious," I butted in before I could stop myself.
The man raised his head in my direction, and his eyes narrowed.
“Who is she?" He asked, waving his hand at me.
“Oh, I called her to help my grandchild, she's such a nice girl, his agreed to do it even when she had a bus to catch," the woman said, staring at me with so much warmth in her eyes.
I forced a smile on my face and faced the man.
“Oh, thank you so much for your help. I will take it from here," he said.
I frowned at his rude behavior, but for the sake of the woman, I refrained from lashing out at him.
“Well, I should get going now. Take care of your granddaughter, granny," I muttered and began to head to the door.
The man blocked me, grinning to pacify the anger in me.
“I'm not sure you'll catch another bus from here. Please let my driver drop you off wherever you're going," he said.
I almost said yes, but declined.
“It will take a while to get to the train station. Besides, you need to take your daughter to the hospital—"
“The building has an emergency chauffeur for the residents, and I don't mind him taking you anywhere. You deserve it for your kindness," he said.
“Please, say yes, my dear, I have stressed you a lot," the woman said as she grabbed my hand.
“Okay," I muttered, and the woman grinned as well as the man.
“What is your daughter's name?" I asked
The woman's grin fell, and she exchanged glances with the man before turning to face me.
“Katherine," she muttered.
“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Hope she lives the best life," I muttered as I glanced back at the girl.
I could swear I saw a cloud dart over the woman's face when I trudged out.
A smiling man met me outside the building and led me into a black, sleek sedan.
“The train station, right?" The man asked as he switched on the ignition.
"Yes,” I mumbled.
The man turned on the radio and drove off to the train station.
As I sat there, I was tempted to call Anderson and apologize, but I stopped myself. There was no need to pit emotions in this.
I pulled out the book from the bag and stared at the torn-out page. It was the page where Miles was introduced. Someone in that restaurant must have torn it out to stop me from knowing what Miles's role and weaknesses were.
“The master told me about your kind gesture towards his daughter, Alissa.” The man's voice caused me to raise my head.
"It's nothing,” I replied and focused on the book, searching for any detail I must have missed last night.
"People like you are hard to find these days,” the man continued.
I ignored him and kept scanning the book.
"Is that a diary or something?” He asked as he tilted his head back.
I frowned in irritation and slammed the book shut.
"No!” I snapped.
"Oh, the Scorpio,” he chuckled, and my blood froze.
I jerked my head, my eyes widening.
"You… you know about the Scorpio?" I asked.
“No, but I've heard some things about them," he said, and my heart gave a wild leap.
“Like what?" I asked, leaning closer.
The man stopped the car and turned around.
“Hold on, my dear, I need to urinate quickly," he said and got out of the car.
I leaned into the seat in disappointment.
“Hey,” he called, and I looked out of the window.
“One thing is sure, they shouldn't be messed with," he said and disappeared to one of the stalls at the side of the road.
While I was still letting his words sink in, my phone rang. I pulled it out and accepted the call.
“Hello?"
“Is this Adriana Nox?" The unknown caller asked.
“Yes."
“We're calling from the central station,” he said, and I sat up as Salvador's name echoed quietly in my mind.
"Salvador Vlad is dead.”
My breath hitched, my body trembled, and I felt a cold feeling hit me hard.
"Wait…wait…what?" I gasped, almost springing up from my seat.
The line went dead, and I felt a chilling, piercing, beeping sound fill my head.
I needed to go back to Salvador, no matter what it would take. He couldn't just die that way, he promised! He promised he would stay alive!
I pulled the door to get out, but it wouldn't open.
Horror slipped in, adding to the dismay that had me on chokehold.
“Open the door!" I screamed as tears blinded my vision. My heart was torn to pieces, and I could barely do anything aside from scream and cry.
The chauffeur's words, along with those of the man, suddenly echoed in my head.
Katherine. Alissa.
They had given me different names.
I raised my head, and my eyes locked with a pair of dark eyes staring at me from a distance.
It suddenly hit me. The beeping sound wasn't in my head, it was from the car. I was sitting with a bomb.
The beeping sound got louder and faster this time, and there was nothing I could do. The news of Salvador's death had me paralyzed in my seat.
I looked at the man again and watched him remove his mask. My breath hitched, and I died when I saw who it was.
‘Miles Sinclair,’ I whispered his name in my head.
The biker was him. It was him all along. He killed Salvador, ma'am Felicia, those werewolf girls, and now, me.
“I was a fool all along, you were the monster all this time,” I whispered, and the beeping ceased.
My mind stopped, and at that moment, I blew up with the car, engulfed in fire, thrown deep into the pit of hell, left in a burning fire with a burnt body to die.
A tear dropped from my eyes as my breath finally ceased, and my heartbeat stopped. I did what he wanted. I died, I let the fire and darkness consume me with the face of the man I loved being the last thing my eyes were opportubed to behold before the fire turned to darkness.