Chapter Thirty

Isabell closed the door behind her and then looked around, there were stares, looking at her from every corner of her house. She knew they had been following her from Wilson's cafe but she never told Sebastian about them. She had been ignoring the stares but right now they seemed to be intensified

There was no one in the home, maybe that was why she could feel the strange eyes clearer than ever. Isabell ignored them.

When she entered the room she went to the table, sat on the chair, and flipped the cover of her laptop. The first thing Isabell did was to send her report to Sebastian and then she checked the email she received in the afternoon

Freedom of information request

Dear Isabell Harrington,

I am writing this in connection with your request for the following information

"I am reaching out to inquire about reports or recordings your department may have regarding Throne of Demon

As per the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or applicable state statutes regarding public access to government records, I am formally requesting access to any incident reports, interviews, surveillance recordings, or other relevant documentation of this establishment and its suspected involvement in drug-related activities"

Upon reviewing your inquiry, we have found two incident reports and a recording clip by a victim. By the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or applicable state statutes, we are pleased to provide you access to these materials. The requested information is attached below. These documents contain redacted information to protect sensitive details. If you require further clarification or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Trigger Warning: This recording contains graphic content involving violence and gun violence. Viewer discretion is advised. The following footage may be distressing for some viewers and may trigger emotional or traumatic responses.

Best regards,

Welsh Thompson

Chief

California police forces

Isabell opened the files, although she had read them in the afternoon she wouldn't stop reading them all over again just to find a single thing she hadn't known before. They were almost concealed naturally. Nothing to find, nothing to make sense of, she just read them

And she finally got the course to the recording clip.

"Redolf," She said after reading the information in the recording. She looked at the evidence board through K2 "Redolf, The first person to report Throne of Demon in 2020" she started back at the screen "And he had been missing since the same day," She said, swallowing the air and clicked on the clip

'I am recording my death with my voice and if I die in between this then it will automatically be transmitted to the police. I know I will never survive after it but this is already the end of me. I can not hide anymore. I can not live like this. If I die I will be more than happy. If I survive I will meet the consequences

My name is Redolf, I just turned eighteen last week. I am going to disclose information about a club, a drug dealing club named Throne of Demon. I will cut all the unnecessary details and get straight to the clues that could help the police. If they decided to cover it up thousands of people would become addicted, torched, and left to die

Their base- the base lies in the heart of the forest, there is no route to it. They covered our eyes with a cloth and we had to follow them blindly. All we know is that there is forest all around the building. I managed to run away- I still don't remember anything about the path, all I recall was a hefty tree somewhere near it

I succeeded in running and thought it was the end but it was never. They are behind me they are still haunting and following me everywhere because I know something, I knew a secret, a secret that no one was aware of. I know about the King and----------------'

The recording ended with a bolt. Her body twitched upon hearing a gunshot from it and the voice was gone. "He was shot," She said terrified "He was shot in his room" Isabell was already shivering from fear. She played the clip again,

"King," she said

"King" she repeated "He didn't say Knight, he never said Knight, he said King" No matter how many times she replayed the recording it was the same word over and over again "King" Fright covered her from head to toe, she ran a hand through his face and smashed the lid of her laptop. This wasn't the end, Throne of Demon wasn't the end but there was something great and more terrifying than it. She stood up while repeating the same word and moved in circles "Who is the King?" She asked herself but she never had the answer and just after listening to the recording the stare around her deepened. It covered her body in horrifying clouds of horror

Isabell locked all the doors of the house and then the one to her room, she even put blockers at her window but the eyes still managed to see from them.

Isabell fell on her bed and covered herself in a blanket

She closed her eyes, tired from the long day, terrified by a clip that weighed some seconds. It was dark in her closed eyes and dark was supposed to make her sleepy and it was doing the exact thing to Isabell. She fell asleep

The morning hadn't arrived yet but she woke, in the middle of the night

It was dark again, even when she opened her eyes and even if she closed them

It was all black. In every corner of her room, no lights, no glow from the window,

But there was someone even darker than the night itself, standing in the center of her room staring at the scenery of Godwin-Austen.

No one was supposed to be in the house until tomorrow her brain could speak but her throat couldn't yell. She could see a young man covered in black. His dress seemed unusual to her, the dark cap of the dark man guarding his entire back. He was wearing a mask visible from the back.

The man turned his head to the side, she saw the feathers of the mask but she wasn't supposed to be looking right now. Isabell's eyes squeezed, her fingers pinched on the necklace. And for her, I was after a second when she opened her eyes again

Isabell woke up, there was no darkness left, the sun was hitting its rays at her window

"Was it a dream?" she asked herself relieved

But in a moment she became anxious again when she looked around her room, the night had gone but it left the gazes. They were everywhere and she could see them and they were staring back at her.

