The next morning, I was running on nothing but caffeine and nerves. Tessa’s words from the night before echoed in my mind, and I couldn’t shake the eerie parallels between Evelyn and myself. I spent half the night turning it over, her warnings about Victor Cross, the curse, and the idea that I was some kind of “disposable” pawn.
I wasn’t about to let Tessa’s words fester in silence any longer. If the brothers were hiding something, I needed to know. And I wasn’t leaving until I had answers.
I found them in the library during lunch. Aiden was sitting on one of the long tables, tossing a small paper ball into a trash can with a smug grin, while Grayson sat in the corner, flipping through a book he clearly wasn’t reading. Asher was quietly sipping his coffee, but his eyes darted toward me the moment I walked in.
The room quieted as I marched up to them, my heart pounding in my chest. “We need to talk,” I said, my voice firmer than I felt.
Grayson didn’t even look up from his book. “I’m busy,” he muttered.
“Make time,” I snapped.
That got his attention. He closed the book with a deliberate slowness and leaned back in his chair, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “What is it now, Lila?”
I crossed my arms, refusing to back down. “Tessa came to my house last night.”
That got a reaction. Asher froze, his mug halfway to his lips, and Aiden actually missed the trash can he was aiming for. Grayson’s expression remained impassive, but I could see his grip tightening on the edge of the table.
“And?” Grayson said, his voice calm but laced with tension.
“She told me about the curse,” I said, watching their faces carefully.
Aiden burst out laughing. “The curse? Seriously? That’s what you’re upset about?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” I shot back, my voice rising.
“No, but you do look like you’ve been talking to someone with too much free time,” Aiden said, smirking as he leaned back against the wall.
I ignored him and turned to Grayson. “She said your father believes in some… ritual. That he thinks someone has to die to keep your family’s wealth and power intact. That Evelyn—”
“Stop,” Grayson interrupted, his voice sharp as a knife.
I faltered, surprised by the sudden steel in his tone.
Grayson stood, his eyes cold and hard as he loomed over me. “Tessa doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s just trying to scare you.”
“Is she?” I demanded, refusing to back down. “Because the more I think about it, the more everything adds up. Evelyn’s disappearance, the way you all act like she never existed, the weird notes I’ve been getting—”
“She doesn’t know anything, Lila,” Grayson said, his voice icy. “And neither do you.”
“Then tell me,” I shot back, my voice trembling. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me none of this is true.”
Grayson’s jaw clenched, his silence deafening.
“She’s right, you know,” Aiden chimed in, his voice light and mocking. “You really don’t know what you’re talking about. A curse? Seriously? You sound like you’ve been watching too many horror movies.”
But his smirk didn’t reach his eyes, and there was something almost… nervous about the way he kept glancing at Grayson.
I turned to Asher, who had been silent the whole time. “What about you?” I asked. “You haven’t said a word.”
Asher avoided my gaze, staring down at his coffee like it held all the answers in the world. “There’s no curse,” he said quietly, but his voice lacked conviction.
I stared at him, my frustration boiling over. “You’re all lying to me,” I said, my voice breaking.
Grayson stepped closer, his expression cold and unyielding. “You need to stop digging, Lila. You’re going to get yourself hurt.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“It’s a warning,” he said simply.
I stared at him, trying to find some crack in his armor, some sign that he was lying. But his face was unreadable, his eyes colder than ever.
“Fine,” I said finally, my voice trembling with anger. “If you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll find it myself.”
Grayson didn’t respond, but the look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
Diary Entry
Date: November 10th, 11.45 am
Dear diary,
They’re lying to me. All of them. Grayson tries to act like he doesn’t care, but I can see the tension in his jaw every time Evelyn’s name comes up. Aiden laughs it off, but it’s so forced it’s almost pathetic. And Asher… Asher looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. They’re hiding something, I know it. And I’m going to find out what.
But here’s the thing: I don’t know if I even want to find out anymore. The deeper I dig, the darker this all gets. And the scariest part? The more time I spend around them, the harder it is to walk away. They’re being… different. Kinder. More protective. Even Grayson, in his own cold, brooding way. It’s like they’re trying to keep me close.
But I can’t ignore the feeling that I’m walking straight into a trap.
Lila
That night, as I was grabbing my books from my locker, something fell to the floor. A small piece of folded paper, crumpled and torn at the edges. My heart sank as I picked it up and read the words scrawled across it:
“Evelyn didn’t listen either.”