Page 114 of Petrify

I haven’t seen the world outside of the gates of this estate infifteen years. And he wants me to believe that all I needed to do was let him use me as some sort of weapon.

“See, this is your problem.” Leo glances around—he’s looking for a weapon, something to stop my advancing steps. Something to stopme. Always a liar. He’s never said one truthful thing in his life. “You get so caught up in what’s right and wrong. That’s why you killed the first few, isn’t it? And now you can’t control yourself. You killed your nanny because of some misguided sense of justice. That’s why you won’t killher, huh? Because you don’t think it’s fair? Her life is yours to take. We brought her in foryou.” He’s sputtering now, hands moving while talking. The backs of his knees hit his desk. “All of this, within reach. Your freedom—an avenue to sate your urgesandbe free. But you won’t take it.”

I shove his chest.

He falls into his seat, unsteady from the liquor. His face flushes red with outrage, then whitens in fear the moment I loom over him.

“Oh, Father. That’s where you’re wrong. Idotake what is mine.”

Chapter 51

The Pianist

I don’t remember returningto my room, or readying myself for bed, but I am wrapped up in plush sheets when my eyes snap open to?—

Quiet.

The echoes of a scream fade in my ears. Maybe it was a dream, or maybe it was me, the abrupt end replaying in my head over and over.

The sleek dress is in a pile on the floor like an oil spill. All the jewelry is strewn across the vanity. I’m only in my underwear. And every hair on my body stands on end.

I don’t remember undressing.

I quickly pull on a sweater and a pair of leggings from my pile of laundry, slip on the pair of soft boots sitting by the bathroom door.

Foggy clouds form at my lips with every exhalation. A thin layer of condensation has turned to ice on the windows. The room isfreezing.

Nothing else has been touched, it seems. At some point, I must have returned from the party and collapsed in bed, but I can’t remember a thing past running into Leo and Mariane in the hall, telling me in so many words toget out, and then…nothing. I take a deep breath, wrap my arms around my middle, shivering.

And notice my door is open. The hallway glows yellow on the other side. Completely silent.

Something’swrong.

I don’t think anyone came in here, but there are so many people staying in this house and in the early hours after New Year’s, there’s no laughter trailing down the halls, no music rumbling through the house from the ballroom.

I slip on a pair of shoes and reach for my phone—before remembering that’s missing, too. Something bright and hot squeezes between my lungs. I’m not sure who I would even call.

Deep breath.

If somethingwaswrong, surely I would have awoken sooner.

A nightmare. I must have had a nightmare that shook me from my sleep—every cell in my body buzzing, as though only seconds ago I was running for my life, believing with absolute certainty that I would be doomed if I could not outrun Death.

Any second now, a laugh will sound from down the hall, a hushed conversation between two partners, footsteps, soft on the carpet, betrayed only by the creaking of the wood underneath.

But I still don’t feel Baz around me and the air just seems to get thinner andquieter.

In either direction, the hall is empty. No one was given a room in the east wing, anyway—the guest wing the family actually used was on the west side of the house, I’ve learned. The silence is entirely deafening, and that ringing in my ears won’t go away, even with the soft padding sound of my footsteps on the rug.

There’s no one in the main areas. No couples whispering on the staircase, no sounds traveling up from the ballroom, no music.

The house is a ghost town.

In the foyer, the clock points to nearly four AM. Three hours since I last remember checking the time.

I certainly did not have enough champagne to black out.

A hand lands on my shoulder. My body knows who it is before I can even look.