Chapter 27 Twenty Seven
The evening crept in really slowly..
Mira didn't have much to do today just sit and check the internet a crazy amount of unhealthy times to make sure nothing surprising pops up about Salvatore.
Speaking of the devil she hadn't seen him around all day since last night with his robot Antonio.
“I wonder what those two are up to,” Mira muttered as she stood in front of her mirror for a long time.
Just staring at herself.
Her reflection stared back.
“…West wing,” she repeated quietly.
Then exhaled.
“Let’s get this over with.”
She left her room just as the sky outside started to dim. She walked down the weirdly chilly hall. Was it winter or was this her fear making her cold Mira wondered. By the time she reached the corridor leading toward the back exit, her senses were on full alert.
No guards.
That alone made her stop for half a second.
“…where are the guards today,” she murmured.
Still… she kept going.
The back doors were slightly open.
She stepped outside.
The garden stretched out in front of her, dimly lit by scattered lights that barely touched the ground.
And beyond that… The path toward the west wing.
Mira tightened her hands at her sides.
“…Alright,” she whispered. “Here I go.”
Then started walking. Each step felt louder than it should have. Gravel shifting under her feet. Wind brushes past the trees. Her own breathing becomes sharper.
She followed the path until she couldn't see the main mansion anymore.
She walked a bit further only to meet a gate. She had no idea there was a gate like this at the back of the mansion.. Well, she hadn't been here before.
Her instincts were screaming at her to turn back.
But Mira didn’t move. She took a deep breath and exhaled softly
“…No turning back,” she said quietly.
She pushed through the gate. Night was dark she could barely see anything.
Mira took out her phone from her pocket and turned on her flashlight and walked further.
Then she saw an old building. She walked toward it and it was locked. She looked all right to see if anyone was there..
Nobody..
She dialed the number that texted her and it was unavailable
She called once, twice still unavailable
Mira lowered the phone slowly.
Her brows pulled together.
“…Unavailable?” she whispered.
That didn’t make sense.
Who sends a message like that… and then disappears?
Her grip tightened slightly around her phone.
She turned in a slow circle, her flashlight cutting through the darkness.
Nothing.
No movement. No sound. No sound of anyone coming.
Just the wind brushing through the trees and the faint creak of an old tree nearby.
Her eyes landed back on the building…
Looked old and abandoned.
“…Great,” she muttered. “This is exactly how people die and their body never found.”
Still… she stepped closer.
Her light moved across the surface… cracked walls, dust, rust creeping along the edges of the door.
Mira reached for the handle.
Paused.
Her fingers hovered there for a second.
Then... She took a deep breath and pushed the door… but it was locked
She exhaled sharply through her nose.
“Of course it is. Nothing in this place was easy to access.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped back, scanning again.
Windows.
There had to be a way for her to get inside.. Since she was here already she would rather check for anything that could get Salvatore arrested for good.
She moved along the side of the building, her flashlight shaking just slightly now.
She found a broken window..
Her pulse picked up.
“…You’re really doing this,” she muttered to herself.
She stepped closer.
Carefully. Pushing the loose frame aside just enough to peer inside.
Dark. Completely dark.
Her light slipped in slowly. Dust floated in the air.
Old furniture. Covered..
Mira swallowed.
“…Hello?” she called softly.
Silence. No answer.
Her chest tightened. Her instincts screamed again.
Telling her to leave.. But Mira didn’t move.
Instead… She climbed in slowly and carefully.
Her feet hit the ground inside with a soft thud.
The air was colder here and very dusty.. It was obvious no one had lived there for years.
She turned slowly, her flashlight scanning the space.
Old chairs. A table.
Something broken in the corner.
And then… suddenly she heard a sound
Behind her.
Mira froze.
Her breath caught in her throat.
“…Hello?” she said again, this time quieter.
Nothing. No answer
But she knew what she heard.
She turned slowly. The beam of her light moved across the wall— and stopped.
Something was there.
A shape.
Her heart started pounding.
“…What the hell…is that” She stepped closer.
One step and another she moved closer and suddenly her stomach dropped.
Birds..
Dead birds with their legs off and their eyes bleeding neatly arranged on a table behind the kitchen.
Mira’s breath hitched.
“What the…” Her voice barely came out.
Her mind flashed instantly.. Her room.
Her bed.
It was the same kind of bird.
Her grip on the phone tightened so hard her fingers hurt.
“This isn’t a coincidence,” she whispered.
A cold realization settled in her chest… Whoever sent that message… Wasn’t helping her.
They were haunting her and warning het.
Her light shifted slightly— and that’s when she saw it.
Something under the birds
A piece of paper.
Mira didn’t want to move closer. Everything in her told her not to. But she did anyway.
She swallowed hard
Her hand reached out.
Picked it up. Her flashlight shook slightly as she lifted it.
A photo. Her.
From tonight.. When she stepped out of the mansion
Her chest tightened violently as she moved back slowly.
“…Jesus Christ …”
That meant— whoever sent her that text was right here watching her.
Her head snapped up.
Her eyes darted around the room.
Dark corners.
“Okay—” she whispered quickly, her breathing picking up.
“Okay, this isn’t funny anymore—”
A sound cut through the silence.
Closer this time…. Right behind her.
Mira turned sharply—
“Hello?”
No answer..
Her heart slammed harder.
“Fuck this—”
She didn’t wait another second. She turned and ran.
Out of the room. Through the hallway. Back toward the broken window she came through.
Her footsteps echoed too loudly now. Too fast. Like they weren’t just hers anymore.
Like someone else was also following her..
Chasing her.
Right behind her.
“Who the hell would do this—?!” she muttered, panic slipping fully into her voice.
She reached the window.
Didn’t think. Just climbed.
Her hands shaking as she pushed herself through—
Glass scraping lightly against her skin.
Her breath is coming out unevenly.
She dropped to the ground outside— Stumbling slightly as her feet hit the dirt.
And then— Something pulled her attention back.
Slowly… Like her body didn’t want to look.
Like something inside her already knew she shouldn’t.
But she did anyway.
Her head turned.
Her eyes lifted.
And that’s when she saw it.
On the window.
A writing. In thick… wet… red paint which looked like blood… Dripping.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”