Chapter 31
31
Cecely
I don’t look back. I can’t. My legs move on instinct, pushing me forward, away from the basement, away from the darkness, away from him.
Agnes bought me seconds. That’s all. And I need to use them. I reach the staircase, my heart pounding. One step. Two.
And then a sound. A low, guttural exhale. A breath that isn’t mine.
I freeze.
No!
Slowly, so painfully slowly, I turn.
He’s moving, the syringe still in his neck. The drug should’ve put him under. But he’s not unconscious. He’s awake. Dazed. But awake.
His shoulders roll like he’s shaking off a chill. Then, his head lifts.
And our eyes meet.
A slow, lazy smile stretches across his lips and my stomach lurches. This isn’t possible. No one should be able to fight off whatever Agnes gave him. No one. But him? He’s already pushing himself up.
His voice is rough, slurred but filled with dark amusement. “Cecely.”
He says my name like a promise.
Like a warning.
Like he knows exactly what I’m about to do.
Agnes yells, “Run!”
I don’t hesitate. I take the stairs two at a time, lunging toward the door. It’s unlocked. Thank God. I shove it open, stumbling into the dimly lit hallway.
And then I hear it. The footsteps. Fast. Too fast.
I whirl.
He’s already at the top of the stairs. His pupils are blown wide, his breath coming ragged and unsteady. But his smirk? That’s perfectly intact.
“You really thought you could get away?”
I don’t answer.
I run.
Down the hall. Through the darkened corridors of the house. Every door I pass is locked. No time. No escape. I twist and turn, my lungs burning, my legs screaming…
But so do his footsteps. Always behind me. Close.
A laugh echoes down the hall. Low. Amused. Deadly.
“Cecely.”
He’s playing with me. Hunting me. Because he knows this house better than I do. Knows every turn, every locked door, every dead end. And I just barrel through another.
Shit. Dead end. I whip around and he’s already there. Leaning casually against the doorway. Like he knew I’d end up right here. His eyes glow with something dark. Something triumphant.
I am completely trapped.
He tilts his head, watching me.
“Now, what am I going to do with you?”
I give him a soft smile. And then I attack. I move fast. I lunge, swinging my fist toward his throat. He catches my wrist mid-air, but I expected that.
So I slam my knee up. Hard. Right into his crotch. A grunt. A sharp, startled step backward. I don’t stop. I grab a decorative vase from the side table and smash it toward his head. He dodges, but not fast enough.
Glass shatters across his shoulder. His gaze darkens and then he laughs. A low, wicked chuckle.
Like he loves this.
His voice is hoarse, edged with something raw. “God, Cecely, you make me crazy.”
I move again, aiming for his face, but this time, he’s ready. He grabs me. Spins me. And suddenly, I’m pinned. My back slams against the wall. My wrists trapped in his grip, held above my head. His body pressing against mine. Too close. Too warm. Too strong.
I thrash, but he doesn’t let go.
His breath fans against my cheek. His lips tilt into a smirk.
“I should punish you for that.”
I spit in his face. He stills. His tongue swipes the moisture from his lip.
And then he groans.
Like this is just foreplay to him.
I should be terrified. I sure as hell shouldn’t be slightly aroused!
Shaking my head, I focus. Because I’m not giving up. I jerk my knee up again. This time, his body jerks violently. A strangled curse escapes him. His grip slackens and I rip my hands free.
And I run. I don’t stop. Not to think. Not to look back. Because I know.
He will come for me.
I race through the darkened hallways, lungs burning, legs aching. My heartbeat pounds in my ears.
I take a sharp turn and slam right into someone.
Weathered hands grab my shoulders, steadying me. I gasp, jerking back, ready to fight. But then I see her. Agnes.
I clutch her arms, shaking.
“Gabriel,” I rasp. “I was right. He’s been here. He’s been here all along.”
Her face doesn’t change. She doesn’t gasp. She doesn’t even look surprised. Her fingers tighten around my arms, keeping me still.