Isabell lifted herself from the bed, opened the door to her room, and walked into the living room. There was nothing strange about the home, it looked the same as when she left it at night. "It was a dream" she exhaled with ease

Isabell poured a glass of water standing in the kitchen. She moved her hand into the pocket of her jeans to take the cell phone out but her hand came back empty. She checked the other pocket but it was empty again

Isabell rushed to her room "Where did I leave my phone last night?" She asked herself, trying to remember but she couldn't and it wasn't in her room. It wasn't on the side table, not on the bed "Study table" she yelled moving her legs towards it.

The tiles on the floor were supposed to be hard but she felt a cloud under her foot, Isabell moved her feet aside and she froze

"Raven feather"

Her eyes opened wide, shiver passed from her body, she bent down to pick it up and it was indeed a dark Raven feather in her hand

"It wasn't a dream," She said as panic rushed inside her, her eyes darted into her room and then they stopped on her table, seeing a note on it.

She didn't own any black paper and the black paper lying on her table didn't belong to her. Her feet stumbled on the way to the table, she swallowed the air and lifted her hand to pick up the dark note



Electricity jolted her body causing her to yank the note and she dropped to the floor herself. She moved her head to the sides in disbelief. She stared around the room

She collected herself up as the scratch on The K2 in front of her was telling her to check on it. Isabell stood up, her legs were still shaking with fear, her eyes were squeezed when she slid the mountain away and she fell to the floor again

"It's gone" Isabell's face stayed still, numb "It's gone" There was nothing behind the scenery, it looked as if no one had ever touched it, no string, no pictures, no notes it was all empty

Isabell lifted her hand and moved it towards the locker with apprehension, it opened without force, and Isabell's hand fell on her feet

"Everything is gone" The recorder holding interviews with Emily disappeared. The picture she had of Emily disappeared. Everything Isabell had been working on for a year, vanished. She could hear her heart beating in the chest, making her feel dizzy. "No!" She yelled, making a fist around her hair "No!" She wailed, she tugged her hair hard

In the feeling of unconsciousness, Isabell heard a bell that happened to have the same tone as the one they had on the door. Her head moved towards the ring. It rang again

Her legs slowly got up. Hands trembling on the unannounced danger. She couldn't do anything but walk to the door. Fingers clenched around the handle of the door and they slowly moved it in a circle

The door unlocked

She opened the door

Her expressions remained the same

Her body was moving on its own and she could feel it as it turned around moving the stumbling steps. The steps took her to the living room "Well, Good Morning" her ear confirmed what her eyes just saw. The warmth made her feel weak and Isabell's legs bent to the floor, in relief

"Hey, Hey, Hey, Isabell" Sebastian ran to Isabell.

All the fear her throat was holding started to fade as Sebastian held her in his arms. Tears emerged in her terrified eyes and her breaths turned ragged "I wa- I was s- so- afraid. I w- afraid" she cried holding him back tighter "What happened?" his worried eyes inspected her, they checked for harm "Kn-Kni-Knight- he- he was right the…ere" her shaking finger pointing at her open door to her room. "What" Sebastian's eyes broadened, staring at her in shock "He was in my house, he was here. Knight was here, Sebastian. He- he was in my room" Her breaths clipped. Sebastian didn't say anything but gripped her firmly, he looked terrified for her

"It was him. It was The Knight. He- He took everything with him, everything! The evidence board is gone, the recorder is gone and my laptop, my case studies everything is gone" Her body was shivering, she was frightened. She looked miserable, she looked tired from everything happening to her.

Despite the fear etching all over his face "It's okay, Isabell" he tried to calm her down with a whisper that felt like a warm blanket "We can take everything back, it's fine" Her shivering body stopped "What if" she pulled back "What if he kills someone next time?" her teary eyes looked at him and there was no amount of distress they could hold any more. She looked at him for an answer

"Nothing will happen to anyone," he said and the uncertainty was visible in his voice

"I'm afraid," she said "I'm here with you, it's fine now" he patted her head softly, She didn't respond but just glanced at him and he assisted Isabell to stand.

She didn't remember walking, all she was doing was pressing on the arms of Sebastian as if they were life support, as if she would wreck down the second she will let them go

"Why are you here?" Isabell asked as he helped her to sit "Your phone" he said and it was already in his hand "You left it in my car last night and I came to return it" he handed her the phone still standing on the side "So it was here" her voice was quiet

"I bought breakfast for you" Sebastian placed a bag on the table in front of her, the bag had Croissants and a hot coffee. And it was visible from his face how much he wanted to avoid the conversation about that thing for the sake of Isabell

"Thank you" She smiled scarily "Enjoy your breakfast, I have to make a call"

"Okay," and he was gone already

Isabell looked at the breakfast in front. She started at it for a lot of moments but she didn't know why she was staring at it until her thoughts spoke

I don't feel like eating...I don't feel like eating...I don't feel like eating

But

Sebastian

But I don't feel like eating!

