Chapter Seventy Five

Chapter 75

The morning sun barely peeked through the heavy gray clouds, casting a cold, muted light over the Valerian estate. Guards were still scouring the grounds, their movements swift but cautious as they combed through every corner in search of Ava. The weight of the previous night lingered heavily in the air, thick with unanswered questions and growing unease.

Jemima stood by the fountain, the same spot where they had found Ava’s bracelet. Her fingers brushed the charm as she clutched it tightly in her palm, its cold metal biting into her skin. She hadn’t slept; the eerie smile from her reflection haunted her thoughts. No matter how much she tried to shake it off as exhaustion or stress, the hollow feeling in her chest told her otherwise.

Jay’s voice pulled her out of her daze. “Jem, we need to talk.”

She turned to see him approaching, his usual calm demeanor overshadowed by concern. Dimitri and Vanessa trailed behind him, their expressions tense but focused. Dimitri, tall and broad-shouldered, had an air of quiet authority, while Vanessa’s sharp blue eyes darted around as though assessing every detail of the situation.

“What is it?” Jemima asked, her voice hoarse.

Jay exchanged a glance with Dimitri before stepping closer. “There’s still no sign of Ava. The guards have searched every room, every inch of the estate. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”

Jemima’s grip on the bracelet tightened. “She didn’t vanish. Someone took her.”

Vanessa crossed her arms. “If that’s the case, they were damn good at covering their tracks. There’s no evidence of a struggle, no footprints, nothing.”

“That’s impossible,” Jemima muttered, shaking her head. “Ava wouldn’t just walk off into the night. Not with her kids here. Not while still pregnant. Not without this.” She held up the bracelet for emphasis.

Dimitri stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. “Jemima, we’ll find her. But we need to approach this logically. Right now, we have no leads, and Marcus is losing his mind.”

At the mention of Marcus, Jemima’s eyes narrowed. “Where is he?”

“In the study,” Jay answered. “He’s been calling in favors, mobilizing people to widen the search. He’s… not taking this well.”

Jemima didn’t respond. She handed the bracelet to Jay and began walking toward the house, her boots crunching against the gravel path.

“Where are you going?” Jay called after her.

“To see Marcus.”


Inside the study, Marcus sat behind the massive oak desk, his head in his hands. Papers were strewn across the surface, maps of the estate and surrounding areas marked with red circles and Xs. A glass of whiskey sat untouched beside him—a rare sight for Marcus, who usually turned to alcohol in times of stress.

“Marcus,” Jemima said as she entered, her voice cutting through the heavy silence.

He looked up, his bloodshot eyes meeting hers. “What do you want?”

“To talk.”

“I’m busy,” he snapped, gesturing to the mess on the desk. “Unless you have something useful to add, leave me alone.”

“I am your twin Marcus, not an outsider.”

“And Ava is our sister.”

“You wanted her gone in the first place.”

“But she is still family!”

Jemima ignored his tone and stepped closer. “You’re not going to find Ava by sitting here and drowning in maps. We need to think bigger. Whoever took her didn’t just slip past our security—they planned this.”

Marcus leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “And what do you suggest, Jem? That we start pointing fingers? Accusing people without evidence?”

“No,” she said evenly. “But we can’t rule out the possibility that someone on the inside helped them. Ava was in the garden, Marcus. Someone had to see something.”

His jaw tightened, and he looked away. “I’ve already questioned the guards. They all claim they didn’t see anything unusual.”

Jemima crossed her arms, her gaze piercing. “Do you believe them?”

He didn’t answer.

The silence stretched between them, heavy and unspoken truths hanging in the air. Finally, Marcus broke it.

“Jem,” he said quietly, his voice almost breaking, “what if she’s gone for good?”

The vulnerability in his words caught her off guard. She softened, her anger giving way to something deeper. She walked around the desk and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s not,” Jemima said firmly. “We’ll find her, Marcus. But we need to act fast.”

Later that afternoon, the Valerian estate was buzzing with activity. Additional reinforcements had arrived, including trusted allies from neighboring territories. Marcus and Jay coordinated the search efforts, while Jemima found herself drawn back to the garden, unable to shake the feeling that she had missed something.

