Chapter 8 MYSTERIOUS MURDERER
CHAPTER EIGHT | MYSTERIOUS MURDERER
LYRA
A scream ripped out of me, and I scrambled away, but there was nowhere to run. I was trapped.
“Please, don’t hurt me. I did nothing wrong,” I pleaded, my voice breaking.
I heard a shuffle, and all the color drained from my face.
He was coming to finish me off. I thought I was doomed…done for. But at the last second, just when the hairs on my neck stood up as if someone was behind me, the door burst open, and this time, it was Damien.
Words couldn’t describe the relief that washed over me. I ran to him, throwing myself into his arms like he was my savior, because he was.
His face pulled back in irritation, his eyes wide in shock. “What are you doing here, Lyra?”
“Someone’s trying to kill me!” I yelled, frantically pointing to the back of the room where the killer had been, praying Damien would protect me.
I buried my face in his chest, trembling. He held me, but didn’t move to chase the killer. Still, I felt safe, because he was here.
“What’s going on?” I heard Damian ask his brother as he joined us.
Damien shrugged nonchalantly, like there wasn’t a murderer in the room.
“Someone was trying to kill me! He rushed at me with a dagger!” I cried harder, fear twisting through every inch of me.
It was silent for a while before Damian finally spoke, his tone cautious. “There’s no one here, Lyra. No one was in this room when we came in.”
Color drained from my face as I tore away from Damien and pointed at where the killer had been. But when I turned, there was nothing. Only the curtain swaying gently and the echo of my own voice shouting, “There he is!”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. No one could just vanish like that. I rushed to the curtain, pulling it back, desperate to prove I wasn’t losing my mind, but there was no one.
“Someone was here earlier, I swear!” I frantically touched the walls, searching for a hidden passage. That was the only explanation.
“He held a dagger and said he’d kill me because I saw something I shouldn’t have.”
The twins exchanged a look, then turned back to me with pity.
“I think you should rest,” Damian said gently, guiding me out of the room. “Seems like the pregnancy is taking a toll on you.”
“No! Someone was there. There must be a hidden door. He escaped somehow!”
Damien scoffed. “The only other door here is the one we came through. Unless he’s invisible, someone would’ve seen him leave. You know what I think?”
He stepped closer, his gaze sharp. “I think you’re lying to avoid punishment for sneaking into this room without my permission.”
“That’s enough, Damien,” Damian cut in sharply. “She’s obviously shaken. Maybe she hallucinated because of the trauma. After all, you killed Adrian in her presence.”
His defense should’ve comforted me, but instead, it sent a chill down my spine. Maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe I was going mad.
There was no point arguing further. Damian led me back to my room and lay beside me, pulling me into a protective embrace.
“Nothing will happen to you. Not while my brother and I are alive,” he murmured, stroking my hair until my body relaxed.
If I had any doubt about staying with the twins, tonight erased it. I was safest here. And no matter what happened, I wouldn’t harm either of them.
Sleep came quickly, but it didn’t last.
A loud crash jolted me awake. My window was wide open.
Still half asleep, I got up to close it, assuming Damian must have forgotten to lock it. But the moment I reached for it, a hand gripped mine, cold and strong.
A palm clamped over my mouth, silencing my scream.
It was him. The same hooded man.
I shut my eyes, praying it was another hallucination, but when I felt the icy blade press against my neck, I knew it was real.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as his breath brushed my ear.
“Tell anyone about this, and I’ll kill you without hesitation. Be grateful my boss ordered me to keep you alive.”
And then, he was gone. Vanished like he was never there to begin with.
My hands trembled as I noticed a white paper on the window.
It was the same handwriting as before, the same one that sent me the poison meant for the twins.
It read:
“You don’t have a choice. The twins must die. Ten days. Only ten days to live.”
I didn’t know if I only had ten days to live, or if it meant the twins did.
But I remembered his whisper, his promise to kill me if I told anyone.
I couldn’t risk it. I had to obey. Even if I didn’t care about my own life, I had a child to protect.
I reached for my pocket to take out the poison, but it was gone.