Page 50 of Whispers in the Quarter

The organization isn’t what you think. Ask Davis about the Deveraux twins. Ask him why one had to die. Ask him what a father’s willing to do to keep his secrets.

But ask quickly. Some truths are written in blood, and New Orleans is about to bleed.

Dawn bleedsacross Lucas’s hidden lab, painting shadows in shades of gold and guilt. Jazz sleeps fitfully on a makeshift cot, his trumpet within easy reach. Lucas moves between his equipment and his phone, giggling about perfect timing and chemical evolution. And I sit perched on a lab stool, watching the sun rise on what might be our last day together.

My phone buzzes. The image that appears steals my breath – Ally, bound and bloody, in what looks like a warehouse office. Alex’s message follows.

Alex: Time’s up, little shadow. Come alone, or your friend dies first.

Innocent sweet Ally. My coworker at the Magnolia. The one I refused to befriend. And despite keeping my distance Alex knew. He saw what no one else saw.

A woman desperate for friendship.

“No.” Jazz’s voice makes me jump. He’s awake, reading over my shoulder. “You ain’t facing him alone.”

“He’ll kill her.” My voice breaks. “Just like Lauren. Just like Celeste.”

“Fascinating timing.” Lucas appears at my other side, practically vibrating with barely contained excitement. “The warehouse district, by the old shipping office. The same location where Lauren Blake died. And just when our other experiment is reaching its most crucial phase...”

“What other experiment?” Jazz asks sharply, but Lucas just grins, checking his phone again.

“All elements combining beautifully,” he mutters. “The catalyst, the reaction, the transformation... Oh, this will be exquisite.”

“Fascinating timing.” Lucas continues, his eyes gleaming with that particularly unhinged light that usually means he’s ten steps ahead of everyone else. “You know what I’ve discovered in my recent experiments? Sometimes the most powerful transformations aren’t really changes at all—just... revelations. Permission to be what was always there.”

Jazz and I exchange looks. “Lucas, what exactly have you been up to?”

His laugh borders on hysterical. “Oh, my beautiful Chimera, let’s just say our dear Saint isn’t so saintly after all. Never was,really. He just needed someone to... unlock those particular chains.”

Before I can dig deeper into that cryptic statement, another message arrives—this time from an unknown number:

Unknown: Everything in position. The ghost is about to become the hunter.

“Well,” Lucas grins, checking something on his phone that makes him practically bounce with glee, “isn’t this delightfully complicated?”

I stand, my decision made. “I’m going. But I need you both to trust me.”

Their protests overlap:

“Like hell you’re going alone?—”

“But you’ll miss the best part of the experiment-”

“Listen!” I grab their hands, forming a circle of desperate connection. But before I can continue, Lucas interrupts with an intensity I’ve never seen before.

“My Chimera, for once in your beautifully deadly existence, trust that I’ve orchestrated something magnificent. Something worthy of both your shadows and his darkness.”

“His?” Jazz catches the emphasis. “Lucas, what have you done with Ethan?”

Lucas’s smile turns feral. “Nothing he didn’t already want done, I assure you. Sometimes the most effective catalyst just gives permission for what’s already there...”

“You’re talking in riddles,” I snap, time pressing down like a physical weight. “Ally is?—”

“Going to be fine,” Lucas cuts me off, that manic certainty blazing in his eyes. “Because Alex is about to learn a very important lesson about assumptions and control. You see, he thinks he knows all the players in this game. Thinks he understands all the pieces on the board.” His giggle has an edgeof pure delight. “He has no idea that his intended victim has become something far more... interesting.”

Jazz straightens, something clicking. “That’s why Ethan’s team has been operating without him. You’ve had him this whole time, haven’t you?”

“Had him? Oh no, my musical friend. I simply... provided an environment where certain truths could emerge. Rather like cultivating a particularly fascinating strain of bacteria.” Lucas checks his phone again, practically purring at whatever he sees. “And now that culture is ready to be introduced to a wider sample group.”

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