20. Chapter 20
Wren
"It started small," I sign, a shiver running down my spine at the memory. "After one of my cam sessions as Vanta, I got a private message."
Jace's expression darkens, while Theo leans forward, his elbows on his knees.
"With the message they sent a photo of me. I was in my disguise as Vanta, in my apartment, but I know I had closed my blinds before I got ready." My hands tremble slightly as I continue.
"Fuck," Theo whispers, his usual playfulness completely gone.
I take a deep breath, steadying myself.
"I started feeling watched. Followed. Like eyes were on me constantly. I'd turn around on the street and I couldn’t see anyone I recognized or who was looking too closely. But, sometimes I'd see a shadow move in my peripheral vision."
"Did you report it?" Jace asks, his voice tight with controlled anger.
I shake my head. "To who? The police? 'Hi, I'm the sister of the Reaper, and someone's stalking me?'" My bitter smile feels more like a grimace. "Besides, I had no proof. Just feelings. Paranoia."
"Until?" Theo prompts gently when I pause.
"Until the pendant arrived," I sign. "Left at my door. A silver pendant and a card with my real name. My birth name that no one here should know."
Jace's jaw tightens visibly. "That's why you were so shaken when the news about your brother's arrest broke," he says quietly. "You thought it might be him."
I nod, grateful for his understanding. "For a moment, I thought maybe he'd found me to finish what he started."
"But he wasn’t near here," Theo says, putting the pieces together.
"Taken into custody hundreds of miles away," I confirm with my hands. "Which means someone else knows who I am. Someone else is watching me." I pause, gathering courage for the next part. "The day after his arrest made headlines, I came home to find flowers in my apartment."
Both men straighten, alarm flashing across their faces.
"Inside?" Jace asks sharply. "They got inside your place?"
I nod, my stomach churning at the memory. "Roses and black lilies. Arranged on my kitchen counter. No sign of forced entry. Just those flowers where there shouldn't have been any."
"That's when you moved to the hotel," Theo says, not a question.
"That night," I sign. "I grabbed what I could carry and left. I've been here ever since." I don’t mention my brief stop at Maya’s, I already feel terrible for involving her to begin with.
"Smart," Jace murmurs, but his eyes are distant, calculating. He's strategizing, planning, thinking three steps ahead.
"And there's more," I sign, forcing myself to continue. "Yesterday, during our game. That glitch, Jace? A message flashed on my screen. It said 'HELLO, LILLIANA.'"
Jace's face goes completely still. "That's impossible. My screen only glitched, it didn’t show words. That would require deep access to the game's code to only have it on your screen. I would have detected an intrusion that significant."
"Unless it wasn't an intrusion," Theo says slowly. "Unless it was someone who already has access."
The implication hangs heavy in the air between us.
"Whoever this is," I sign, my movements deliberate now, "they know everything about me. All my personas. All my hiding places. And they're getting closer."
I let my hands fall to my lap, suddenly exhausted. The weight of my secrets, now shared, leaves me feeling hollow and exposed. I look at Jace and Theo, searching their faces for disgust, for fear, for the inevitable moment when they decide this is too much.
"I understand if this is more than you signed up for," I sign after a moment of heavy silence. "You didn't ask to get involved with someone being stalked, someone connected to a serial killer. You can walk away. I won't blame you."
The words hurt to form, but I force myself to continue.
"You can forget you ever met me. Go back to your lives. It's safer that way."
For a long, terrible moment, neither of them speaks. They exchange a look I can't quite interpret, something passing between them that makes my heart squeeze painfully in my chest.
Jace is the first to break the silence. "Is that what you want?" he asks quietly. "For us to walk away?"
I shake my head immediately, unable to lie about this. "No," I sign. "But I don't want to put you in danger either."
Theo leans forward, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "Let me get this straight. You think we're going to walk away because some psycho is threatening you? Because your brother is a murderer? Because things got complicated?"
I shrug, not trusting my hands to form coherent signs.
Jace stands suddenly, crossing the small space to kneel in front of me. He takes my hands in his, stilling their nervous movement.
"Listen to me," he says, his voice low and intense. "I didn't fall for you because I thought it would be easy. I fell for you because of who you are—all of you. Wren. Silence. Vanta. Each piece makes the whole, and the whole is... extraordinary."
Tears burn behind my eyes at his words.
"He's right," Theo says, moving to sit beside me on the bed.
"Did I expect to find out the three women I've been fantasizing about for months are actually all the same woman, who also happens to be the sister of a serial killer and is being stalked by some creep?
No. That wasn't exactly on my bingo card. "
A surprised laugh escapes me, my shoulders shaking silently.
