The car humd steadily as we drove through the city streets, but my thoughts were anything but calm.
It was like a raging hurricane.
I glanced at Jason, who was staring out the window, lost in thought as he drove. It wasn’t often I saw him this pensive.
"So," I started, breaking the silence, "what do you think about the whole mark thing?"
Jason sighed, not bothering to look at . "It wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities, if that’s what you’re asking."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is on your list of priorities, then?"
He leaned back, his arms folded. "Outsmart my enemies. Get my company back on track. Stray as far away from the Lincoln na as humanly possible. Ping-pong with Joselle and her little sches. You know, just the basics."
I snorted. "Ping-pong with Joselle? That’s a weird way to put it."
"She likes to play gas," Jason said dryly, finally glancing at . "I’m just making sure she doesn’t win."
I couldn’t help but laugh. "You’re sothing else, Jason."
His lips twitched, but the lightness in his expression faded as I brought up another point. "Lucian said sothing about your mom... about her selling her soul for you."
Jason’s jaw tightened, and his gaze snapped back to the window. "Let’s not go there, Kiara. Not now. Not yet."
"Fair enough," I said softly, sensing that this wasn’t a battle worth pushing.
The car settled into silence again, and I leaned back in my seat. That was until my phone pinged, drawing my attention.
Jason cocked an eyebrow, his tone mock-serious. "Ah, her majesty has received a summons."
"Shut up," I muttered, unlocking the screen. My stomach twisted as I read the notification.
Result in Lola Wright’s death.
"Shit," I whispered under my breath.
Jason tilted his head, catching the slight shift in my tone. "What’s that?"
"Nothing," I lied, but his eyes narrowed.
"Uh-huh," he said, clearly not buying it. "You’re terrible at this, by the way."
Ignoring him, I clicked the ssage open.
Lola Wright’s death confird. Cause of death: Asphyxiation. More details pending investigation.
My grip on the phone tightened, and Jason’s mocking smile faded when he noticed the shift in my expression.
"What is it, Kiara?" he asked, his tone more serious now.
I hesitated, debating whether to share this with him. But sothing about the way he was watching —steady, unflinching—made relent.
"Soone sent a ssage about Lola’s death. From... a source I’ve been using."
Jason’s eyes darkened. "And this source? What are they saying?"
"Details," I murmured. "They’re digging into what really happened."
"Let guess," he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "So mysterious dark web guy."
"Sothing like that," I muttered, scrolling through the rest of the ssage.
Jason smirked. "You really like keeping things complicated, don’t you?"
"It’s not like I have a choice," I shot back. "Besides, they’re reliable."
"Sure, because anonymous strangers on the internet are the epito of trustworthiness."
I rolled my eyes. "Says the guy who trusted his fiancée and best friends."
Jason winced but recovered quickly, his smirk returning. "That was different. We fell in the sa trap."
I ignored him, focusing back on the ssage. The details were sparse, but it was enough to stoke the fire in my gut. Soone had ensured Lola’s death wasn’t a simple accident.
Jason’s voice cut through my thoughts. "So, what’s the next move, detective?"
I glanced at him, his grey eyes gleaming with amusent. "Lucian first. Then... I figure out who’s pulling the strings in all this."
He nodded, a rare mont of agreent between us.
"You’re taking this better than I expected," I said, eyeing him curiously.
"Kiara," Jason said, smirking, "if I reacted to everything with shock, I’d be dead by now. Besides..." He tilted his head, his expression darkening slightly. "I’ve got my own ghosts to deal with."
Before I could press him further, the car pulled up to our destination. Lucian’s shadow lood in my mind, and I knew this eting would only lead to more questions than answers.
I sighed, staring out of the car window, my thoughts heavy with guilt. "I feel bad for Lola," I admitted softly. "This whole... crazy thing. She didn’t deserve any of it."
Jason glanced at from the corner of his eye but said nothing at first.
"I wonder how work would be today. Not like that’ll fix anything. It’s just... sad."
He leaned back in his seat, his expression unreadable. "She made her choices, Kiara. That doesn’t an what happened to her was right, but..."
"But what?" I snapped, glaring at him.
"She was in deep," Jason finished, his tone asured. "Sotis people think they can claw their way out of the sses they’re in, only to get dragged down further."
I folded my arms, hating that his words made sense. "Do you know what happened to her son?"
Jason sighed, his jaw tightening. "The company sends money every month. For now, the kid’s in foster care."
I sighed, "What’s his na?"
"Justin Wright. Cute little boy."
"You t with him."
"Yes. This morning. He is just...a child. He doesn’t even understand what’s going on. Playing with his airplane."
I clenched my fists, biting my lips, as I blinked back the tears, anger bubbling in my chest. "If Jessica is behind this..." My voice trailed off, the unspoken threat hanging in the air.
Jason gave a sharp look but didn’t respond.
The silence in the car grew heavy, both of us lost in our thoughts.
***
The car pulled up to our destination. The gate ahead was shrouded in thick, unnatural fog, its black iron bars barely visible beneath the oppressive mist. It reminded of a horror movie, the kind where the stupid protagonist walks right into their doom.
I stared at the gate and muttered, "Is this where Lucian lives?"
Jason chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Welco to the abyss. Or as I like to call it, his creepy lair."
"Why does it look like sothing out of The Addams Family?"
"Because Lucian probably designed it himself. It’s fitting, though, don’t you think? Dark and dramatic, just like him."
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips.
Jason tapped the side of the car door, his gaze shifting to . "You know, you could turn around right now. No one would bla you."
"Not happening," I said firmly, though I felt the knot in my stomach tighten.
He studied for a mont before nodding. "You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that."
"It’s just a dark looking haunted house. What more could go wrong."
He chuckled. "Everything."
He pressed a button and the gates creaked open, the sound low and nacing. The fog didn’t dissipate; if anything, it seed to thicken, swallowing the car as we drove through.
"By the way," Jason said casually, "Lucian’s not exactly a ’small talk’ kind of guy. If he starts speaking in riddles, don’t say I didn’t warn you. He seems like so dark Lord in here."
I gave him a side-eye. "You’ve been here before?"
"Once," Jason admitted, his tone flat. "Didn’t like it then, don’t like it now."
"That bad?"
Jason smirked. "Let’s just say Lucian has a flair for making people feel... insignificant."
"Great," I muttered. "Looking forward to it."
Jason’s expression softened slightly. "Kiara," he began, his voice quieter than before, "don’t get too caught up in this. Revenge—it can consu you. Trust , I’ve been there."
I blinked, caught off guard by his tone. "What are you saying? That I should just walk away? Forget everything Jessica and Gabriel did to ?"
"No," Jason said firmly. "I’m saying don’t let it destroy you in the process. You can’t fight fire by burning yourself alive."
His words hit harder than I expected, and for a mont, I couldn’t find a response.
The car ca to a slow stop in front of a massive, gothic-style mansion. The fog seed to swirl around the dark stone walls as if the house were alive, breathing in the gloom.
I stepped out, the air heavy and cold. "Well," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "this is... cozy."
Jason smirked as he joined . "Lucian has a way of making people feel right at ho. If ho was hell."
"Fantastic," I muttered, clutching my brown jacket tighter around .
It was just noon. But felt like midnight here.
The door to the mansion creaked open before we could knock. A dark figure stood in the doorway, his silhouette frad by the eerie light inside.
"Welco," Lucian’s smooth, deep voice echoed. "I’ve been expecting you."
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