Alle Kapitel von ECHOES OF TRUTH: Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 60

His skin looked smooth and perfect, endless eyelids that made me envious. He gave me a closed-mouth smile as a greeting; he looked cautious, almost annoyed. I swallowed. “Thanks for coming.” He said nothing. The tension built, those dark eyes on me, assessing, searching. I pulled the sheet of paper with the questions out of my pocket, my hand shaking a little, and I mentally slapped myself. Come on, Anaís, get a grip. "How are you?" I had no idea why I asked that; anything was better than silence. Adam tilted his head. "Get to the point; I know you have a lot of questions." Why so cold? I let it go. “Can you tell me about that night? How you got home and… all that?” Adam sighed. "I hadn't been able to sleep all night, so I went out to the balcony to get some fresh air. It was almost dawn; I knew something was wrong. I thought I heard a scream in the distance coming from the forest that separated our houses. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but that didn't calm the f

I would like to say that I stopped, that I regained my self-control, that I reacted, realizing that this was a dangerous decision, but I didn't. Logan did it. With his breathing out of control, he pulled away from me, holding both hands next to my face. "I'm sorry, Anaís... I..." I couldn't hide the confusion in my expression; I didn't know what to say. Logan's gray eyes searched mine as he spoke again. "You don't want to do this." "What are you talking about?" He got off of me, standing at the end of the bed. I raised myself up on my elbows to look at him; he looked lost. "I haven't been honest with you. I don't deserve for you to give yourself to me blindly." That set off alarm bells in my mind. I remembered his purple fists, the way he knew everything about me, and what he was telling me at that moment. Sitting down, I swallowed the fear of knowing. "So, be honest with me." I saw him hesitate, running his hand over his face. "I want to be, but I don't want to lose you." I

He didn't move; he just stood there, staring at us from the distant darkness, all in black with his face covered by a cloth mask, his arms at his sides, one looking longer than the other due to the gun he held in his left hand. The Killer... I could feel the intensity of his gaze on me even though I couldn't see his eyes. Finally, you are here. No more living in fear, no more surviving, the decisive moment had arrived, and although I was terrified, a part of me needed all this to end, for better or worse. Surviving is not enough; I want to live. The killer cocked his head, the movement slight and barely visible in the darkness. I knew I needed to move, to run, to scream, but my brain didn't seem to react. However, Émilie pulled me out of my frozen state, grabbing me by the arm. “Shit, shit, we have to get out of here.” I took a step back with her, and the assassin straightened his head, raising his gun towards us. Run! — Émilie pulled me by the arm, and we ran down the hall,

I couldn't speak; I couldn't coordinate. — But you... Mason wasn't looking at me; his eyes were still on Émilie. "Both of you, out of the car, now. If you try the slightest stupidity, I won't hesitate to shoot you." Shaking, we both got out of the car, Mason pointing at Émilie at all times. With her hands in the air, he made us walk to the back of the car. I noticed how he walked perfectly; had he never been hurt? Émilie kept begging for her life. Mason raised his hand in front of me, stopping me, while Émilie kept walking. Pressing the gun against the back of her head, he ordered. — Kneel down. Émilie cried uncontrollably. — No, please. Mason, please, she hasn't done anything wrong. Please, I beg you; don't hurt her. — I pleaded. Mason stood in front of her; I could only see Émilie's back and shoulders shaking as she cried. Mason's eyes met mine; sobbing, I begged, "No, please, please." His voice sounded cold and calculating. "I don't want witnesses." The sound of the gunshot

With that, he disappeared through the bathroom door. As soon as he did, I let out a long breath I didn't know I was holding, and tears rolled down my cheeks as I held my chest. "Oh my God," I murmured, my hands shaking. I was in his hands. The killer of my family had gotten to me, and who knows what he was going to do to me. Torture me? Kill me? Rape me? Or maybe all of that and more? I knew everything Mason was capable of, and that only increased my fear. Wiping away my tears, I decided to hurry. I didn't know how many minutes had passed, but I knew I didn't want Mason forcing me to do anything. I searched the closet, and my stomach turned when I noticed that all the clothes were my size. Since when had he planned all this? I picked out a long-sleeved shirt and wool pants, which had a zipper on one side of the leg, so I could put them on with the chain. Bastard, he had really prepared everything. It looked like pajamas, but I didn't care; I wanted to cover myself as much as p