"But here's the thing," he continues, his hand finding mine. "You're it for me. Have been since the first time you rolled your eyes at one of my ridiculous coffee orders. Everything since then, it just makes you more... you. And that's exactly what I want."
"We're not going anywhere," Jace adds firmly. "Whatever this is, whatever's happening, we face it together."
"Even though it means sharing me?" I sign, voicing the question that's been lingering since the studio. "Even though it's complicated and messy and potentially dangerous?"
They exchange another loaded look.
"I've shared a lot of things with this idiot over the years," Theo says finally, gesturing toward Jace. "Games. Office space. The occasional take-out order. Never thought I'd be sharing a woman with him."
"But?" Jace prompts, a slight smile playing at his lips.
"But for you?" Theo's eyes find mine, surprisingly tender. "I'd share just about anything."
"We'll figure it out," Jace says, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand. "You’re safe and we're together. The rest is just details."
The sincerity in their voices, the unwavering certainty in their expressions—it breaks something open inside me. Tears spill down my cheeks before I can stop them, years of loneliness and fear suddenly crashing through the walls I've built.
Jace's arms are around me immediately, pulling me against his chest. Theo's hand strokes my back, his touch grounding me as the tears come.
"It's okay," Jace murmurs into my hair. "You don't have to be strong all the time. Not with us."
I cry harder at that, silently shaking in their embrace. They hold me through it, neither pulling away nor trying to stop the tears. They simply let me break, knowing I need this release after holding myself together for so long.
When the storm finally passes, I pull back slightly, wiping at my wet cheeks.
"Sorry," I sign, embarrassed by my breakdown.
"Don't," Theo says firmly. "Don't apologize for being human."
Jace brushes a strand of hair from my face, his touch infinitely gentle. "We're going to figure this out. First thing tomorrow, we start investigating who might be behind this. I can check the game code, see if I can trace the intrusion. Theo can—"
"Use my marketing contacts to see if anyone's been asking about Vanta specifically," Theo finishes.
Their immediate shift into problem-solving mode makes fresh tears threaten. They're not just saying they'll stay—they're already planning, already working to protect me.
"Thank you," I sign, the words feeling wholly inadequate. "Both of you."
"You don't need to thank us," Jace says softly. "Just let us help you."
"And maybe let us stay tonight," Theo adds, his usual playfulness returning. "That bed looks big enough for three, and I'm not quite ready to let you out of my sight yet."
I smile, grateful for the lightening of the mood. "Only if you promise to actually let me sleep at some point," I sign, raising an eyebrow.
"Sleep is overrated," Theo says with a grin, but Jace shoots him a look.
"Sleep is exactly what you need," Jace counters, his tone brooking no argument. "We can talk more in the morning. Make plans."
I nod, suddenly aware of how exhausted I truly am. The emotional toll of the revelations, combined with the physical exertion from earlier, has left me drained.
We prepare for bed in companionable silence. They take turns in the bathroom while I change into the oversized t-shirt I've been sleeping in. When we finally settle under the covers, I find myself in the middle again, Jace on my left, Theo on my right.
It should feel strange, this new arrangement. Three people in one bed, three lives suddenly intertwined. But as Jace's arm settles around my waist and Theo's fingers lace with mine, it feels oddly right. Like pieces of a puzzle finally finding their place.
"For what it's worth," Theo murmurs, his breath warm against my ear, "you're basically the physical embodiment of our dream girl. Smart, beautiful, mysterious, and kicks ass in Wasteland Chronicles."
I laugh silently, squeezing his hand in thanks.
"What he's trying to say," Jace adds, his voice soft in the darkness, "is that we're exactly where we want to be. With exactly who we want to be with."
I turn my head to kiss him softly, then do the same with Theo. The tenderness of the moment wraps around us like a cocoon, protective and warm.
"Sleep," Jace says gently. "We'll be here when you wake up."
I believe him. For the first time in longer than I can remember, I let myself relax completely, surrounded by their warmth and protection. Whatever comes tomorrow—whatever danger still lurks in the shadows—I'm no longer facing it alone.
As I drift toward sleep, I feel Theo shift beside me, his lips pressing a soft kiss to my shoulder.
Jace's breathing has already slowed, his arm a comforting weight across my waist. Their bodies create a cocoon of warmth around me, a physical barrier between me and the world.
My eyelids grow heavy as exhaustion finally claims me. The gentle rhythm of their breathing lulls me deeper toward unconsciousness. My thoughts begin to blur, fragments of the night's revelations mingling with the sensations of being held, protected, and understood.