Chapter 124– "The Mansion Without Half Its Chaos"
Watson-Mariano Mansion
New York City
The mansion was quiet.
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Suspiciously quiet.
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Dangerously quiet.
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Half the chaos generators had left that morning.
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No Freya screaming.
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No Cin creating problems.
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No Rory encouraging those problems.
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No Yuri refusing to answer questions.
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The mansion felt...
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Empty.
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JJ
Sat dramatically on the couch.
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JJ
"I miss them."
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Percy
"They left six hours ago."
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JJ
"Exactly."
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Percy
"You're impossible."
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JJ
"I know."
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Meanwhile
The doctors had somehow become the responsible adults.
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A terrifying concept.
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Kitchen
Care and Lyra were cooking dinner.
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Which meant the kitchen was actually functioning.
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For once.
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Lyra
Cutting vegetables.
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Care
Working on dessert.
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The smell alone was enough to make everyone wander toward the kitchen.
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Like hungry zombies.
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Aera
Appeared first.
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Aera
"Is food ready?"
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Care
"No."
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Aera
"When?"
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Care
"Later."
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Aera
"This is oppression."
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Rhys
Dragged her away.
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Rhys
"Leave the cooks alone."
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Aera
"Traitor."
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Dining Room
Eventually—
dinner was served.
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And suddenly the mansion felt alive again.
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People talking.
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Laughing.
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Teasing each other.
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Passing food around.
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Just like old times.
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Just older.
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And somehow even more chaotic.
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JJ
After her first bite.
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JJ
"Care, marry me."
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Care
"Denied."
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Percy
"Understandable."
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Keifer
"She already has applicants."
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Care
Nearly threw a spoon.
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JJ
Immediately interested.
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JJ
"Oh?"
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Keifer
"Oh."
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Alex
"Oh."
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Aera
"Oh."
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Rhys
Oh no.
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Care
Already knew where this was going.
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Unfortunately.
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Then
The desserts arrived.
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And the entire table became silent.
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Because they looked amazing.
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Perfect.
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Beautiful.
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Dangerously good.
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Percy
After one bite.
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Actually stopped speaking.
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JJ
"He's speechless."
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Keifer
"Record this."
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Aera
"This is history."
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Then
The disaster happened.
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Because Cole Watson opened his mouth.
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Cole
Calmly.
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While eating dessert.
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Cole
"The desserts are as sweet as the cook's lips."
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Silence.
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Absolute silence.
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Care
...
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Lyra
...
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Alex
...
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Rhys
...
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Aera
...
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JJ
EXPLODED.
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JJ
"HE SAID WHAT?"
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Percy
Fell off his chair.
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Literally.
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Keifer
Started coughing.
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Because he was laughing too hard.
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Aera
Hit the table.
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Rhys
Turned away.
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Failed to hide his smile.
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Care
Slowly turned toward Cole.
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Very slowly.
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Dangerously slowly.
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Care
"What."
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Cole
Still calm.
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Still eating dessert.
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Still somehow alive.
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Cole
"What?"
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Care
"Repeat that."
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Cole
"I'm rather attached to breathing."
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JJ
"OH MY GOD."
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Percy
"HE ADMITTED IT."
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Keifer
"Brother, you are finished."
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Cole
"I know."
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Aera
"This is better than television."
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Care
Trying very hard not to smile.
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Failing.
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Which made everything worse.
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JJ
Immediately pointed.
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JJ
"SHE'S SMILING."
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Care
"I AM NOT."
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Entire Table
"YOU ARE."
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Care
Traitors.
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Every single one.
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Then
Grazel Jay delivered the final blow.
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Because of course she did.
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Grazel
Looking at Cole.
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Grazel
"So when are you marrying Auntie Care?"
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Silence.
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Again.
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Cole
Actually laughed.
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Care
Wanted the floor to open.
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Immediately.
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JJ
Pointing dramatically.
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JJ
"The child asks valid questions."
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Percy
"The people demand answers."
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Keifer
"The shareholders demand answers."
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Alex
"I'd attend that wedding."
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Lyra
"So would I."
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Aera
"Front row seat."
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Rhys
"Absolutely."
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Care
"Can everyone stop?"
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Entire Mansion
"No."
