Chapter 593
Snowflakes
Finished
Silence fell like a shroud over the room. The newscaster’s voice on the TV faded to nothing more than distant static. Even the faint hum of the fountain outside seemed to die.
Dove stared at me wide–eyed, mouth half–open, confusion warring with dawning horror.
“What does the alley case have to do with Feroz?” Her voice cracked, barely above a whisper.
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. The words were lodged somewhere between my lungs and my throat, heavy and barbed. I stared at the floor, trying to find one single point of stillness in the storm raging inside me.
I felt eyes on me, too many, too heavy.
Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Coming down the stairs.
Dove sat beside me, her hand closing over mine like a lifeline. Her pulse thundered against my skin..
“Snow, you’re scaring me,” she whispered. “Won’t you talk to me? What does Feroz have to do with… with you?”
I still couldn’t speak. The lump in my throat had grown teeth.
“Snow, please. I’m your best friend. Are we keeping secrets now?”
“It’s… it’s nothing,” I managed, voice thin and cracked. I tried to pull my hand away.
“She’s one of Feroz’s victims.”
The words came from above. Quiet, flat, emotionless.
We all looked up.
3/3
35 pm
Chimer E
Finished
A young woman stood at the top of the stairs.
Small. Fragile–looking. But her presence filled the room like smoke. Her long hair hung in loose waves, eyes dull but piercing, face beautiful in a way that felt almost painful. Nightdress hanging off one shoulder. Bare feet silent on the wood.
“Yasmin,” Marlik said softly, rising from the couch.
My spine locked.
Yasmin.
Cupid’s chosen sister. The one he’d spoken of in quiet, broken sentences. The one taken as leverage, turned into a sex slave to keep their mother silent. The same age
as me.
She descended slowly, eyes fixed on me.
“I saw you on TV earlier today,” she said, voice small but carrying. “And I recognized you immediately. From the photos Feroz kept on his walls.”
My stomach plummeted.
“What?” The word barely made it past my lips.
“He’s a psychopath,” she continued, matter–of–fact, like she was discussing the weather. “Every victim… he kept their pictures. Stared at them every night. Relived it. Sometimes he’d…” She trailed off, eyes flicking away. “Your picture was the biggest. Right in the center.”
Marlik closed the distance in two strides and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him wearily, like she might collapse without him.
“Yasmin, you were supposed to be resting,” he murmured.
She nodded slow, unstable then turned toward the bar counter.
Her gaze landed on Desmond.
She froze.
2/3
2:35 pm
Chapter
Ilet cyes lingered longer than necessary then flicked back to Marlik.
“Will you tuck me in?” she asked, voice small.
“Yes. Come on.” Marlik guided her gently upstairs.
Finished
I sat frozen, disgust and horror churning in my gut so violently I thought I might be sick.
Feroz had used my picture. Every night. To relive it? To pleasure himself?
Dove’s hand tightened on mine until it hurt.
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