The Hollow Book Jessica Verday นิยาย & เรื่องราว

Read it again. Lessee: Y. Lockwood. Not Sterling. She'd never been Sterling, not really. He'd borrowed her. Hollowed her out. Turned her into furniture. And she had quietly, methodically, with her maiden name and a one-bedroom flat above a bakery — taken herself back. Lewis opened his desk drawer. Found a blank notebook. Wrote at the top: Things I Know About Yessica. Stared at the page. Tried. Her favorite food. Her childhood. What she read. What she feared. What made her laugh before he'd killed that too.

THIRTY: JESSICA'S POV I watched as Willow grabbed the book from Emily enthusiastically. I didn't know she loved to read this much. She stretched her hands to the stool beside her and grabbed her glasses. I thought she was just being her playful self when she had earlier asked Emily to pass the book to her, but right now? It looks like she is serious. In no time, her fingers flipped the book cover open, adjusting her glasses with her free hand. “A Mystery Romance," she said with a shy giggle. “Ohh I'm so going to love this read!” She continued flipping to the next page.

LYRA The Hollow does not celebrate. That’s the first thing I understand as the council’s voices fracture behind us and the city exhales like something wounded but not yet dead. There is no triumph in the ground beneath my feet. No warmth. No reassurance. Only gravity. The Hollow pulls—not forward, not down, but inward. Toward a center that has nothing to do with geography and everything to do with cost. Cain feels it too. I know by the way his steps slow. By the way his shoulders square, not in dominance, but in readiness.

Elva was a little shaken after the argument with Bridget, so I sat her between me and Veronica, who, when she saw the state Elva was in, began to cheer her up with small magic tricks. When Veronica made some colorful sparkles dance between her fingers, Elva finally brightened once more. Jessica sat on the other side of me. She’d brought a book this morning, and placed it open beside her plate. It must have been a good book, because she seemed entirely engrossed. I made a mental note to ask her for a recommendation later.

Right then and there, all I wanted was to get the hell out of that house full of lies and darkness. Past midnight, a ringing sound came from inside the study closet. A phone I'd never seen before was vibrating. I picked it up gently, and a thick layer of dust fell off. Inside were countless intimate photos of her and Pete. Videos of her holding flowers at his college gate while bystanders cheered her on as she chased after him. And a video of her laughing wildly after she finally won him over. It hit me in about one second. This was Jody's backup phone. She had gotten so comfortable because I'd been in the hospital for six months.

And then— My eyes caught it. A heading. “Hollow.” My heart thudded. I leaned closer. The first line read: Hollow: A power channeled from beyond the living. The air heavier. Elara?!

The questions. It didn’t. The marks on my palm stayed. Door #2. Soon. I stared at those words until the water ran cold. Until the steam cleared and I saw myself in the mirror. Not the same Jasmine who went to sleep at midnight. Not the girl who used to laugh too loud or forget her charger or eat cereal at 2 a.m. This Jasmine looked… hollow. Like she was waiting for something that might not ever come back. —

They stood at the mouth of a valley without name, having walked six hours past where the lattice maps claimed the earth ended. Eleni adjusted her scarf but didn’t break the silence. Torin checked his footing, then looked back up at the trail behind them—steep, scattered with moss-worn stone. Jessica was already scanning the area, though not for danger. Her fingers moved along a thread-bound field journal. No tech. No interface. Just notation. It was what the villagers had asked: no devices inside the hollow. Lena stepped forward first. Below, the valley curved inward like a bowl, its basin filled not with water, but stone. Thousands of them. Each one upright. No order. No names. Just presenc

It was possible, it truly was, for her to be the author of her own destiny. She settled down and turned the first page. The book was blank. Her heart began to thud painfully. It couldn’t be. Why would there be no words? Caitlin ran her fingers along the blank pages, one after the other, turning the pages furiously. There was nothing here, nothing for her to rely on, no advice or truths to turn to. Just nothing. Tears flooded her eyes. How could it be that after everything she had gone through, she was still without the answer she so desperately sought?

He leaned forward, a smile playing on his lips. "Jake, you won't believe what happened," Matthias began, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. "I ran into Jessica and the kids—Mason and Madison—completely by chance at the mall!" Jake's eyes widened in surprise, his expression mirroring Matthias's excitement. "No way! You saw them? How are they?" Matthias nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face. "They're doing great, Jake. Mason and Madison are amazing. They're growing up so fast, and they have Jessica's warmth and your spirit. It was such a joy to see them."