33. Chapter 33 #2
"He's very good at hiding his true nature," Agent Voss interrupts. "Even from those closest to him."
A chill runs down my spine..
"You've spoken to him?" I sign, watching her carefully.
"Many times," she confirms, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "He's fascinating. Brilliant, really. Most people don't appreciate the complexity of his mind."
Alarm bells ring in my head. This doesn't exactly sound like an FBI agent discussing a serial killer.
"What exactly do you want from me, Agent Voss?" I sign, my movements deliberately slow and precise.
She studies me for a long moment, her dark eyes assessing. "Just the truth, Lilliana. About your brother."
"I'm not here to discuss my brother," I sign firmly. "I'm here to help you find Levi before he hurts me or someone else."
Agent Voss leans back slightly, her professional demeanor returning. "Of course. And we appreciate your cooperation." She pulls out a small notebook. "Based on what you've told us about Levi, we have some additional questions that might help our investigation."
I nod, relieved at the shift in focus.
"It appears Levi and Lucien may have gone separate ways around the same time as your attack," she says, her tone more measured now. "I think that Levi truly believed he had killed you."
The thought sends ice through my veins. "You mean he left me for dead," I sign.
"Yes. And I believe he went on the run separately from Lucien after that day." Agent Voss flips through her notes. "Lucien continued his... activities. Developed his own signature that was distinct from the earlier killings."
"You've seen his victims?" I sign, morbid curiosity getting the better of me.
Her expression tightens almost imperceptibly. "Some of them, yes. In person." Something haunted flickers behind her professional facade. "Your brother is methodical. The crime scenes are... organized in a way that speaks to his psychological profile."
I swallow hard, trying not to imagine what she's seen.
"We're not entirely sure if Lucien even knows you were attacked," she continues. "That's something I intend to ask him in our next interview."
"Next interview?" I sign, confused. "You still speak with him regularly?"
Agent Voss nods. "What you may not know is that Lucien wasn't captured, exactly. He surrendered himself to the FBI."
My hands freeze momentarily mid-air. "Surrendered?"
She catches my surprise. "You didn't know." It's not a question. "Yes, Lucien called in his own crime scene. When we arrived, he was waiting for us. Sitting calmly in a chair, hands folded in his lap."
The image is so vivid, so perfectly Lucien, that I almost see it myself. My brother, composed and controlled even in surrender.
"The strange thing was," Agent Voss continues, "there was no victim at the scene. Just Lucien, waiting for us."
"That doesn't make sense," I sign, my brow furrowing. "Why would he surrender after evading capture for so long?"
"That's the million-dollar question," she replies. "He hasn't given us a reason. Given his intelligence and resources, it was unexpected, to say the least. Curious, even."
Something in her tone makes me look at her more carefully. There's a clinical detachment in her voice, but I catch a glint of something else in her eyes that makes me uneasy.
"As I said, your brother is a sociopath, Miss Cain," she repeats matter-of-factly. "But he's also extraordinarily intelligent. Every move he makes is calculated. His surrender means something—we just haven't figured out what yet."
I fidget with the edge of my blanket, uncomfortable with this line of conversation. I haven't seen Lucien in almost two years. Haven't spoken to him since before my attack. The brother I knew and the monster Agent Voss describes seem like two entirely different people.
"Do you think," I sign hesitantly, "that Lucien's surrender has anything to do with Levi resurfacing? With him finding me?"
Agent Voss considers this. "It's possible. The timing is... interesting." She makes a note in her book. "Which brings me to another question: have you had any contact with your brother in the past two years?"
I shake my head emphatically.
"No phone calls? No letters? Nothing through a third party?"
"Nothing," I sign. "I changed my name, moved across the country, cut all ties. I wanted nothing to do with him or what he'd done. I wanted nothing to do with my old life at all."
She studies me for a long moment, as if weighing the truth of my words. "And yet Levi found you."
The implication hangs in the air between us. Could Lucien have somehow led Levi to me? Could my own brother be orchestrating this nightmare from behind bars?
"One final question," Agent Voss says, closing her notebook. "If Lucien were to contact you now, what would you do?"
The question catches me off guard. I stare at her, my hands momentarily still as I consider my answer.
"I'd tell you," I finally sign. "I want nothing to do with either of them."
She nods, apparently satisfied with my response. "We'll have agents looking for Levi based on your description and the evidence you've provided. In the meantime, we're arranging protection for you."
"I don't want to hide," I sign firmly. "I've been hiding for too long."
"No one's suggesting you hide. In fact, maintaining your normal routine might be… advantageous," she corrects me. "But until we apprehend Levi, you need to be cautious, be mindful of your surroundings. He's already demonstrated that he's willing to hurt you."
A chill runs down my spine as I remember his hands around my throat, his whispered words in my ear just before I collapsed on the sidewalk.
"Thank you for your time," Agent Voss says, standing. She hands me a business card. "Call me directly if you remember anything else, or if you have any... unusual contacts."
I take the card, nodding my understanding.
As she reaches the door, she pauses. "Your brother asked about you, you know. During one of our interviews. It was the only time I saw a genuine emotion from him."
With that unsettling revelation, she leaves, the door clicking shut behind her.
I stare at the space where she stood, a strange mixture of emotions churning inside me. Fear, confusion, and something else—a tiny, traitorous spark of curiosity about the brother I once loved.
What game is Lucien playing? Why surrender now, after all this time? And what does it have to do with me?