CHAPTER 425
Xander’s breath caught the instant he saw it.
There—on the screen—Harmony’s fingers slipped into her clutch, curling around something slender and metallic. A moment later, it caught the chandelier light.
A silver blade.
His heart slammed to a stop.
For a split second, he couldn’t move—couldn’t think.
Just frozen.
Watching a nightmare bloom in real time.
Then it hit him like a punch to the gut.
"She's going to kill her," Xander whispered, the words scraping out of his throat like glass.
"She's going to kill Arianna-and the baby-"
His voice tore through the stunned silence, raw with panic.
“John.” He spun around, eyes wild.
**“What room—what fucking room are they in?”
John and Zach stood frozen, eyes glued to the screen, mouths parted in mute disbelief.
“JOHN!” Xander roared, his voice like thunder.
“WHICH FUCKING ROOM, JOHN?!” Xander roared, the raw desperation in his voice snapping John out of it.
“East wing. Third guest room—down the gold hall.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He bolted.
Xander was already moving, Zach right on his heels, the three of them tearing through the crowd like a storm.
The only thing louder than the pounding of Xander’s feet was the terror crashing in his chest.
Rochelle didn’t hesitate. The second Xander bolted, she was right behind him—heels forgotten, breath ragged, her heart hammering against her ribs like a war drum.
“Arianna,” she whispered, panic rising like bile in her throat.
She shoved past stunned guests, barely noticing the protests, her eyes locked on Xander’s back as he tore down the hallway. Her legs burned with the effort, but she didn’t slow—couldn’t.
If they were too late…
She pushed harder, the sharp edges of fear slicing through her with every step.
Xander, ran...he could barely breathe.
Arianna.
The name kept pulsing in his chest with every step.
The baby.
His child.
Panic clawed up his throat.
How could he have been so blind?
So stupid?
He'd known Harmony for years. Trusted her. Confided in her.
He thought he owed her something-for the past, for the pain-but he never really knew her.
Not like this.
Not this monster.
He took the stairs two at a time, his shoulder slamming into the railing as he stumbled.
John was already halfway up, Zack a pace behind. Xander's legs burned, lungs heaving as he reached the top floor.
They turned the corner-and there it was.
The guest room door.
Xander reached for the handle, but it refused to turn.
Locked.
"Fuck! No-no, no, no-" he gasped, twisting the knob violently.
From inside, the muffled sound of a struggle-furniture scraping, something crashing.
His blood turned to ice.
"Arianna!" he screamed, pounding on the door.
Just another crash.
"No!"
Without hesitation, Xander threw his shoulder into the door. It shuddered but didn't give.
Zack followed, the two of them slamming into the wood together.
Thud. Crack.
Inside, another sound-softer, more terrifying.
Arianna's voice.
Faint.
Panicked.
Then silence.
Xander's heart nearly exploded.
"Again!" he roared.
They braced.
One more push.
The door burst open.
Xander lunged forward-just as Harmony raised the knife above her head.
Arianna lay on the floor beneath her-still, unmoving, her arm limp, eyes fluttering shut.
Harmony's face twisted in something close to ecstasy.
The door slammed open with a crash that shook the walls.
Xander's voice tore through the room.
"HARMONY!"
Xander’s voice cracked through the room like a gunshot—furious, panicked, trembling with disbelief.
Harmony froze.
Her entire body locked in place, breath hitching as if the sound of his voice alone had turned her to stone.
The knife slipped from her fingers.
It clattered to the floor with a cold, metallic ring that echoed louder than it should have in the sudden, suffocating silence.
She lifted her gaze—eyes wide, unblinking.
And there they were.
Xander, Zach, Rochelle—filling the doorway.
Xander's eyes locked on the sight that shattered him completely.
Arianna.
Lying motionless.
"X-Xander" Harmony stuttered,
But he ignored her....
He was already running, dropping to his knees with a thud beside the woman who meant more to him than life itself.
“Ari—baby—no, no, no, come on.”
His hands trembled as they swept her hair back, fingers tender, terrified.
He cradled her against his chest, rocking her gently like she might vanish if he let go.
