Chapter 70 The Book and the Walls

(Naomi)

I sat on the edge of the narrow bed, my fingers tracing the rough seams of the thin blanket. I had been in this small, dimly lit room for a day now. The walls, adorned with faded, peeling wallpaper, seemed to close in on me, suffocating me with their silence. The only window offered a dismal view of the alley below, where shadows moved and whispered in the night.

I replayed the events of the previous evening in my mind. After handing over the necklace Jasper had given me to Alice, I had hoped for a moment of rest. But I knew I hadn’t been subtle enough. The weight of my actions pressed down on my chest like a stone.

It wasn’t long after the necklace exchange that Caden and Leila showed up. Their arrival had been swift and silent, their expressions a mix of cold determination and malice. I had tried to act nonchalant, but the flicker of recognition in their eyes told me they had seen through my facade.

“You know you can’t keep running like this,” Caden had said softly, h