Chapter 248 Upstairs

(Thomas)

I spent the next fifteen minutes weaving through the crowd, calling out Lydia’s name again and again, but it was useless. The music was too loud, the lights too disorienting, and the people were far too absorbed in their own drunken fun to notice me.

I scanned every face, and pushed through every group of partiers, but Lydia was nowhere to be found. My heart was racing, the anxiety clawing at me like a feral animal. I couldn’t shake the sickening feeling that something was wrong.

I finally made my way to the far end of the mansion, where the music wasn’t as overpowering. The sound was muffled here, and the air felt different. It was calmer for sure but also much more eerie.

I stumbled upon a small room, the kind of hidden spot where people went to escape the chaos for a while. The door was half-closed, and as I peered inside, I saw a group of people sitting in a loose circle, playing some sort of game.

Laughter spilled from the room, but it was subdued compared to the riotous