In reality, everyone left where Lillian was placed and closed the curtain.
"We need to stay here every time to see when she moves her body. So who's going to stay here with me?" Miles asked.
Blaine started to raise his hand.
"Anyone but Diana and Blaine." Miles glared at Blaine, still fuming with anger.
"I will stay," Shawn said, raising his hand.
Miles nodded. "We'll take turns, but I'll stay the longest. Follow me – I'll show you where you'll be staying." He looked at the others. "The rest of you, get out."
Miles left with Shawn.
"Let's go," Luna ordered, and the others left the room too.
---
At Hazel's place, she sat in silence as the video call connected. On the screen appeared two figures who didn't need the sunglasses or coats they wore to shield lesser vampires from the sun. They looked like Greek gods carved from marble and shadow – but gods who had long abandoned mercy.
Caspian sat with an unnerving stillness that made him seem less alive and more like a statue that might move without warning. His eyes were the color of deep forest leaves, but there was nothing natural about them – they held the cold, patient hunger of something that had watched civilizations rise and fall. His jaw was sharp enough to cut, his cheekbones carved with the kind of cruel beauty that made you forget he was a monster until it was too late.
Drake stood beside him, a storm barely contained. His eyes were ocean-blue – but not the calm, peaceful kind. They were the blue of deep water where things lurked unseen. The kind of blue that pulled you in and drowned you before you realized you were sinking. His voice was deep and smooth, almost a caress – but the words that came from it could slice through flesh. He looked like a predator disguised as a man, like a wolf in silk.
They were beautiful in the way a blade is beautiful – elegant, sharp, and eager to draw blood. Their smiles were the kind that promised pain, and their gazes held no warmth, only the cold appraisal of hunters sizing up prey.
"What's the emergency, Hazel, that you had to make a video call?" Drake asked with his deep, pretty voice. Caspian sat with composure.
"I'm sorry for that. It's just that Blaine's brothers lost against Lillian and only killed one of Lillian's protectors – Blaine. And now, they're all dead." Hazel spoke with accuracy and a calm tone.
"What?! How did that happen?" Drake exclaimed angrily, while Caspian, obviously furious, kept his anger contained.
"Hudson and his hunters interfered."
"You should have stopped that from happening! You incompetent fool!" Drake shut her up angrily.
"You think if I knew about that earlier I wouldn't have stopped them? You think you're the only one who has the urge to kill Lillian?!" Hazel shouted back in frustration. Then she looked at their surprised faces and calmed down.
"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you." Hazel apologized like a coward.
Mr. Paul entered. "There's news from the maid you planted inside…" He walked toward Hazel, then realized there was a video call in progress. He froze without saying another word.
"Speak," Caspian finally said. Loyal Paul looked at Hazel, who gave him the signal to speak.
"A maid she planted in Hudson's Mansion has news. She called me this morning and told me she was assigned to change Lillian's clothes and dress her because Lillian is not waking up."
"She's not waking up?" Caspian asked in shock.
"Yes. I went to the mansion this morning and saw her protectors coming out. I overheard them complaining about how Lillian was stuck in the spirit realm because she went to bring back Blaine," Paul reported.
Caspian smirked. "I have heard of a story about people who go to the spirit realm – whether by mistake or by death. They never find the enthusiasm to come back to the real world. That's why anyone who died never resurrected. So we don't have to worry about Lillian anymore. She will die anyway."
"I know Lillian will always find her enthusiasm. That girl is evil. We should never forget about her. We have to end her ourselves to be sure she actually died," Hazel advised.
"What should we do, then?" Drake questioned.
"We take away her amulet. The Tears of Isis needs to be taken from her. If she tries to wake up, her name will be called, but if the voices disturb her hearing, she will never hear her name." Caspian spoke without stress, then looked at Hazel straight in the eye. "Hazel, you know what to do." He cut the call.
"Paul, send a message to that maid. Tell her that while helping Lillian change, she should steal her amulet – or else her family will be gone." Hazel said, and Paul quickly left.
