Caleb sighed. "I saw Annabeth once..."

"Y-You did?"

"Only briefly, inside his car, and she looked scared for some reason..." He said, staring into space as if thinking back to that day. "And then not so long after rumors flew, the maids were talking about it, about a woman being sent back in a box. That’s how I found out she was a daughter of the Morri family."

A cold chill seized my spine.

"My brothers, they don’t talk about it. They are not allowed to. It’s like a skeleton in a locked cupboard no one wants to open."

That explains why Elliot kept his mouth shut when I asked him why Zade killed her.

"Which is why I wanna help you, Anastasia. It may come off as the usual blood and violence overlooked by them, but to me..." He gritted his teeth. "It’s not right."

"I-I already checked his office, but I couldn’t find it. The only possible place is his room."

"Zade wouldn’t keep something like that in his room; he would keep it close where he can easily have access to it. Zade rarely stays in his room, so it has to be his office. You have already done your search, so lemme do mine. I know that place like the back of my hand."

He took a piece of paper and then wrote down his number with a pen.

"Send me a text so I can get your number in return. Only text."

I eyed his hand when he stretched it for me, the paper between his fingers.

"It’s okay if you don’t trust me. All I wanna do is help you. I feel guilty for what happened to your sister."

"You shouldn’t..." I muttered.

The only one who should feel guilty was me. Because, despite everything he had told me, I still had doubts. But I don’t wanna have doubts anymore, so I took the paper.

I pushed to my feet, holding the piece of paper tightly, about to leave, but I paused midway, darting my eyes to Caleb, who gave me a soft smile.

I gulped as I walked, almost getting to the entrance, when I saw Dante come in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with that usual look whenever he saw me from a mile away.

"I’m not trespassing, I was invited," I replied, before he got any idea.

Dante spared a look behind me before pining me with his gaze. Without a word, he walked past me to Caleb, and I seized that opportunity to leave.

~☆~

"So! How far are you in uncovering your truth...?" Jade said through the phone, sounding exhausted.

I smiled. "Close, I think. It’s all thanks to you. I wouldn’t have sucked it up and done what I had to do."

If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have known Annabeth’s diary was missing in the first place.

"Oh, please, I did nothing, I just said what anyone else would have."

"To be honest..." I began, stroking the top of Boba’s head as his purring increased. "No one would have."

"What? I mean, you have like a ton of friends who would...." she trailed. "Ah... you wouldn’t have been in the café sulking if you did."

"Yep!"

There was silence in the other line before she said in a sad tone. "Must be lonely."

"It is..."

"For what it’s worth, ever since I moved to this city, I haven’t had friends until you. I was riding solo. No time to adjust."

"I’m glad I walked into the beauty house. Now you have no one else but me."

"Oh, please, you sound tempting."

I giggled. It was a good idea to call Jade, for some reason, I knew she would lift my spirits. I made the right call.

"I would’ve come for my nails sooner or later, but it’s gonna take a while. Been so busy."

"No worries! Just ring me up, and I’ll be at your place."

"A-Actually, I’d come to you."

"Okay, no probs. Gotta go now and keep me updated, okay? We can speak in fables and whatever shit."

"I’ll keep that in mind..." I said, amused.

The call ended, and I dropped my phone. I was in the middle of a split, so I leaned my upper body toward my iPad to read the image on display.

The banner for the stage performance for next month just dropped a few hours ago. Casting hasn’t been announced yet, but I knew what to expect.

I’m nervous. More scared than nervous because my training hasn’t been going really well, and I knew Mrs. Valmont could tell.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Too much. My head is swirling with so many things I can’t follow up on, mostly my talk with Caleb. I know I shouldn’t trust him, but I want to. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

This was the only way.

I swiped away from the banner just in time to hear my phone vibrate, and I checked, a sigh rolling off me.

Clara: We need to talk.

This was the seventh time in a role she had sent me this text, and I haven’t replied to any of them. I had deleted and blocked her ages ago, but she must have pulled my number from the group academy chat.

A knock came through.

"Madam, it’s me, Cynthia."

"What is it?"

~☆~

I can’t believe I’m thrust into this again. The closer I got, the louder the gunshots.

This time, it wasn’t your typical handguns. They were using hunting rifles for practice, which put what I saw yesterday on a small level.

Was that some kind of a warm-up, and this was the main dish?

My eyes scanned the open fields at speed, and a subtle ease found me when I didn’t see Zade in sight.

I watched as Cynthia left after bringing me, and suddenly, the urge to follow after her was tempting.

"Ana!"

I turned back to see Elliot. Gulping, I came close.

"Welcome."

"Why am I here?"

"Isn’t it obvious?"

"I want no part of this hunt."

"Yeah, we’d better listen to her..." Dante said, straightening his spine as he checked his rifle, stealing that same look at me, and I rolled my eyes.

"Come on! This will be the best one yet... sis is gonna be joining us!" Luca said, beaming.

"Don’s orders," Elliot said.

"And I’m supposed to shut up and follow them?" I bite back.

"Unfortunately..." Elliot replied, grabbing the rifle. "I have to teach you. You already have experience with guns, yes?"

"This is unbelievable..." I said, having no intention of taking that thing.

"This is a bad idea... the Russo family is gonna be attending," Dante gritted, glaring at me. "She’s only gonna get in the way."