Chapter 0227
FEW DAYS LATERFEW DAYS LATER
Sydney's POV
I woke up to a silent house. Not that it was always noisy in the mansion but there was always this buzzing energy in the atmosphere; the sound of Tavon's business-like voice (very distinct from the one he used in that room) making business calls or the distant sounds of the whips, the clatters of plates in the kitchen, the murmurs and quiet giggles of Tavon's staff as they chatted animatedly and cracked jokes amongst themselves.
I had grown accustomed to a quiet but not so quiet mansion, but this morning? The mansion was dead silent. If a pin dropped, I swear, it would echo throughout the mansion. It was eerily still as if the walls were also holding their breath.
After peeking my head out a couple of times to catch a whiff of any hushed conversation or any hint as to what had gone wrong, I resigned and went to take my bath. The hot water did little to soothe the sense of dread that had settled in the pit of my stomach.
I got dressed and proceeded downstairs to have breakfast alone as usual. My footsteps echoed loudly in the hallways and it was the only sound breaking the unnatural silence.
It felt as if I were the last person on earth.
Scarlet turned out to be the one who served me breakfast.
Her presence was almost jarring in the eerie quiet.
I raised my brows, "You aren't assigned to the kitchen."
+25 BONUS
She smirked, "We're mourning. The sous chef who was supposed to serve you had developed a runny nose and red eyes from crying so. much.." she shrugged, "I'm filling in for a colleague." "Who died?" I blurted out without thinking and my voice echoed in the quiet house.
An uneasy feeling crept up my spine as Scarlet's expression grew somber.
"Lower your voice, Miss," she warned, then she whispered, "We got the horrible news this morning."
"Can you get to the point, Scar?" It's starting to get irritating how she was dragging the whole issue. My patience was wearing thin and the oppressive silence was fraying my nerves.
"I've told you to relax," she giggled quietly. "Meet me at the terrace," she said, turned back and walked off.
After a few spoons of breakfast, I rushed to the terrace, eager for answers and reprieve from the suffocating quiet. As expected, Scarlet was in her usual spot, smoking a cigarette. The tendrils of smoke also seemed to hang in the air like ghostly fingers.
When she felt I was around, she gave me a brief glance, winked, took one more inhale of the cigarette. After letting the smoke out in a long, slow exhale, she went straight to the point so I didn't need to start asking questions.All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.
"We heard that Axel was attacked at a gas station."
My eyes widened and I quickly clamped my palm down on my
mouth to stifle my gasp. A thousand terrible scenarios flashed in my mind.
+25 BONUS
"That isn't all" Scarlet continued while smoking, her voice low and grave. His whole body was shot through to the point that no one could recognize him."
"Oh my God!" I gasped, my voice muffled by my hand.
No way! We didn't even need to say anything regarding the killer, we all know who the killer is. The realization hit me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. "Yep!" She popped the 'p'.
I still found myself struggling to process it all.
"My God. So Axel is really dead?" I asked in a low voice, as if speaking the words too loudly would make them more real.
"Yep, Scarlet nodded. "If the news we heard is accurate then Axel really is dead."
"Wow," I breathed, slumping on the shrub wall, "I'm finding it hard to believe this."
I was still feeling weighed down by the news of Axel's death to a degree. How could something so unthinkable have happened so quickly?
I wonder why?" Scarlet said with a 'really!' look, exhaling a stream of smoke.
He killed Luigi for a nonsensical reason. So you can't believe he'd kill for power?*