"Let’s get rid of her now."

A voice filtered through. I veered my eyes to Luca, not too far away, leaning against the wall with arms crossed.

Has he been there the entire time?

I took a cautious step backwards, having a grasp of the situation. This was evidently not a friendly meetup. They came here to get rid of a problem.

Luca pushed off the wall and came towards us. The look in his eyes was like an animal starving for blood. It was hard to imagine that he’d have that look. I thought he was the sociable twin.

My throat bobbled up and down when he stood next to his brother, resting a chin on his shoulder, examining me with his lethal gaze.

I glanced over at Dante, and he had the same countenance, but much darker, like he could easily take out a gun and shoot me in the head.

Wait, do they have a gun on them? I can’t see any. That means—Ah fuck it. They can literally rip me apart with their bare hands and call it a day!

News flash: I heard a itty-bitty rumor about them. They are known for pulverizing their victims with their hands. Beating them up until they are nothing but blood and broken bones.

I thought those were just make-believe stories because I couldn’t exactly picture that kind of shit... it’d take a great amount of strength to pull that off. Regardless, meeting them personally, I’ve come to believe they weren’t just gibberish after all.

"I do like her though..." Luca considered. "Let’s still hold onto our bets. We can increase the timeline. She looks like someone who could still crawl even when her legs are broken." He licked his lips.

This family is made up of serial killers. What the heck?

My palms got sweaty when Dante moved, and my heart almost leaped out of my chest. I went frozen when he brushed past me.

Luca followed, gaze lingering for far too long in a way I wanna glare back at him, but I didn’t want to prolong this. I could barely breathe.

When I felt his eyes were off me, I moved, not stopping, not slowing down either, no matter how wobbly my legs were. Making a right turn, I squeezed my back against the wall, wishing it could just swallow me up.

I stayed there for a while, struggling to pull myself together. Tears slipped down my face, and I wiped them away quickly.

~☆~

The knock at the door made me flinch. I turned toward it, pulse racing.

What now? Are the twins back for blood?

"Mrs. Salvero. It’s me."

That voice... Elliot?

"I-I told you not to call me that," I voiced out, trembling.

"Apologizes. You wouldn’t have answered otherwise."

"What do you want?"

"I brought your things."

Right on cue, soft meows reached me. My babies!

"Drop them and leave," I said, walking close to the door, itching to unlock.

"I was told to give them to you personally."

I clenched my teeth. "There’s no need for that. Ju-Just leave them."

"I can’t do that, Ana."

My fingers threaded through my hair, pushing it back as I bit my lip.

He’s not gonna leave them out there, is he?

I exhaled sharply, took my switchblade, and hid it behind my back before unlocking the door.

Two ragdolls inside a woven basket came into view. Their eyes went big when they saw me, and my expression softened but hardened the next second.

"Whose idea was to put them in a basket?" I eyed the silly decor that came with it.

"Mine..."

I locked on his green eyes, and he smiled.

"I’m sure they’d appreciate a warm welcome into their new home." He snapped his fingers, and I heard movements that provoked me to back away.

However, it was just the maids bringing in clearly what wasn’t my luggage but items for my ragdolls.

Food, litter box, grooming tools, bed, scratching post, and more, they could ever need. He must have bought everything meant for cats, without bothering to learn them.

"What about my things?" I asked in perplexity as I watched the maids leave.

"Don told me to get your pets and provide everything they needed. Was there something else I could have brought?"

I specifically told Zade I needed my things too. Did he not hear me? Or is he trying to pull my leg?

"There should be..." I gritted my teeth.

Elliot’s eyes moved, and a maid walked in with my handbag, dropping it with the rest of the items. The same one I leave at the academy.

A quiet scoff escaped me. "Seriously?"

This was a bold statement. I could already hear Zade’s irritating masculine voice as he spoke with that wicked smirk. You wear only what I provide.

I let out a dry chuckle, and Elliot narrowed his eyes at me as if checking if I was okay.

"Tell your Don, he can shove his cigars up his ass, and light them up!" I yanked the basket away from his grip and slammed the door shut.

That backstabbing snake! He had no intention of getting me my personal things, did he?

Feeling a soft brush of fur, I leveled my gaze to blue eyes looking up at me like I’m their whole world.

I released a breath, a smile stretching my lips. I set the basket down on the bed, and they jumped out.

"Hellooo," I cooed sweetly as they came to me. "I miss you too. Did you miss me? Yes, you did! I know you did, my beautiful, beautiful babies. Mommy’s here now."

They curled in my arms, nuzzling into my chest, purring softly.

Coco and Boba were my sister’s cats. After she died, I had looked over them ever since. They were my closest companion, always curling up next to me.

It may be a bit superstitious, but I think my sister’s spirit was watching me through them.

"Muah! Muah!" I pressed kisses to both of them. "Now, I won’t be alone anymore."

But then my smile turned sad. I got off the bed, walked to where the things were piled up, took my handbag, searched through it, and found my phone.

I pressed the power button, waiting a few seconds before I immediately dialed Jacob’s number. The line kept cutting off mid dial without going through, so I kept trying and trying.

"Is there no service here?" I grumbled, pacing.

Are the ghosts in this manor running interference or something?

I jumped when I heard a loud thud, my eyes scanning my entire room at speed. I settled them on the bed, my cats grooming each other, so it couldn’t be from them.

I don’t think it came from my room either.

I shook my head, brushing it off as nothing, and tried Jacob’s number again. A wash of relief surged the moment the line connected, only to rot away when an automated voice answered.

"The number you have dialed is not available."