HARDY-
I Walked back into the grand ballroom and my eyes desperately started to search for Joanne.
The infuriating prick who had immaturely sent out that confidential email had truly managed to irritate me tonight, pushing me to the brink of frustration.
Maybe not just a bit. But a whole lot.
The realization that the person responsible for Lisa’s death was in the same room as Joanne and me left me feeling utterly dismayed. I was consumed with an overwhelming desire to take revenge, to inflict the same pain upon them as they had inflicted upon Lisa.
Clearly, the person who sent that email and had Trinity deliver that message on their behalf possesses a level of intelligence far surpassing my own. They must be observing me closely from within the same room, meticulously monitoring my every action and noting how I periodically glance at my phone. It is evident that they have successfully encouraged panic and fury within me, precisely as they wanted.
My anger consumed me, driving me to roam the castle in search of anything or anyone suspicious. I sought out those who seemed capable of wreaking chaos on my life and the relationships I cherished.
I was well aware that my search would be in vain, yet my anger had consumed me to the point of numbness.
Lost in the depths of the castle, my frustration had led me astray from Joanne, leaving me unable to locate her.
Arriving at the spot where I had left her, a frustrated sigh escaped my lips as I glanced down at my phone.
I witnessed Anne’s leaving alongside Asher, leaving me wondering where Joanne could possibly be. Despite completely instructing her to remain in this very spot, her whereabouts remain unknown.
Lisa’s killer was on the lose, and that email Trinity had sent was another invitation to a rope around Joanne’s neck.
An image of a Lisa hanging in front of me, all shades of her body almost white and her feet almost touching my nose- suddenly flashed my mental screen and it instantly made me choke and made everywhere almost pitch black.
I balanced my stand, because it felt like I was almost falling.
“You okay?” Trevor’s voice behind me did a great with helping me beat my feeling of derealization immediately.
I turned to him, simultaneously fixing my composure.
I ignored his question.
“Have you by any chance seen Joanne?”
Trevor’s expression suddenly dropped.
“What? I thought you sent out that lady to come get her.”
My heart made a funny beat.
“What lady?”
Trevor scoffed. “I don’t know, brown skin, goofy smile and smells like lemons, Joanne left with her like a minute ago.”
“Joanne?” I scoffed.
No.
No, freakin way.
“What? Please tell me you sent that lady to get Joanne and Joanne hadn’t walk off with some stranger at my party-
Trevor didn’t have to finish his words before I started walking away.
He started trailing behind me.
“What direction did you see them going?” I asked, my walk almost tranforming into a run, there were still people at the party and I didn’t want to alarm anyone.
The fuckin culprit had taken Joanne.
I had been so fuckin dumb. I could have easily stayed behind with her, knowing he or the freaking she killer was in the room with me.
“Down that Hallway, if we hurry we can catch up to them” Trevor was matching my heavy strides.
“Stay out of this jones,” I ordered.
Trevor scoffed, almost losing half of his breath as he spoke
“What? I can’t. I mean I saw them, if something happens to your Joanne, I don’t think I’ll able to breathe. I’ll be guilt ridden till the end of my life.”
My Joanne?
I didn’t say much and just let him do whatever he planned to do.
Everyone knew about Lisa’s death and annoyingly they all thought she died after hanging herself because somehow she couldn’t bare the weight of being pregnant. The stupid rumour had flown around the city like a plague.
I didn’t correct it, because I was too busy figuring out that Lisa’s death wasn’t suicide.
And Trevor had no idea that it was homicide. Not like we were close to give him a clue. Like I had mentioned.
He was just someone I worked with. He shouldn’t know anything about my life.
And if need got out that Lisa was murdered and the same person was aiming for Joanne.
It wouldn’t be good.
We both made it down the Castle’s hallway and just started to go down the long path, when we came to the end with two dividends beginning.
Trevor suggested.
“I’ll take left, you take right, it both leads to the same end. But you never know,” He shrugged.
I didn’t know why he was helping so much, we were never friends.
I didn’t disagree and went along with Trevor’s plan, making my legs hit faster than ever as I took the right hallway.
Through the haze in my mind and with swift steps, I reached the end of the corridor, finding no trace of another living being.
As I stood at the threshold, contemplating my next move amidst a maze of doors, my attention was suddenly captivated by a dazzling glimmer that was calling me.
My eyes darted to the entrance floor of one of the doors and I hurried up to it.
Joanne’s necklace.
I stumbled upon it and emerged into a vast expanse, surrounded by walls that unveiled the staggering night sky.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I sprinted towards the lone exit, not even stopping to catch my breath.
As I stepped through the door, I found myself outside the castle. It was then that I caught the sound of voices, voices that struck a chord of familiarity within me.
In a flurry of movement, my legs propelled me towards the commotion, my mind struggling to catch up. As the scene came into focus, I witnessed a black van and observed a woman forcefully pinning another woman against the wall, all from a distance.
Despite it being dark, the heavy lights from the castle gave its back a great circle of lighting and just another opposite with darkness, and the darkness was where the tackling was happening.
Before letting my mind wander, I dialed Theodore and approached both women simultaneously.
It was dark, but I could see what was going on. One of the women was backed up against a wall, with her opponent closing in on her. She looked around desperately, but there was no escape. Just then, another car drew up. The door opened, and a hand went out to the woman who was pinning the other woman down.
At this point I started to run toward them.
Fuckin bastard!
“Joanne,” I yelled.
My voice caught both of their attention:
I couldn’t make out their faces or bodies. The woman winning was now lunging for the car, trying to escape her opponent. But her opponent isn’t going to let her get away so easily.
As I got closer I noticed Joanne was the one being pinned when her voice screaming “you bitch” took over the place.
The moment I was getting there, Joanne was hitting her shoe across the woman’s face as the woman disappeared into the car.
With my phone in my hand, I immediately gave the stupid driving car a snap, getting the plate number admits a blur.
I embraced Joanne tightly, and she willingly sought solace in my arms, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
As her body began to relax, I discreetly stowed my phone in my blazer pocket.
Joanne took a moment to regain her composure before gently distancing herself from me and giving a nod of an understanding.
“I’m fine” she said, nodding, like she hadn’t just gotten into a fight and almost got dragged into a car, right under my nose.
“You’re fine?” I asked.
She nodded.
I gave her time to get into her right mind and slowly pulled her under a shade of light to see if she had any scratch on her body.
She did.
A slight redness on her shoulder and a scratch on her neck.
Whoever that woman was.
She was going to get ten times what she ever wanted.
I tried not to let how much anger I was feeling show.
I watched Joanne still catch her breath. And slowly she burst out into a cry.
A wail actually.
I instantly pulled her into another hug as it was the first time my hands decided to do it before my brain could.
Surprisingly she wrapped her hands around me and cried into my chest.
She must have been so scared.
It was truly unbelievable how close I came to losing her.
I gently reached for her hair and allowed her to cry until she felt comforted.
Theodore parked a few feet away from us and stepped out of the car.
After observing us for a moment, he shifted his attention towards me, locking eyes and giving a subtle nod.
Good.
He acquired all the things I wanted.
–
*