Page 147 of Ruthless God

User_001: Do you think she knows the sale has been pushed back?

Mr_Anderson: Doesn’t matter. Not like she has a say-so either way.

The chat freezes. A notification flashes at the bottom.

NEW PARTICIPANT JOINED.

My heart stops. A new message pops up.

Ghosty_Sees_You: You shouldn’t be here, Cecely.

I jerk back, a scream clawing up my throat. They know. They know I’m watching.

The screen flickers, and the chat disappears. The monitors cut to black. And then the basement lights go out, plunging me into total darkness.

I don’t move. Don’t breathe.

The basement is silent. Too silent. Like it’s holding its breath with me. The only sound is the thunderous pounding in my chest. Whoever sent that message… Whoever turned off the lights… They could be here. They could be watching me right now.

I squeeze my eyes shut, straining to listen. A sound. Faint. Something shifts. A whisper of movement against concrete. To my left. I fight the instinct to bolt. To run blindly into the darkness. Because that’s what they want, isn’t it? For me to panic. I lower my breathing or try to. The air feels heavier now. Like someone is right there. Just out of reach. Watching. Waiting. Deciding.

My fingers twitch. If I move too fast—too soon—they’ll hear me. They’ll know exactly where I am. So I do the only thing I can. I listen. I count the seconds. I wait for the next sound.

And then there’s another shift.

Closer.

Someone is here.

And they aren’t leaving.

The silence stretches. Every nerve in my body tightens. My breath is shallow. Then there’s a flicker. A weak, humming buzz. And suddenly, the emergency lights flare back on.

A dim, sickly glow floods the room. And I see him.

Claudius.

Standing just a few feet away. Watching me.

His face is unreadable. His dark eyes hold a storm I can’t decipher.

I exhale shakily, my pulse still hammering. “Jesus, Claudius, you scared the shit out of me.”

He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t move. He just stares. A muscle in his jaw tics. Like he’s holding something back.

My stomach twists.

Because something isn’t right.

I was just watching footage of him. Or maybe of Gabriel.

The realization slams into me.

Was the man in the footage actually him? Or was it his brother?

The thought makes my skin prickle.

Because now, standing here, staring at him… I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m looking at the man I’ve been sleeping beside. Or if I’m staring at the ghost who’s been haunting me all along.

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