“I know,” she hisses.
I stiffen.
“What?”
She exhales, glancing over my shoulder. Checking. Listening. Then she leans in, voice urgent, low.
“I’ve known for a long time.”
My breath shudders.
“How long?” I whisper.
She meets my gaze, her expression grim. “Since the day Claudius pushed him from that cliff.”
My world tilts. Because that means she’s known the whole time. The whole damn time.
That I wasn’t sleeping beside Claudius.
That I wasn’t falling for the man I thought I knew.
That it was always Gabriel.
I jerk back from her, betrayal burning through my veins.
“You knew,” I hiss. “And you let me— Why didn’t you tell me? Why let me?—”
“There was no way out.” She speaks fast, glancing over my shoulder, scanning the darkened halls. “I had to keep you in the dark, Cecely. If I didn’t—he would have known.”
My stomach drops.
Gabriel.
If she had told me, he would’ve known. He would’ve killed her. Killed me. I swallow hard, my mind spinning.
Agnes inhales sharply, her fingers digging into my arms.
“Now, listen.” She lowers her voice. “Go to my room. Lock the door. Wait for me.”
My pulse spikes.
“What? No! You can’t just?—”
She shakes me. “If you trust me even a little, you will do this.”
I stare at her, my breath coming fast, my mind racing. Do I trust her? She’s lied. She’s kept secrets. But she’s also saved my life. Twice. And right now, I don’t have a better plan.
“Go. Now!”
I hesitate one second too long. And then I hear it. Footsteps. Fast. Getting closer.
Agnes shoves me toward the hallway. “Run.”
And I do. I run because I don’t have a choice. Because if I stop… if I hesitate again…Gabriel will find me. And this time, I won’t be able to fight back.
I run.
Faster than I ever have in my life.
The halls blur, the sound of footsteps behind me fading into white noise. Agnes’ room. I reach the door, throwing myself inside and locking it behind me. My chest heaves.
I’m safe.
For now.
I press my back to the door, trying to catch my breath, and then I realize I’m not alone. A figure sits in the shadows, curled up on a chaise. I go rigid. Millie. She lifts her head slowly, her face pale and drawn. Her eyes lock onto mine, wide and wary.
“Millie,” I whisper. “What are you doing here?”
She swallows, her gaze flicking to the door. “Agnes told me to wait for you.”
Agnes told her to wait for me? Why?
“Millie,” I say carefully. “What do you mean? Why are you here?”
She doesn’t answer right away. She just studies me like she’s deciding whether she can trust me. I don’t move because something about this moment feels too important. Like everything is about to change.
Finally, she exhales. “Because I know who he really is.”
I swallow hard. “Gabriel?”
Millie’s eyes sharpen.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Not just Gabriel.” A pause. “I know who he was before that.”
Before that?
The words slam into me like a truck.
“What are you talking about?”
She looks away, her fingers twisting together in her lap.
“I’ve been here longer than you,” she whispers. “I’ve seen things. He isn’t who you think he is.”
A chill rips through me. Because I already know Gabriel isn’t really Claudius. But now Millie is telling me—What?
“I don’t understand.”
She shakes her head sharply. “You’re in danger because Mr. Gabriel is out.”
“What does that mean?”
Millie’s fingers clench together in her lap, her eyes desperate, searching.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” she whispers.
Yes. Gabriel is pretending to be Claudius. My breath catches.
“Is… is Claudius dead?”
Her face falls. A slow, breaking look of devastation.
“You don’t see?” she murmurs. “How can you not see?”
Millie leans forward, her voice a thread of sound.
“There hasn’t been a Gabriel and Claudius since that day on the cliff. Not since Claudius pushed him to his death.”
“What are you saying?”
“There was never a Gabriel and Claudius. Not recently, at least.”
The words hit me like ice water. A slow, sinking realization, like the ground beneath me is cracking apart, opening into something dark and endless.
