| C H A P T E R - 24 |

ANASTASIA:Peace. All I craved was peace. In a world filled with chaos and lies, I longed for a moment of tranquillity. With Miley, Olivia, Mia, Oliver, and so many others tangled in my life, peace was the elusive treasure that remained just out of my reach.I found myself running through a frigid, pitch-black dark alley. The night enveloped me in its inky embrace, and a chilling dread washed over me. It's like I've entered a nightmarish version of reality. The goosebumps on my skin are painfully real.He is chasing me, relentless and firm—the Devil himself, my persistent stalker. No matter how fast I run, he is always there, ready to catch me. A malevolent presence following my every step.I'm trying to think of a way to escape. How can I break free from this never-ending nightmare?Breathing heavily, I rushed into another alley, my heart pounding. When I risked a look back, relief washed over me as I realized the shadowy figure was no longer chasing me. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Closing my eyes tightly, I leaned against a cold, unforgiving wall, praying for an escape.But then, like a cruel apparition, he appeared right in front of me; like magic, his presence overwhelming. I gasped, my breath stuck in my lungs, and my eyes widened, filled with terror. I wanted to scream, but my words, stuck in my throat, as at that moment I could only silently pray for my life. The night was so dark, that it was impossible to look at his facial structure. Yet, he felt like I had known him forever. Approaching me, he grins and I feel my stomach churned for some reason. His placed hands, pressed against the wall on either side of my head, trapping me beneath his formidable frame. His eyes—those fiery eyes—held me captive.Fear sent shivers coursing down my spine. "Did you think you could escape me?" he breathed into my ear, paralyzing me with his proximity. His hands traced a maddeningly delicate path along my cheeks, each touch making me flinch. I tried to gulp the lump in my throat.Oddly, his presence was evoking something unexpected in me. It shouldn't have been this way. I should have never felt this aroused by his words. But here I am, standing terrified of him, yet my thighs pressed together due to the friction in my core. His close proximity isn't helping either.His wet clothes from the rain touched my heated skin, and there was an immediate hiss. I couldn't look at him due to the mask, yet I could partially see the way blood drenched his face, a subtle smile adorning it.With everything else, he was cunningly attractive. My eyes wandered around his body. The wet clothes hugged his massive figure, and for some reason, I wanted my hands all over him.Shut up, Ana. I mentally scold myself.Looking back at him, I watched him staring at me. He chuckled like a dark magician, as if he could read my mind. So he leaned further, only making my heart race even more, and I turned my face to the other side to avoid kissing him or rather, giving him access to my neck.I don't know. I am not sure.But this time, it was something unexpected. The thunderstruck, and he held me by my jaw to force me to look into his eyes. And all I saw was death."Shhhh..." He shushed me, his breath fanning my face. My heart fluttered, and my stomach churned. It was an odd mix of emotions and feelings. "You will learn to love me. Because you are mine," he murmured against my jawline, his hands descending to my thighs, inching ever closer to where I desperately needed.No. This is wrong. He is a monster. The Devil.And then I screamed. I screamed until...I snapped awake in my bed, drenched in cold sweat, with the haunting nightmare still fresh in my mind. My heart raced, and the room felt oppressively silent. Only the drops of rain and the distant thunder were heard. But as I cast a glance outside, I was instantly disoriented, struggling to distinguish between the border of reality and the realm of the surreal.The night was cloudy, painted in deep, menacing hues as a tumultuous thunderstorm raged on. I was awake. The city sirens wailed, their cries echoing through the urban landscape. I frowned. Something has happened again. But I remained paralyzed by the lingering dread from my dream.I couldn't move, my gaze fixated on the window, my fear intertwining with my nerves, coursing through my skin. And then, another lightning bolt streaked across the sky, illuminating the darkness right outside my window, out on my balcony.In that split second, the shadowy figure was there, his ominous presence hovering just beyond the glass. Looking just as he was in my dream. The wet clothes. Wet curly hair and those sharp fiery eyes looking at me. Panic surged within me, a stranglehold of fear clutching at my throat.But as the flash of lightning vanished, he too disappeared as if I was still stuck in my dream. Desperation urged me out of bed, and I rushed to the balcony, seeking confirmation of whether it was reality or still the remnants of my dream. Rain fell relentlessly from the heavens, drenching the world below.Maybe I was still caught up between reality and