The garden, with its winding paths and overgrown hedges, felt different in the daylight. The shadows that had seemed alive the night before were now just ordinary branches swaying in the wind. But the unease in Jemima’s chest remained.

She stopped by the fountain, her eyes scanning the area. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it.

“Back here again?” a voice said behind her.

She turned to see Vanessa leaning against a nearby tree, her arms crossed. “I thought you’d be with Marcus and Jay.”

“I needed air,” Jemima replied, turning back to the fountain.

Vanessa studied her for a moment before speaking again. “You’re different, you know. Since last night.”

Jemima stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Vanessa shrugged. “I don’t know. You just seem… off. Like you’re carrying something heavier than the rest of us.”

Jemima clenched her jaw, refusing to meet Vanessa’s gaze. “I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

The question hung in the air, and for a moment, Jemima considered confiding in her. But the thought of admitting that she didn’t even trust herself was too much.

Instead, she changed the subject. “We’re wasting time. Have the outer grounds been searched?”

Vanessa frowned but let it go. “Not thoroughly. Dimitri and his team are heading out there now.”

“Good,” Jemima said, already walking toward the estate. “Let’s join them.”


The search of the outer grounds proved fruitless. The woods surrounding the estate were dense and vast, and despite their best efforts, there was no sign of Ava. The sinking feeling in Jemima’s stomach grew heavier with each passing hour.

By the time the sun began to set, the team regrouped at the estate. Exhaustion was etched into everyone’s faces, but the determination to find Ava remained strong.

Jemima stood by the window in the living room, staring out at the darkening sky. Her reflection stared back at her, but she refused to meet its gaze. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something—or someone—was watching her.

“Jem,” Jay’s voice broke through her thoughts.

She turned to see him standing behind her, his expression unreadable. “What is it?”

“I found something,” he said, holding up a folded piece of paper.

Her heart skipped a beat. “Where?”

“Near the garden,” he replied. “Tucked under one of the benches.”

Jemima took the note from him, her fingers trembling. She unfolded it slowly, her eyes scanning the words written in neat, precise handwriting:

“Tick tock, Valerians. Time is running out."

Her blood ran cold.

“Who the hell wrote this?” she demanded, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jay shook his head. “I don’t know. But whoever it was, they wanted us to find it.”

Jemima’s mind raced. The note wasn’t just a threat—it was a challenge. Someone was playing a game, and they were using Ava as a pawn.


That night, sleep eluded Jemima once again. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the words from the note replayed in her mind.

“Tick tock.”

Her thoughts spiraled, each one darker than the last. What if Ava was already dead? What if they were too late? And what if—

“Jemima.”

The voice was soft but unmistakable. She sat up abruptly, her heart pounding. The room was empty, yet she could have sworn someone had just spoken her name.

“Who’s there?” she whispered, her voice shaking.

No response.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, her movements slow and deliberate. The silence in the room was deafening as she moved toward the mirror on the far wall.

Her reflection stared back at her, its expression calm and composed. But as she stepped closer, her breath caught in her throat.

The reflection tilted its head, a slow, deliberate movement that she hadn’t made.

Jemima froze, her heart hammering in her chest. “What… what are you?”

The reflection’s lips curled into a chilling smile. “You already know.”

Morning came too quickly, the gray light filtering through the curtains doing little to chase away the darkness that had settled over Jemima’s thoughts. She avoided the mirror as she got dressed, her movements mechanical.

Downstairs, the estate was already bustling with activity. Guards moved with purpose, and Marcus was barking orders as he coordinated the next phase of the search. Jemima found Jay in the kitchen, sipping coffee as he poured over a map of the surrounding area.

“Any news?” she asked, her voice hollow.

He looked up, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face. “No. Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She forced a weak smile. “Just tired.”

Jay didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press the issue. “Marcus wants to expand the search to the nearby towns. If Ava was taken off the estate, there’s a chance someone saw something.”

Jemima nodded, though her mind was elsewhere. The memory of her reflection’s sinister smile was burned into her mind, and no amount of logic could explain it away.

As Jay continued to outline the search plan, Jemima couldn’t shake the feeling that the answers they were looking for weren’t out there.

They were inside her.