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And just like that—
the mansion without half its chaos lasted exactly three hours.
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Before the remaining half created enough chaos for everyone.
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As usual.
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Watson-Mariano Mansion
9:00 PM
Movie night.
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A terrible idea.
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Which was exactly why everyone agreed immediately.
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JJ
"Horror movie."
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Percy
"No."
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JJ
"Yes."
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Percy
"No."
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JJ
"Democracy."
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Percy
"There are ten of you."
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JJ
"Exactly."
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Percy lost.
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Immediately.
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Living Room
Blankets.
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Snacks.
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Soft drinks.
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More snacks.
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Enough food to survive a small apocalypse.
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Everyone settled in.
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Or attempted to.
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Seating Arrangement
JJ and Keifer together.
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Rhys and Aera together.
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Care on one side of the couch.
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Cole on the other.
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A suspicious arrangement.
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Very suspicious.
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The Movie Begins
Five minutes.
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Nothing happened.
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JJ
Already scared.
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Percy
"It's literally the opening credits."
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JJ
"That makes it worse."
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Then
The first jump scare happened.
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JJ
Screamed.
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Aera
Screamed.
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Grazel
Screamed because they screamed.
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Keifer
Almost dropped his drink.
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Percy
Regretted existing.
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Twenty Minutes Later
The movie became darker.
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The music became creepier.
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The atmosphere became tense.
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And suddenly—
someone touched Care's shoulder.
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Care
Nearly launched into orbit.
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Care
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
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Cole
Trying very hard not to laugh.
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Cole
"Me."
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Care
"WHY?"
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Cole
"You looked focused."
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Care
"You are unbelievable."
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JJ
From the other couch.
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"He got you."
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Percy
"Very easily."
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Care
Traitors.
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Every single one.
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Thirty Minutes Later
Another jump scare.
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This time the entire room reacted.
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Including Cole.
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Which nobody expected.
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JJ
Pointing.
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"HE FLINCHED."
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Keifer
"Record it."
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Cole
"It didn't happen."
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Everyone
"It happened."
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Then
The power went out.
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Silence.
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Absolute silence.
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Aera
"..."
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JJ
"..."
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Grazel
"..."
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Percy
"..."
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Then
Someone screamed.
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Loudly.
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JJ
"WHO TOUCHED MY FOOT?"
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Keifer
"I DID."
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JJ
"WHY?"
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Keifer
"Because it was funny."
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JJ
"DIVORCE."
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Keifer
"We aren't married yet."
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JJ
"PRE-DIVORCE."
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The lights came back.
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Chaos resumed.
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Later
Another jump scare appeared.
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Care actually jumped.
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And before she could complain—
Cole caught her arm to steady her.
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Cole
"See?"
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Care
"See what?"
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Cole
"You got scared."
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Care
"I did not."
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Cole
"You absolutely did."
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Care
"No."
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Cole
Smiling.
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"Denial."
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Care
"That's my line."
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The Movie Ends
Two hours later.
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Nobody understood the plot.
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Half the room had screamed.
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The other half had caused the screaming.
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A successful movie night.
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Then
Someone noticed something.
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Aera
"Wait."
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Rhys
"What?"
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Aera
"Where are Alex and Lyra?"
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Silence.
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Everyone looked around.
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JJ
"..."
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Percy
"..."
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Keifer
"..."
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Care
"..."
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JJ
"Oh no."
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Aera
"Oh yes."
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The Search Party
Five minutes later.
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Half the mansion was searching.
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For absolutely no reason.
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Definitely not to gather gossip.
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Absolutely not.
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Library
The door opened.
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And there—
sitting together in the corner—
were Alex and Lyra.
Kissing each other. Deeply.
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Both immediately looking up due to noise.
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Silence.
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Very awkward silence.
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JJ
"..."
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Percy
"..."
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Aera
"..."
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Rhys
"..."
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Keifer
"..."
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Alex
"..."
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Lyra
"..."
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JJ
Slowly closed the door.
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JJ
"We saw nothing."
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Percy
"We definitely saw something."
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Aera
"A lot of something."
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Lyra
From inside:
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"GET OUT."
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JJ
Immediately running away.
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"LOVE YOU TOO."