dream, I thought. Coming back to my room, I made sure to close the doors and pull the curtains. I drank the water as I sighed. Fear and confusion still captivated my mind. However, the realization struck that it wasn't a dream anymore when I noticed an unknown red slip on my table. I ran towards it. Taking the red slip in my hand, I read: "I take care of what's mine."I had no idea what that meant. But as true as the night sky, there was something more than terrifying running through my blood.Like an elusive specter, the Devil had blended into the obscurity of the night, vanishing without a trace. Only the faint imprint of his shoes on my balcony remained, marking the spot where he had stood—a chilling reminder that tonight, he had indeed been here. ****It was a quiet Saturday morning, and I sat in a cafe, waiting for David. He had been running between Boston, Harrington, and LarksVille, working tirelessly on the cases with no significant leads in sight.The events of the previous night have sent shockwaves through the town. Blakley's death had rattled LarksVille, and Mayor Jonathan Edwin had publicly stated that the BPD was diligently working on all the cases at hand, including those of Miley, Olivia, and Blakely. He assured everyone that they would be resolved soon. However, I couldn't help but doubt his words. With his own daughter being involved in so many cases, how could they possibly be impartial?Preston has organised a memorial for Blakley. Everyone came. Yet, I could tell, only a few were sad. Mostly because what Blakley's character had imprinted on their mind, was hard to delete. Even after her death.Despite the moral conflict within me, there was an unexpected rush of relief with Blakley's demise. I knew it wasn't the right way to feel, and I struggled with these emotions. But her presence had only ever brought danger and death into people's lives, and now, she herself had fallen victim to it. It was a mysterious sense of relief that washed over me.Had I lost my sanity?As I sipped my coffee, I ruminated on the last night's incident that had shaken me to my core. The shadowy figure had been real, standing just outside my room, watching me. I had checked the security camera footage, and unsurprisingly, the midnight recording was missing as usual. It was clear that he had tampered with it.I couldn't bring up the topic with Lorenzo the previous evening, even though I desperately wanted to. Because I am not sure where we stand right now, and with him being in deep shit, perhaps I should avoid bringing him into the chaos of my life. Besides, I felt compelled to solve this enigma on my own, as illogical as it seemed.Lorenzo's life was no stranger to trouble, and I didn't want to add to it. He had been suspended for two weeks for confronting Mia, an act of bravery that I admired but knew came with consequences. Nandini and Betty had shared stories about how Lorenzo had stood up for himself and others in the past, leading to several clashes with Oliver and his gang.He had been dragged into many scandals along with his brother, Mark. Thankfully with Mark's skill in computers, they could finally show how Oliver manipulated them. But the damage had already been done. In a desperate attempt to protect Mark, Lorenzo found himself entangled in Mia's web, forced to become her plaything. Her personal whore, what they named him. But in the end, Oliver and Mia received only a warning? Ridiculous. It was clear that Oliver was always one step ahead when it came to escaping punishment. "Have I been too late?" David's voice broke through my daydream, and I looked up to see a smile on his charming face.Taking a sip of my latte, I replied, "A little."He chuckled at my honesty as he took the opposite side of the table, ordering a black coffee. We both delved back into the cases."How's your investigation going?" I asked David, watching as he sipped his black coffee.He sighed, the weight of the cases evident in his expression. "Not much progress," he replied. "With Russo's involvement in closing Miley's case, just like Olivia's, it's becoming even harder to unearth the truth. There's no trace of Miley at all as if she simply vanished."I nodded in understanding. "Fortunately or unfortunately, I have Lara and Nandini assisting me on this case. They've been a great help," I shared. "But unfortunately, Lara and I got caught while checking Mia's car yesterday evening.""What?" David asked in surprise. "I told you, A, the car is fake. Why did you trouble yourself? I guess we have to believe that maybe she really scribbled notes in that diary!""That's not true." I retorted. " I believe Miley," And then, I recounted the entire incident of what had happened the previous evening. How Mia and Blakley had accused me and Lara, Lorenzo's intervention and subsequent punishment, and how I had caught a glimpse of Lara's previous life. However, I omitted the part where Lorenzo and I make out. David doesn't need to know that."The pink-haired girl mentioned in Miley's diary is really Lara," I said. I explained to him about Lara's past, and I couldn't bring myself to ease knowing