Semua Bab Her Choice To Make : Bab 21 - Bab 30

Tessa's POV:The corridor shimmered with candlelight as Tori rounded the corner, and I stepped directly into her path like I’d been waiting for her all along.Her heels clipped against the floor with entitled purpose, but she slowed when she saw me, one perfectly sculpted brow rising. “Oh,” she said coolly, “you.”I returned the smile with a tight one of my own. “Evening, Miss Tori.”Her gaze flicked over me, not in interest but in disdain—an appraisal of someone she considered a stain on her silk-trimmed estate.“Shouldn’t you be somewhere scrubbing grout?” She said with a tilt of her head.I let the insult land without flinching. Two can play at that game. “I could ask the same. Except you’re not heading to a ballroom or a mirror, so I figured something must be wrong.”Tori’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”I gave a slow shrug, feigning nonchalance. “You left in such a hurry earlier. Thought you might’ve gotten wind that Lucian was finally paying attention to someone other than you.”He

Tessa's POV:I watched her turn on her heel, hair whipping behind her like a banner of war. It reminded me of when my stepmother thought she had the upper hand. And to be honest, she always had. But I liked to think I wasn't the same scared girl anymore. But it was one thing to think that and another to put it to the test. I guess it was now or never.Tori really thought it was over—thought she’d landed the final blow, for she didn't even look back as she headed to her room. But I couldn’t let her walk away. Not yet. Not until Amelia and the girls had cleared the room. Not until I bought us just a little more time.“Tori,” I called after her, my voice sharper than I intended. “You really think this is how you win?”She paused, just for a second. That was all I needed.“You're wasting your time, you know,” I continued, stepping forward. “Digging through the dirt, trying to find cracks in something that’s not even breaking.”She turned slowly, the same predatory calm in her expression,

Tessa's POV:It was another day. I found a loose thread on the edge of my sleeve and began unknotting it slowly, pulling it free with the sort of concentration one would normally use for disarming bombs. Anything to keep my hands busy. Anything to delay the creeping sense of helplessness that had been yipping at my heels since Amelia said it, “We didn’t find anything.”The room was quiet again, except for the soft sounds of the curtains and the occasional creak from the old floorboards beneath us. It was well past midnight now. Everyone was too tired to speak, but too wound up to sleep. We had been at it for hours, thinking of what to do. Grace sat cross legged on the floor, playing around with a broken quill. Amelia paced quietly near the fireplace, eyes flicking from the flames to the closed wardrobe like it might burst open and offer us answers. I almost snorted at this. If only.Lily leaned against the bed, chewing her lip. Kate, on the other hand, stared blankly at the far wall.

Tessa's POV:Leaving the girls and heading to my room, I didn't notice the time fly, my mind too preoccupied on everything, from the mysterious figure in the hood to the way the rumor had spread like wildfire. It was almost enough to distract me from a very discomforting fact.The room was quiet. No, wrong way to put it.The room was too quiet.It was the kind of quiet that wrapped around you too tightly, like a wool blanket soaked in ice water. I’d been asleep – I was sure of it – but now I was sitting up, heart thudding against my ribs like it was trying to escape.A noise again.Soft. Barely there. But deliberate.Scratch.Tap. Huh?My eyes darted toward the window. For a split second, I thought maybe it was a tree branch, a bird, a trick of the wind—Then I saw the shadow move.I didn’t think—I just moved.My hand shot out and flicked on the bedside lamp, flooding the room with golden light.A figure flinched at the window, her hand still pressed against the glass. For half a hea

Tessa's POV:From the moment the door clicked shut, I knew things were going to spiral. For goodness' sake.Summer’s breath came out in hitches in the silence, too loud in the large room. I pressed my body tighter to the cold floor, every muscle locked and straining. The recorder blinked once, then vanished into shadow again—silent, but ever listening.“Hey,” Summer said again, her voice fraying at the end. “I just… I need to know. About that night.”“What night?” Tori’s voice was soft. Friendly. Too friendly.“The night you told me to knock on her door. Tessa’s door.”Silence.From beneath the bed, I could hear the rustle of sheets—Tori had moved. Sat up, maybe.“Summer, you must be confused.” She said, and this time the friendliness was gone. “What are you talking about?”Summer took a deep breath. I could hear her shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the scrape of her boot against the floor. “Don’t do that. Please don’t pretend like you don’t know. You told me to say tha