2025-12-23 22:06:46
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
It attacked again
The house got real quiet after Iden and Maria took off. Not a peaceful quiet. The kind that presses on your eardrums. Leo was over by the windows again, jiggling the locks like they might’ve changed in the last two minutes. Chloe hadn't moved from the couch beside Bella. She had a kitchen knife in her hand, just resting on her knee, but her stare was drilling a hole down the dark hallway.Bella was trying to breathe like a ghost. In. Out. Slow and silent. The blanket wrapped around her smelled like my grandma's closet—dust and dried lavender. She was clinging to that smell like a life raft.Then a floorboard creaked.Not from the hall. From over by the kitchen.Leo went statue-still. Chloe’s grip on the knife got so tight her knuckles popped white. They didn't even glance at each other. Just held their breath.There it was again. Another creak. Closer. This wasn't the house settling. This was something putting its weight down.A shadow moved past the skinny window on the kitchen door.
We need to kill it
Leo’s words, “We need a plan,” hung in the air for only a second before Maria pushed off the wall, her posture all business. “A plan? No. We need to kill it.” The cold finality of it made the room feel colder. Iden’s head snapped up, his expression hardening. “No. We will not.” “You said it yourself,” Maria countered, her cop voice leaving no room for argument. “It hunts. It breaks. It doesn’t stop. That’s not a person, that’s a predator. And predators get put down.” “She is a person,” Iden insisted, his voice low and strained. “Beneath the Storm-Skin, she is still Liana. We should look for a way to help her, not end her.” Chloe let out a short, humorless laugh. “Help her? How? You just finished telling us no one’s ever defeated her. The only way to make her stop is to give her what she wants, which is you, and you say that’s not an option. So what’s left?” “No one has tried,” Iden said, a desperate edge creeping into his tone. “Not to understand, not to reach her. They onl
We need a plan
The room was quiet except for Bella’s shaky breathing. She sat wrapped in a blanket on the couch, clutching a mug of tea Chloe had made. Her hands were clean now, but the cuts stood out red and raw. She kept staring at the floor.Maria had been called just in case it was something that needed police attention. “It’s okay,” Chloe said softly, sitting next to her. “You’re safe here. The doors are locked.”“It ripped the metal,” Bella whispered, not looking up. “Like it was paper.”Leo stood by the fireplace, arms crossed. “Did you see anything else? A face? Clothes?”Bella shook her head. “Just a shape. Dark. It moved… wrong. Fast and jerky, like a bug. But big.”Iden hadn’t moved from his spot by the window. He’d been silent since she finished her story. His face was tight.“Iden?” Maria said. She was leaning against the wall, her cop eyes missing nothing. “You know something.”Iden finally turned from the window. He looked at Bella, then at the floor. “I know who did it.”“Who?” Leo
it's coming for me
The name hung in the air between them. Iden felt like the ground had tilted. Liana. She hadn’t changed. Not really. Her smile was the same. It cut through centuries of time and felt like yesterday.She slid off the car hood and threw her arms around him. He stood stiffly, his arms at his sides. “Iden! I found you. After all this time,” she said, her voice full of a bright, familiar music.She pulled back, still holding his shoulders, and went to kiss him. He turned his head sharply. Her lips brushed his cheek.She froze. Her smile faded. “Why do you pull away?” she asked, searching his face. “It has been so long. Ages.”“It has,” he said. His voice was rough. He couldn’t meet her eyes. He looked at the ground, at the car door, anywhere but at her.“It is because of her, isn’t it?” Liana said. Her voice was softer now, probing.“Who?” Iden said, the word too quick.“You tell me. The woman you just left. In the little metal box.” She said it calmly, but her eyes were sharp. “I felt your
I'm leaving
The spare room door closed. Bella stood still in the middle of the floor. She felt numb. The words from the office played in her head. She has to go. A reminder. They didn’t sound angry. That was the worst part. They just sounded true.A knock. Soft. “Bella.” Iden’s voice.She didn’t want to talk. But she opened the door.He looked at her. He didn’t smile. He just walked in and sat on the bed. He patted the spot next to him.She sat. Not too close. They were quiet. The house was quiet too.“You heard,” he said after a while.She nodded.“They are not wrong,” he said. His voice was gentle but the words were not soft.“I know.”“This feeling you have now,” he said, staring at the wall. “If you let it turn to hate for them, it will make you sick inside. That kind of sickness… it calls to bad things. You would be an easy target again.”She nodded again. A tear ran down her face. She wiped it fast. “I don’t hate them. I really don’t. I get it. I wrecked their home. Knowing they’re right ju
She has to go
The office was too quiet. The only sound was the tap of Leo’s fingers on his laptop keyboard. He wasn’t really working. He was just staring at numbers that didn’t mean anything.The door pushed open. Chloe stood there holding two glasses of orange juice. She walked in and set one down on a clear spot on his desk.“Thanks,” Leo muttered. He took a sip but didn’t look up from the screen.Chloe didn’t leave. She just stood there. He could feel her watching him.“Don't you think we should talk,” she said finally.“About what?” He kept his eyes on the laptop.“Come on, Leo. You know about what. About… all of it.”He let out a short breath, almost a laugh, but not a happy one. “You didn’t want to talk before. When I was asking. When it was actually happening. So maybe we just don’t. I'm over it anyways.”“That’s not fair,” she said. Her voice was quiet but tight. “You're not over it. You’re still mad. You’re sitting there all closed up. You haven’t really looked at me in days.”Now he did l
You may also like
Hidden Billionaire Son-in-law
Deliaha Shine124.9K viewsThe Lowly Son in Law is Quadrillionaire
Riku Ormstrom92.8K viewsThe Charismatic Charlie Wade
Lord Leaf63.6M viewsThe Almighty Landon
Princez75.2K viewsI'm Invincible In The World
JR23372 viewsThe Man They Betrayed Reborn as Their Boss
Shuyu Bee583 viewsThe Heir’s Deception
Ahmedilo227 viewsThe Loser Who Bought The World
Doctor Blaze 970 views