A thick, heavy steamer. Three sturdy locks. A room sealed tight, with no cracks, no escape.
How did he think I had managed to slip away, just like that?
Fueled by rage, Tristan bolted toward the surveillance room, leaving Jessica trembling behind. He pulled up the footage with
frantic hands, his breath uneven.
The screen flickered to life. There I was, trapped inside the steamer, thrashing wildly. The lid rattled under the force of my
struggle.
1/3
Chapter 5
Then my movements began to slow. Bit by bit, I stilled. Until finally, silence.
At some unknown point, the first fly appeared. Then the second. The third…
+15 Bonus
But still, Tristan refused to accept it. His eyes were bloodshot, his lips curled in fury. “It was the butler! That traitorous old
bastard! He must have tampered with the footage to help Crystal escape! He ran away because he was afraid of being caught! I’ll
drag him back here myself!”
For the first time in my life, I felt a pang of sympathy for that old man.
He had watched Tristan grow up. Yet now, without hesitation, the boy he once cared for had thrown him under the bus.
And worse, he intended to make him pay for it.
Jessica came stumbling over, tears streaming down her face. There were still a few pale, squirming maggots clinging to her hair.
“Tristan, tell me the truth. Crystal is dead, isn’t she?”
“Nonsense!”
Tristan’s palm cracked across her cheek with such force that even I, as a bystander, was momentarily stunned.
In my memory, this was the first time he had ever laid a hand on Jessica.
He had always treated her with nothing but the utmost care.
“Crystal colluded with the butler and escaped! They planned this perfectly–so perfect that they even managed to alter the
surveillance footage!”
His voice was shaking, unhinged, barely tethered to reason.
“I will find her. I will make sure she has nowhere left to run.”
His eyes gleamed with something close to madness. He stood on the precipice of total collapse.
Jessica was still clutching her face in disbelief when Tristan suddenly lunged forward.
“Tristan, you-”
“Remember what I said.” His fingers closed around her throat, his grip like a vice. His voice was a low, dangerous whisper.
“Crystal isn’t dead. She just ran away. If I ever hear you spreading rumors, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
I watched as Jessica gasped for air, her face turning red from the pressure of his hand.
For a moment, I had thought Tristan’s cruelty toward me stemmed from his love for Jessica.
But now, I saw the truth.
He never cared about her.