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The entire mansion erupted into laughter.
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And somewhere in New York—
the peaceful, mature adults of the mansion once again failed to behave like mature adults.
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Completely.
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As usual.
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Trinity Medical Campus, New York
While the mansion laughed.
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While movie nights happened.
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While friendships grew stronger.
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While love slowly found its place.
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Someone watched.
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Quietly.
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Patiently.
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For years.
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Not days.
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Not months.
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Years.
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Four of them.
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And even before that.
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Much before that.
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Midnight
The corridors of Trinity Hospital were nearly empty.
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Only the night staff remained.
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Monitors beeped softly.
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Footsteps echoed occasionally.
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The city outside never slept.
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Neither did the hospital.
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And neither did the shadow.
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A figure stood at the far end of a dark observation corridor.
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Hidden.
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Unnoticed.
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Watching.
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Always watching.
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Doctors walked past.
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Nurses walked past.
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Patients walked past.
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Nobody looked twice.
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Nobody suspected.
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Because the shadow had become part of the background.
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Just another face.
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Just another employee.
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Just another presence.
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For four years.
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Four Years
Four years ago—
it had watched Care Patel.
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When she was still a student.
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When she stayed awake all night studying.
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When she cried after losing patients.
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When she laughed with Lyra.
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When Rhys argued about coffee.
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When Alex brought food because everyone forgot to eat.
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When Cole silently appeared and disappeared from their lives.
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The shadow had seen all of it.
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Every victory.
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Every failure.
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Every secret.
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Every weakness.
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And nobody knew.
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Present
A phone screen illuminated briefly.
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One message.
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Only one.
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Subject: Progress Report
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The shadow typed slowly.
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*Target Group Status:
Connected.
Stable.
Trust Level:
Maximum.
Emotional Bonds:
Strong.*
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A pause.
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Then another line.
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*Recommended Action:
Wait.*
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The message was sent.
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A reply arrived almost instantly.
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Only two words.
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*Not Yet.*
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The shadow stared at the response.
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Not surprised.
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Because this had always been the plan.
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Patience.
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Years of patience.
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Years of observation.
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Years of preparation.
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Waiting for the exact moment.
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The perfect moment.
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The moment when nobody would see it coming.
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Then
Another notification appeared.
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A different chat.
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A different contact.
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Not Kaizer Watson.
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Someone else.
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Someone whose name never appeared.
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Someone whose identity remained hidden.
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Someone whose authority even Kaizer obeyed.
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The shadow's expression changed slightly.
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Respect.
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Fear.
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Perhaps both.
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Another message appeared.
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*Are they ready?*
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The shadow looked out the window.
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Toward the city.
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Toward the mansion.
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Toward the people who believed they had finally found peace.
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Toward the family that had spent years rebuilding itself.
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Then typed.
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*Almost.*
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A pause.
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*The trust is complete.*
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*The betrayal will hurt.*
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The message was delivered.
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Several seconds passed.
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Then the reply arrived.
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*Good.*
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*Let them be happy a little longer.*
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The shadow froze.
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Not because of the words.
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Because of who had sent them.
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Even after all these years—
that person still felt dangerous.
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Still felt impossible.
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Still felt far more terrifying than Kaizer Watson.
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Elsewhere
At the mansion—
JJ was probably causing trouble.
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Keifer was probably encouraging it.
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Care was probably denying everything.
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Cole was probably smiling too much.
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Rhys was probably arguing.
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Lyra and Alex were probably hiding in the library again.
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Life continued.
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Normal.
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Happy.
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Safe.
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Or at least—
they believed it was.
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Because none of them knew the truth.
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That the biggest reveal of their lives had not happened yet.
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That the greatest betrayal had not happened yet.
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That the most dangerous enemy was not Kaizer Watson.
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And never had been.
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The shadow slipped the phone back into a pocket.
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Turned.
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And disappeared into the hospital corridor once more.
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Unnoticed.
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Just as it had been for years.
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Waiting.
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For the moment when everything would finally break.
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And when it did—
crowns would fall.
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Trust would shatter.
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Secrets would surface.
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And the truth would be far worse than anyone imagined.
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Because the game had never truly ended.
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It had only been waiting.
🖤