My head shakes, denial clawing at my throat.
“No. That’s not?—”
Millie’s eyes flash sharply, cutting through my disbelief like a knife.
“It’s always been him.” Her voice is low, firm. “Always.”
I suck in a breath. The room tilts. A cold sickness coils inside me. Because I already know it’s true.
The inconsistencies.
The moments that felt off.
The way he knew too much.
The way he could be so different. So cold, so distant, so dangerous one moment, and then warm, teasing, even tender the next.
Because he wasn’t pretending to be Claudius.
He was pretending to be Gabriel.
Because Gabriel is dead. And Claudius has been the only one left. The whole time.
Two sides of the same coin.
The golden son. The shadow in the dark. The heir and the ghost. He has been both. He has been everything.
My stomach churns. I want to scream. To run. To wake up from this nightmare.
But I don’t get the chance.
Because a voice cuts through the silence like a blade. Low. Smooth. Too close.
“Well.” A slow, measured pause. Like he’s savoring this. “I was wondering when you’d figure it out.”
A breath shudders through me. Millie goes still, as if she’s worried for her life.
I turn. And he’s there. Standing in the doorway.
Watching.
Smiling.
Waiting.
The man I thought I knew. The man who was never real.
Claudius Irons.
The only one who has existed since that night on the cliff. Since he killed his twin. Since he took over his life.
The room feels smaller. Claustrophobic. Like the walls are closing in. Like I’m trapped. Because I am.
Claudius stands in the doorway, watching me like a predator savoring the moment before it strikes. His smile is slow, self-satisfied.
I swallow, forcing words past the tightness in my throat. “You killed him.”
His head tilts in amusement. “Did I?”
“Gabriel is dead. You took his place. You lied.”
But Claudius just exhales slowly, shaking his head. “Oh, Cecely.”
He steps inside, closing the door behind him. Millie stiffens beside me.
Claudius’ gaze lazily drags over my face, assessing me like I’m some puzzle he’s already solved.
“You still don’t understand, do you?”
My stomach twists. I understand plenty!
But he keeps talking. “Gabriel was already dead when I got there.”
What? I freeze, and Millie lets out a sharp inhale. Claudius watches our reactions, his smirk deepening.
“You think I killed him?” His chuckle is low, amused. “No, Cecely. I didn’t have to.”
I shake my head. “That’s not?—”
“I just finished what was already done.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
“You’re lying.”
But his expression doesn’t change. His eyes stay locked on mine, dark and unreadable, enjoying this. He takes a slow, measured step forward.
“Tell me something, mama.” His voice is smooth, teasing, deadly. “Did you ever wonder why no one questioned me about what happened that night on the cliff?”
My throat goes tight. I can’t speak. But he keeps going. His voice is almost mocking now.
“Why no one dug up his grave before now?”
I shake my head, my pulse a frantic drumbeat in my ears. He leans in, so close I can feel the warmth of his breath. Trapping me.
“Because they didn’t care.” His voice drops to a whisper. “A monster was gone, and that’s all that mattered.”
A breath shudders out of me.
Claudius smirks. Loving this. Loving the way I’m coming apart, piece by piece. Because this isn’t just about Gabriel being dead. This is about why. This is about who.
Gabriel didn’t just die that night. He disappeared. Someone wanted him gone. Someone made sure no one would ask questions.
But who?
Claudius’ eyes gleam, flickering with something dark and twisted. His lips curl into something vicious.
“Now, Cecely,” he purrs, “do you want to know who really killed him?”
The air leaves my lungs. A terrible, sick feeling uncoils in my gut. Because suddenly, I’m not sure I do. But Claudius has already decided for me.
His smirk deepens, his voice sharper, like a knife sliding between ribs.
“You did.”
I stagger back, shaking my head. “No. You’re lying!”
“Oh, mama, you did .” His voice is almost… gentle. Like he’s breaking the news of some inevitable tragedy. “You killed him the moment you took your first breath.”