Madeline is already mine. She just needs a little more time in the dark to realize it.
CHAPTER 10 - Madeline
My entire body goes rigid the second I hear Lucy's voice outside the cold storage.
Did she see him? No. Not now. Please, not now. My vision goes blurry for a heartbeat before I can shake it off. Then, Lucy bursts through the heavy metal door, heading straight for me. Her expression is a mix of fear and utter confusion.
“Madeline Emerson, who the fuck was that man sneaking out of the mortuary this late at night?”
She demands, crossing her arms over her chest as she waits for an answer.
The words die in my throat. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. A single tear escapes, sliding down my cheek, and I quickly brush it away.
It’s too much. All of this is just too much. Lucy notices my expression immediately, her anger vanishing as quickly as it came. She rushes toward me, pulling me into a desperate hug.
“Mali, you can tell me anything. You know that.”
My eyes flicker toward the bodies still pulled out on their trays. Lucy follows my gaze, and her breath hitches.
“What happened here?”
She steps closer, her eyes landing on Jake’s corpse.
I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Is that—“
“Yes,” I cut her off, finally finding the courage to speak.
She’s stunned. I can’t tell if she’s more furious that I didn’t tell her about his death or the fact that she just ran into a stranger who clearly didn't have permission to be here.
Either way, I lied to her. Now, the consequences are eating me alive. She’s probably going to kill me herself.
“He was murdered the night of the masquerade party. Tortured,” I state, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears as I try to maintain some semblance of professional detachment.
Her suspicion spikes instantly. I can practically see the gears turning behind her eyes, connecting dots I'm desperately trying to erase.
“The night you both went alone into the private lounge, you mean?”
Her tone isn’t accusing. She knows I couldn’t do it, but she knows I’m hiding something. Something really important.
Before I can even attempt a lie, my phone vibrates in my pocket. My heart stops. I pull it out, my fingers trembling as I glance at the screen.
UNKNOWN:“Don’t you dare tell her about me, Madeline.”
A firm warning. Unmerciful. Cruel.
It's like he's standing right behind me, his breath cold against my neck. I don’t let my face betray the terror. Lucy is scanning my every move like a detective now.
What the fuck am I supposed to tell her? If he wants me to keep quiet, he could at least send some actual instructions instead of just psychological warfare.
I need to tell the truth. At least a part of it. Even if he kills me for it eventually. The weight of this silence is eating me alive.
“Before the masquerade party, someone approached me,” I begin, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to steady it. I hate how weak I sound.
“A man. The one you just met in the hallway.”
I take a breath, the sterile air of the morgue suddenly feeling too thin.