She yelled to herself while deciding whether to break a piece from the croissant or not she wasn't even done deciding and he was already back

"I have a friend in a security company. I just contacted him, he will install a security system in your home" he said taking a seat on the other couch

"Thank you," Isabell didn't smile

"I checked the door, and there was no damage. Which means he opened it with a key" She moved her head up and down "Probably," she said

"I'll take you to the police station, we need to file a report," Sebastian said "Yeah we can file both reports today" Sebastian glared at her. His eyes suddenly lost their softness when they glared at her

"Don't even think about it, Isabell" His voice sounded threatening

"No." The tears were gone and so was the terror "I'm not suggesting. I'm ordering!" his tone got rigid with every second passing and he seemed to be barely controlling his anger "I have- no- I need to end this-"

"No!" Sebastian's eyes filled up with anger but he closed them, he took a deep breath "We are stopping" he calmed his screaming voice down "No, Sebastian. We are not. I'm haunting them down and I won't stop- won't stop until I then" Isabell knew how she was igniting the calming anger of Sebastian "Tell me what are you going to do? You don't have anything left"

"Do you think I'm a fool?" she smiled unexpectedly and Sebastian just stared at her in confusion "I click a picture of the evidence board every time I add a new thing, and every one of them is safe along with the recordings in every account I have" Sebastian could have been impressed with her but right now, he looked nothing but anxious "And what about everything your case study report had?" he asked "I sent it to you last night. Remember?" Sebastian closed his angry and defeated eyes

"I don't know if I have the power But I have evidence and if Law is blind it's going to believe me"

"But, Isabell," his voice was heavy with concern

"But, Sebastian. This is the only chance and maybe the last chance someone will ever have to break them"

"And what if you get hurt" he asked

"I won't," she said confidently

"How can you be so sure?" his anxious voice asked

"Because you will protect me," she said, it didn't feel like words but emotions. A feeling that she had believed

and then he nodded "I will" he nodded again and his expression was relaxed

A moment of silence stayed between them while they gazed at each other

"Is your ear okay?" Isabell asked when her eyes stared at the bandage, "It's nothing" he replied and she wanted to feel angry at him again, she wanted him to say the truth but Sebastian's smile just felt as painful and she gave up on the arguing

"I have something for you," Sebastian said shifting the topic in an instant. He shrugged his jacket aside and took a metal weapon out of his pocket. Isabell's complexion intensified witnessing a gun in his hands,

"Keep it with you, in case anything like this happens again," he said as if they were candies and not a deadly weapon. His words left the stunned Isabell even more stunned

"This is a gun!" she almost shouted

"I suppose it is," he said to the shrugging the gun casually, "Why do you own a gun?" she asked still in fright "You don't have to worry" he chucked at dumbfounded Isabell "I don't kill people, this is just for safety reasons,"

"But you own A GUN" Her questions and shock remained the same "I have a license" he laughed aloud this time

"But you own a gun"

"Yes I own a gun with a license," Isabell nodded, and then she took the gun from his offering hand "That point where your little finger is, it's the trigger," he said, she looked at him confused not moving her finger away from it "Let me help you" he stood up and sat beside her "Here" he took her index finger "And this is called the sight where you—"

"I know the anatomy of a gun, Sebastian," she said offended "Oh, But you were behaving like it was the first time you have ever seen a gun" He didn't try to hide the mocking tone

"Do you want me to teach you how to use it?" Isabell offered with a genuine face "I'm sure you don't even know it yourself" he taunted but Isabell didn't fight verbally instead she loaded the gun and aimed the muzzle towards his forehead "Am I not too young to die?" His face stayed casual, not even fearing Isabell's tight grip over it "No actually you're not, Old guy" He was feared now "Will you ever stop this?" He said annoyed

"Maybe someday in the future" She laughed lightly

"Someday in the future" Sebastian repeated her words "What plans do you have for the future?"

"In the context of?"

"Studies"

"Studies… I'm thinking about applying for an MLL in Harvard" Something like an unexplained amount of happiness sparkled in the dark eyes "Harvard?" He asked trying to keep his excited voice low "Yeah, if- like if by any rarest possibility I get accepted" she said "Of course, You Will" he said and smiled "You are the top student of law and you are remarkable in research" he complimented and Isabell admired "I guess I know the first thing well and I'll be good with my research after resolving this case of Throne Of-" Isabell's lips locked without completing

"We will resolve this case" he completed her words, and she nodded.

"Finish the breakfast and we will be leaving for the police station," Sebastian said standing up "I don't mind breakfast, we can leave right now" Isabell got on her feet too "I do mind. Eat while I write the necessary details for the reports," Sebastian said "We should work on it together, I will eat later" She announced, standing up "Yeah, you can help me while eating" Sebastian pressed her down to the sofa from shoulder "Where can I get a pen and paper," he asked "On the table of my room," she said retreating "Okay," he said and went in her room

Sebastian was gone from the front. Isabell opened her tight fist. He had been holding a crumpled note, the same note she never told Sebastian about.

I'm sorry,Sebastian but you need to trust me with this. It's not us now, it's only me

She said to herself and took a deep breath before putting it in her pocket

They worked on the reports together, instructing and helping each other

"Is there anything we need to write in any of them?" Sebastian asked leaving the two reports on the table "No, it's done" she lied

"Okay, let's go," he said