His eyes darted across her face, down her arms—searching, pleading for signs of something worse.
Blood.
It was streaking from a cut on her head, dark against her skin—but she was breathing. Faint. Shallow. But breathing.
“Ari,” he whispered, forehead pressed to hers, voice cracking.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart. Please... I’m right here. You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay.”
Behind him, the doorway, John, Rochelle and Zach stood frozen.
Their expressions were a chorus of horror and disbelief, frozen at the threshold like they’d stumbled into a waking nightmare.
The flicker of madness drained from Harmony's eyes, retreating into the shadows like it had never been there.
Her spine uncoiled, shoulders rising with eerie poise.
And just like that—click.
The mask slipped back on, smooth as silk.
Sweet. Innocent. Untouched.
As if the monster had never existed at all.
Gone was the feral gleam in her eyes, the twisted anticipation.
Instead, Harmony let out a strangled gasp, staggering a step back from Arianna's crumpled body like she was the victim of some unspeakable horror.
Her chest heaved as if she'd just narrowly escaped death itself. Her eyes flooded with tears on command, wide and frantic.
"Oh thank God, Xander," she gasped, voice suddenly quivering with fear.
"She went insane-screaming at me to leave, to stay away from you," Harmony's voice cracked with faux desperation, her hands trembling as she held them up.
"I tried to calm her down, I swear to you, Xander. I tried to make her see reason, but then-then she just lunged at me! She had that knife in her hand!" Her gaze flicked to John and Zach, wide and panicked.
"She attacked me. I only took the knife from her-only because I had to defend myself. I didn't want to hurt her, I promise! I just... I was scared...I was so scared"
Xander’s red-rimmed, glassy eyes slowly lifted to meet hers.
His jaw ticked, barely restrained fury rolling off him in waves. His hands shook where they cradled Arianna’s limp form.
He didn’t say a word.
Harmony’s lips quivered as she wiped at her face with the back of her hand, letting the tears flow freely.
She tilted her head slightly, making her eyes even wider, pleading.
"You believe me, don't you?" she whispered, her voice trembling just enough to sound fragile, laced with desperation—a carefully crafted whisper meant to hook them, to pull them into her web.
Her eyes flicked from Xander to Zach to John, wide and glistening, the perfect picture of innocence.
She knew this dance.
They always fell for it.
Men like them—strong, protective, easily swayed by trembling lips and tearful eyes.
She’d played this role before.
And for a heartbeat, just a heartbeat, she was certain they'd be putty in her hands once again.
But there was no sympathy in the eyes of the men who stood in the doorway, their expressions hardened. Harmony's mask slipped ever so slightly, the cracks starting to show as she fought to keep her composure, to maintain control.
She moved toward him, arms outstretched as if seeking comfort, safety-even sympathy.
"I was only protecting myself," she whispered, stepping closer.
Xander didn't move.
She bent down, her fingers brushed his shoulder
And he shoved her away.
Hard.
Harmony stumbled back, her eyes flashing with shock, the mask cracking just a little.
Xander's chest heaved, rage written in every line of his face.
"Don't. Touch. Me."
“But—Xander,” she whispered, voice shaking, a fragile edge creeping in as she struggled to regain control.
“I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. She kept saying those terrible things… I thought she was going to kill me.”
"You lying bitch," Rochelle spat from behind Xander, her voice sharp as shattered glass.
"Save the act. We heard everything."
Harmony's head snapped toward her, eyes wide—panic flashing like lightning beneath the surface of her carefully composed face.
"W-what are you talking about?" she stammered, voice rising, brittle and cracked.
"I-I don’t know what you think you saw, but—"
"The brooch," Rochelle cut in coldly, stepping forward, every word laced with venom.
"The one Arianna wore tonight? It had a hidden camera—streaming live straight to that giant screen. Everyone saw the monster you really are.”
Harmony’s lips parted, but no sound came.
Her gaze darted to the screen, then to each face around her—Xander, Zach, John—all of them staring at her like they didn’t know who she was anymore.
"No..." she breathed, voice barely audible. The word crumbled as it left her tongue.
And just like that, the room swallowed her silence whole.
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