Chapter 3

I stood there frozen in the darkness.

Suddenly, shattered fragments of memory rushed back into my brain.

Olivia crushing pills into my milk.

Julian holding a syringe, smiling warmly while saying, "This is for your own good."

And the past version of me, frantically writing in a diary: "Do not trust them."

I really did write a diary! I really did discover the truth!

It's just that every morning I woke up, I forgot it all over again.

Inside the conservatory, Julian stood up and wrapped his arms around Olivia’s waist.

He rested his head on her shoulder.

"Playing your 'cousin' all these years has been so exhausting."

Olivia gently patted his back.

"Just bear with it a little longer. The transfer of the family trust is almost complete."

"You approached him on purpose back then just for his parents' inheritance, didn't you?"

"Why else would I?"

Olivia laughed, her voice dripping with mockery.

"Who could actually love an idiot who gets fooled every single day?"

I clenched my fists, wanting to run.

But my foot stepped on a dry twig on the ground. "Snap."

The lights in the conservatory went out instantly.

I ran back to the bedroom as fast as I could.

I lay in bed, my heart hammering so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest.

The bedroom door creaked open.

Olivia stood in the doorway, keeping the lights off.

She walked over and put her hand on my forehead.

"Ethan, where did you just go?"

I forced myself to sound like I had just been woken up, my voice deep and groggy.

"What? I’ve been sleeping this whole time."

She didn't say anything.

Her fingers slid from my forehead down to my neck, stopping right on a faint bruise, pressing down gently.

The pain made my muscles tense up.

"Did you have a nightmare? You're sweating a lot."

I clenched my teeth, saying nothing.

Olivia leaned down, whispering right into my ear.

"Ethan, you have to remember. You can go anywhere in this house, except the conservatory in the backyard."

"It's too damp there. It's bad for your illness."

I nodded, making no sound.

She smiled with satisfaction and tucked the blanket around me.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, everything will be fine."

She walked out, leaving the door slightly ajar.

I heard her whisper to Julian in the hallway.

"He might have noticed something. We need to move the plan forward!"

Only when the hallway went completely silent did I dare to open my eyes.

Olivia had said that the things I destroyed during my "episodes" were kept in the study.

And I remembered where she hid the key.

I slipped out of bed barefoot and crept into the study.

Opening the door, a musty smell hit my nose.

Torn photos, smashed ornaments, and half-shredded books were all piled in the corner.

I looked at the very bottom shelf of the bookcase.

The thickness of one particular book looked wrong.

I pulled it out and opened it—the inside of the book had been completely hollowed out.

Hidden inside was a leather notebook.

I flipped to the first page. It was my handwriting.

"March 15th. Olivia gave me a new pill today. I pretended to swallow it but spat it down the toilet. When Julian came to check on me, I lied and said my head hurt. The excitement in his eyes was sickening."

"May 20th. Our anniversary. Olivia gave me a tie clip. Tonight, I found a bank transfer record to Julian on her phone. What a joke."

I kept flipping through the pages.

The diary detailed every single time, date, and location of their secret hookups.

On the very last page, there was a single line written in bold red marker:

"Ethan, run! They are going to kill you!"

My hands began to shake violently.

"Thud!"

The sound of the front door opening echoed from downstairs.

I frantically shoved the diary back into the hollow book.

I had just made it back to bed and lay down when my bedroom door was kicked open.

Olivia stood at the door.

She flicked the light switch.

In her hand was a syringe, the needle dripping with a clear liquid.

She smiled and walked toward me.

"Ethan, you went to the study just now, didn't you?"