that my best friend had been treated like crap and knowing that I still didn't have any chance to bring her justice.David sighed in grief and frustration. "I feel sorry for her," he said."She's strong. She's overcome it, and I'm happy for her," I replied with a small smile. "But that connects one more thing, Dave," I added.His brows furrowed in confusion. "What is it?""Her notes aren't fake at all. Every word is true, Dave. The car... I have a hunch it's true. And we need to find it as soon as possible.""But there are no names registered under it, A.""What if they altered the number plate?" I pondered. "With Russo's power and Mayor Edwin's influence, anything is possible, isn't it?" Uncertain of the accuracy of my theory, I pressed on, "I don't think they would have gotten rid of the car. First, if Oliver and his team truly believe that no one can outsmart them, they might keep the car as a display of their power, thinking no one would ever dare to search for it. Secondly, perhaps the car was hidden from our eyes, disguised."He sighed and finally nodded in agreement. "Maybe... you're right."I sighed, sinking back in my chair. Finding Miley had been tougher than we'd ever thought, with each step leading to another enigma. Sipping my coffee, I inquired, "What about Blakley? Any more leads in her case?""Only that she received a call from a private number while she was driving. We're currently trying to trace the number. I'll keep you posted if we find anything," David replied. I nodded at him in confirmation. "But I think the killer is the same as the other cases in the country."Immediately, my mind flashed to the morning incident once again – those eyes, burning like flames."Do you think this could be the work of the same psychopathic killer known as Devil?" He only shrugged."No idea yet. But there's no reason it couldn't be."I hadn't told David about the morning incident yet. Maybe I should. But before that, I needed to gather more information. If My stalker is back, this time, I have to be prepared. "Speaking of which, any breakthroughs about this mystery killer, Devil?" I inquired. "Did we trace him through the footage?""No," he replied with frustration. "In the last few nights, we worked hard to generate his picture, from the footage through AI, but every time we were close, the system getting crashed.""What?" I asked in surprise.He nodded, showing his frustration. "Yes, the hacker team found some malware in our system and is working to fix it. It will take some time.""Wow, this Devil is really intelligent!"David gave me a look before sipping his black coffee."Speaking of another which," I continued, "Tell me more about the Devil. Like, if you say that it was the work of the Devil, then possibly we would get the red envelope, isn't it?"He sighed as he replied, "This is where it gets complicated, A. No envelope this time. Instead, a 'D' carved deep into her head with some sharp object."I cringed at his words. That was brutal. It seemed the Devil had some personal grudge against her. Unlike the rest of them, was Blakley on his hitlist with a red underline?In the midst of our conversation, David's phone rang, and he answered the call. It was from his co-worker.Ending the call, his eyes lit up. "What?" I asked in surprise."We found Blakley's security camera footage from the last night!"I gasped at the news. ****David played the video on his phone. The screen flickered, casting eerie shadows from the security camera's footage onto the dark forest. As we watched the events on the screen unfolded, it became apparent that the perpetrator was not the malevolent "Devil" we had initially assumed, but instead, a female figure emerged from the shadows.A She-Devil.She appeared much shorter than Blakely and petite, her face concealed by a hooded garment that shielded her identity. With long, unruly hair that tumbled down her back like a veil of midnight, its tangled strands framed her sinister features. Her figure was a mere silhouette of malevolence, lurking ominously in the obscurity of the night.It was clear that she was trying to act like the Devil. A desperate try. In her grasp, she clutched an axe, its menacing presence glinting ominously in the faint light. Blakley, in her desperate attempt to escape, sprinted toward her car. But the she-devil, driven by a malevolence that radiated from her eyes, lunged forward, seizing Blakley's hair with a cruel force. Blakley's face was violently pressed against the car window, causing the camera to tumble and engulf the scene in darkness.We both gasped at the video. The only discernible details were the shadowy outline of the she-devil's silhouette and the ominous glint of the axe, all while the disconcerting realization settled in. We were not dealing with a male "Devil" here, but rather a "She-Devil."The information sent shivers down my spine. A/N: A devil and a she-devil? Who do you think is the killer? Comment your thoughts below. If you want to read the full book, you can get it now on Amazon KDP and paperback format. Thank you for reading my book. Kindly leave a review so I can correct things in part 2.