Chapter 54: The Voice in the Dark

The lights didn’t just go out.

They died.

One second the room was dim but visible, the next swallowed whole by darkness so thick it felt physical, pressing against my eyes, my chest, my thoughts. The hum of electricity cut off mid-breath, plunging the safehouse into a silence so complete I could hear my own pulse pounding in my ears.

“Stay where you are,” Elliot’s voice cut through the dark, low and controlled. My dad’s best friend didn’t sound surprised. That scared me more than panic would have.

I didn’t move.

Not because I was obedient but because my body had locked up.

The voice that had spoken wasn’t unfamiliar.

It wasn’t distorted.

It wasn’t rushed.

It had been calm.

Intimate.

As if the speaker knew exactly where we were standing.

“Hello,” the voice repeated, closer now. “Did you miss me?”

My skin prickled.

“Show yourself,” Marcus demanded, his tone sharp, authoritative. My stepbrother moved somewhere to my left, positioning himself between me and the sound instinctively.

Soft laughter echoed.

“Oh, Marcus,” the voice said. “Still trying to play protector? That’s adorable.”

Marcus stiffened.

They knew his name.

Liam shifted near the hallway, his breathing measured but tense. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I disagree,” the voice replied smoothly. “I think this is exactly where I should be.”

A faint click sounded.

Then a dim emergency light flickered on near the far wall, bathing the room in a dull red glow.

And there they were.

Standing near the back door.

Relaxed.

Unarmed.

Smiling.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

It was her.

Someone I hadn’t seen in years.

Someone I’d hoped never to see again.

Not because she’d hurt me directly but because everything about her presence had always felt wrong.

“You,” I whispered.

She tilted her head, eyes locking onto mine with unsettling familiarity. “Still so expressive. I always loved that about you.”

Elliot moved immediately, placing himself half a step in front of me. “You’ve crossed a line.”

She laughed softly. “Oh please. Lines were crossed long before tonight.”

Marcus’s voice dropped. “How did you get in?”

She shrugged. “You’d be amazed how easy it is when people underestimate how much attention others pay.”

Liam’s gaze hardened. “You’re not leaving here.”

She smiled wider. “Oh, I am. But not before I finish what I started.”

My stomach twisted.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

Her eyes never left mine. “Clarity.”

She walked slowly into the red-lit space, heels clicking softly against the floor like a countdown. No one stopped her. Not because they couldn’t but because every instinct warned us that she wanted us exactly where we were.

“Your journal,” she said casually. “Such an intimate thing. You’re very honest with yourself.”

Shame burned through me. “You had no right.”

“I had every right,” she countered. “You wrote about us.”

My breath hitched. “That was private.”

She laughed again. “You don’t actually believe privacy exists anymore, do you?”

Elliot’s voice was lethal. “Get to the point.”

Her gaze flicked to him, assessing. “You’re even more fascinating up close. My father’s old friend. The protector. The man who pretends he doesn’t want what he absolutely does.”

Elliot didn’t flinch but I felt the tension ripple through him.

Then she turned to Marcus.

“And you,” she continued. “The stepbrother. Always hovering. Always waiting.”

Marcus clenched his jaw.

Finally, her eyes slid to Liam.

“And the mate,” she said thoughtfully. “So loyal. So controlled. But even wolves slip.”

Liam didn’t respond but his shoulders tensed, like a coiled spring.

She stepped closer to me.

“This,” she said softly, “isn’t about hurting you.”

“Then what is it about?” I asked.

Her smile faded.

“It’s about forcing truth into the open.”

She reached into her jacket slowly.

Elliot moved instantly but froze when she held up a phone.

On the screen

Footage.

Me.

Different moments.

Different days.

Talking.

Laughing.

Arguing.

Always watched.

“You see,” she said quietly, “everyone here is lying to themselves. And lies rot. I’m just speeding up the process.”

“You’re sick,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Maybe,” she agreed calmly. “But you’re all complicit.”

She tapped the screen once.

The footage shifted.

This time, it showed Elliot… arguing with someone I didn’t recognize. His voice was tense. Angry.

Then Marcus meeting someone secretly.

Then Liam standing alone in a dark parking lot, speaking into a phone.

I felt dizzy.

“You edited this,” I whispered.

“Of course,” she said lightly. “But editing doesn’t create behavior. It only reframes it.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

She smiled slowly.

“Choose.”

The word echoed.

“Choose what?”

“Who you trust,” she said. “And who you don’t.”

Elliot’s voice was firm. “Don’t listen to her.”

But doubt had already taken root.

She stepped back, backing toward the door. “I’ll give you time,” she said. “But understand this every second you hesitate, I gain ground.”

She opened the door.

Paused.

“Oh,” she added, glancing over her shoulder. “Next time, I won’t come alone.”

Then she was gone.

Silence crashed down on us.

Heavy.

Fractured.

No one spoke.

Because no one knew how.

I finally broke it.

“She’s right about one thing,” I said quietly.

All eyes turned to me.

“This isn’t just about survival anymore.”

I looked at each of them in turn.

“It’s about truth.”

And the scariest part?

I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.

My phone vibrated again.

A new message.

Your first choice is coming sooner than you think.

I looked up at the three men standing around me

And realized one of them was about to be tested in a way none of us could undo.