Chapter 4

A scream tore out of me.

I jerked my wrist free from Luther's ice-cold grip and stumbled backward.

Then I yanked the paring knife from my sleeve and held it in front of my chest.

The blade trembled as I pointed it at the shadowy figure before me.

“I knew it. I knew it!

“You're not Luther! He never eats with his right hand. He has a butterfly-shaped birthmark on the inside of his right thigh, and you don't! He's even an inch taller than you!

“You're not him!”

My voice cracked with fear.

“Who are you? Why are you pretending to be him? What did you do to him? Tell me, or I'll kill you!”

My whole body was shaking.

I gripped the knife so tightly my knuckles turned white.

But in the darkness, Luther only let out a long sigh.

He didn't answer me.

Instead, he spoke in that same gentle voice that now sent chills down my spine.

“Lily, couldn't we just keep living like this?

“Why did you have to find out?

“Why did you have to fall in love with Luther Miller?

“He wasn't as good to you as I am. He really wasn't.”

The way he said it made the horrible suspicion I'd been trying not to face grow stronger and stronger.

Something had happened to Luther.

I was sure of it.

Suddenly, my fear gave way to a surge of hysterical rage.

I lunged forward and pressed the blade against the side of his neck.

“Shut up!”

I was screaming now, though my voice shook uncontrollably.

“Where is Luther? What did you do to him? Tell me!

“Or I swear I'll kill you!”

Luther suddenly moved.

Very slowly, he raised both hands where I could see them, deliberately showing me that he wasn't going to fight back.

“Don't be afraid.

“I'm not going to hurt you.”

He tilted his head slightly, easing away from the blade without trying to escape.

Even in the darkness, I could feel his warm breath against the back of my hand.

Slow.

Even.

A breath from a human.

“I just want to turn on the light, okay?

“You need to be able to see where you're standing.”

I tightened my grip on the knife.

“Fine. Turn it on.”

Click.

The overhead light came on.

Warm yellow light flooded the room.

And I froze.

It felt as if every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.

The office looked nothing like I remembered.

The entire room had been transformed into a giant mirrored chamber.

Mirrors covered the floor.

The ceiling.

Every wall.

Even the window that should have let in daylight had been completely sealed behind a massive mirror.

I stood in the center of the room, surrounded by endless versions of myself.

Every reflection held a knife.

Every face was pale with terror.

And in every corner created by the endless reflections stood another Luther.

Hundreds of him.

Thousands.

All overlapping.

All smiling gently at me.

No matter where I looked, he was there.

Every possible escape seemed blocked by him.

Luther reached out and lightly touched the nearest mirror with his fingertips.

“See?”

His voice was almost tender.

“Now you can always look at me.

“No matter where you go, all you have to do is look up, and I'll be there.”

I stared at my trapped reflection.

Then at the man standing in front of me with that horrifyingly gentle smile.

Every hair on my body stood on end.

He was insane.

Completely insane.

Pure survival instinct took over.

I pulled out my phone and quickly tried to send my location to the police without him noticing.

The screen had barely lit up when a hand gently covered mine and stopped me.

Luther looked at me with an almost helpless smile.

“You want to call the police?

“You don't have to make it so complicated. You can just call 911.

“It's okay.

“Go ahead.”