Then Wesley dragged Lillian into one of the guest rooms.
"No! Sheriff! I need to see Robert! Please let me go!"
She screamed, thrashing, trying to break free.
In the struggle
THUD
The second book dropped to the floor.
"No!"
Lillian reached for it desperately,
But Wesley held her back.
"What is that?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
The book flipped open,
And the pages fluttered into view:
"So they decided to play a human game,
To feel alive. Just to feel amused.
One must kill five humans without getting caught.
The other must make a girl kiss him.
And... the girl's name... is... Lillian."
Wesley's eyes sharpened.
"You've seen this... and you still trust him?"
Lillian froze.
"Forgive me, my lady.
But this is for the best.
I can't lose another Wilson."
Her eyes locked on him.
"Please, Sheriff... don't kill him. He's not a monster!"
She struggled harder.
But Wesley didn't even look at her.
He gently shoved her into the room
And cuffed her hands to the bedpost.
He picked up the book, gave her one last glance, and said
"Listen...
You can never trust the Beast.
And he will always be the Beast."
"No, please! Sheriff!" she begged.
But Wesley didn't listen.
He walked out
And tossed the key to Dr. Edwin.
"Doctor, keep an eye on her.
Elrick be ready we move tonight!."
Then he headed to the clinic room.
Lillian sat on the bed, wrists bound.
She tried to pull free
But her strength couldn't match iron.
A girl as fragile as her could never tear herself loose.
Useless. Powerless.
That's how she felt.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Robert... forgive me..."
She whispered.
Just a breath in the silence.
Dr. Edwin stood in the doorway, watching.
Then
A voice echoed in his mind:
"IF YOU KILL LILLIAN,
YOU'LL LEARN EVEN MORE SECRETS."
His eyes widened.
He stared at her, heart pounding.
Then
A soft tap on his shoulder.
"Doctor. Allow me to accompany her."
Edwin turned.
"Mikael..." he breathed.
"Please. I need to clear my head."
Edwin stepped out.
"My lady," Mikael said gently.
Lillian sat curled at the corner of the bed.
Her hair a mess. Her eyes red, still weeping.
Both wrists were cuffed to the pole.
She rested her head against it, broken.
She didn't look at him when she spoke.
"Mikael... I need to see Robert.
I can't let them kill him."
Mikael stood in silence.
Close enough to hear, far enough to respect.
"My lady... if Robert truly is a Beast... I'm sure he can protect himself. For now—"
Lillian cut him off.
"Mikael, Robert is the last person I have left."
Her voice cracked into a cry.
"I just lost my grandpapa.
The Beast killed him.
And Robert..."
Her tears fell, hitting the floor like soft drops of thunder.
His voice echoed in her mind:
"I don't want to lose you, Lillian...
Because I think... I'm slowly falling in love with you."
(Is that true, Robert?)
"I don't know who or what to trust anymore..."
she whispered.
"My lady... I understand."
Mikael knelt slowly. His voice gentle.
"Your father took me in when you were just a baby.
He trusted me.
Not just to accompany you... but to support you.
Without him, I wouldn't have a life.
So for now, let me return the favor."
Lillian's eyes rose to his.
"How was my father like?
I lost him when I was young.
I don't remember my father... or my mother."
Mikael came closer.
He gently helped remove her cape.
"Yes. You were five. I was fifteen.
Your mother and father went on a ship...
And never returned."
"But before he left,
He told me something I'll never forget."
"What was that?" Lillian asked.
"One day, when my daughter grows up...
When she learns the truth of who she really is...
You have to be by her side."
"Who I was?"
Lillian frowned.
"My lady... I'll keep my promise.
Even if you are one of the Beasts...
I will always be by your side."
Lillian's eyes glided toward the door.
At the corner.
A figure of Elrick slipped away.
She blinked.
Then the figure vanished.
Inside the temporary lab,
Wesley sat on a small bed, trying to bandage his arm.
Edwin entered quietly.
"You look terrible."
Wesley gave a tired smile.
"Well... what can I say.
I never asked to deal with a Beast. But I need to getter everyone in this town.
Tonight gonna be the brighter night ever recorded in this town history."
Edwin came over and helped tie the gauze.
Wesley left hands reaching to the book.
And flipped open the second book.
He scanned it line by line.
"So... it's true after all.
Robert was one of them."
Edwin hesitated.
"But his blood...
It was normal.
Nothing like Lillian's."
Wesley's face went pale.
"No way...
Don't tell me...
Lillian is another kind of Beast?"
Edwin smiled slightly.
"You know... if you allow me,
Maybe I could use her for my new project.
I might discover a cure for the town.
I could solve this entire case."
Wesley snapped the book shut.
"Don't!
For now, nothing happens to her. Understood?"
He stood from the bed.
But Edwin kept pressing.
"Are you defending her now?
You know who our enemy is.
You know the Wilsons can't be trusted."
Wesley frowned.
"What makes you say that?"
Edwin adjusted his glasses, trying to remain calm.
"There's something in Lillian...
That didn't come from Ambrose.
Which means it came from her father."
He took a breath.
"In the clinic... no one ever touched him.
No records. No exams.
I believe... Mayor Severin Corvin Wilson...
was one of them."
The words hit Wesley like a bullet.
Then—DONG.
The clock tower rang.
Ten strikes.
"One... two... three..."
Robert counted softly in his cell.
"...ten."
"Hey, Reana," he said.
She lay on her side, clutching a pillow.
"Can you hear me?" he asked.
"Mmm..." she murmured.
"I don't like the smell of the air tonight.
It makes me uneasy."
He stood slowly.
Looked out through the bars.
Only the faintest firelight kept them company.
"Even the fire dances differently tonight..."
He stared out at the shadows.
"...Hey, Reana," he whispered.
"Let's get out of here."