---
"I can't believe our weekend will be this stressful," Tiana complained as she settled into the couch. The others, behind her, looked equally stressed as they also sat somewhere.
"Would I even be able to go to work tomorrow?" Tiana complained again.
Everyone sighed deeply at once. Then the sound of the gate opening was heard. Soon, a car drove into the compound.
"Who the hell is that?" Diana asked, expecting no reply.
"Tyler, go check it out," Luna commanded.
"Me? Nah, I'm too tired to stand up. Diana, go," Tyler said, and Diana glared at him. "I mean, Tiana, go."
"Tony, you heard him," Tiana pushed it to Tony, and he rolled his eyes.
"Lazy bunch of werewolves," Tony grumbled under his breath as he stood up to check who was at the door. The car finally parked, and Mirabel came out, slamming the door.
She walked toward the door. "Don't you guys smell something like a vampire? Oh, I forgot – I'm the only one who has that talent," Tony teased.
"Is there a vampire here right now?" Bryan looked alert.
"Relax, the smell is gone now. I don't know why, though," Tony said, suspicious.
Then he opened the door, and Mirabel walked in fashionably.
She met everyone in the living room, except Shawn.
"Oh, you guys are here. Anyway, whatever." She spoke nonchalantly and looked around. "Where is Shawn?"
"We don't know. Is that why you came here? This isn't even where he lives," Diana asked.
"Well, Dumbo, it's obvious I don't know where he lives. I went to his workshop and couldn't find him," Mirabel said with a face that clearly said what are you gonna do?
"How did you expect me to know?" Diana asked again.
"Maybe it's because you hardly think." Mirabel sat down on a nearby couch as if she owned the place.
"Oh, I am about to kill this bitch," Diana said and stood, but Luna sat her down.
"What are you doing here at Lillian's castle?" Bryan asked calmly.
"More like the castle my father gifted her. In case she didn't tell you, my father was one of the people she manipulated to get to where she is today," Mirabel said with pride.
"I don't get it. Are you here to find Shawn or lie about Lillian being manipulative?" Blaine defended her.
Mirabel scoffed. "You don't believe Lillian sees people as her pawns, as her toys?" She asked, and everyone nodded.
"She may have no emotions, but she's definitely not manipulative," Blaine added.
"Well, then. If you don't believe me, would you like to go down Lillian's memory lane with me?" Mirabel asked and stood up, positioning herself in the middle of the room as if about to give a speech.
"When we were in ninth grade at Larson Collegiate Institute, a private high school, Lillian was a new student. She immediately became popular without trying. She always looked pretty normal to me – mostly quiet, cool, filled with aura. I never knew she was an orphan who worked tons of part‑time jobs to pay for tuition. I wondered why she struggled to go to a high school she had to work to death to pay for.
"Then one day, I was going somewhere when I heard a girl named Charlotte talking to Lillian. Lillian's face was tense, and the girl looked like she had the upper hand. I leaned over to hear, and I heard the girl talking about where Lillian lived, how poor she was, the part‑time jobs she was doing. She threatened to tell the whole school – and at that time, the people in that school were elites. No one liked poor people there. So Lillian would be bullied all her life there.
"Charlotte left, and Lillian watched her leave with a change in her look. She looked as if Charlotte was beneath her. As a future author then, I knew those expressions." Mirabel said with a proud tone.
"Let me continue. The next day, the news came out that Lillian was poor, and as expected, she got bullied. There was also a writing competition then, but Charlotte wasn't good enough to win it. Lillian, this quiet, observing girl, knew how desperate Charlotte was to win it. Luckily, everything that happened, I was able to see them. Lillian applied to join the competition but never submitted her story. Why? She wrote a very enchanting story no one expected a fourteen‑year‑old kid would be able to write. I know I hate her, but I can't lie because of that.
"She went into the toilet after Charlotte entered the toilet one day. I noticed something was going to happen, so I stood by the door. She made a call bragging about her story, saying she was definitely going to win for sure. I'm pretty sure Charlotte heard that. She knew Charlotte would hear it, and she knew Charlotte, who was desperate, would go near her story. So while everyone went home for the day, I forgot my phone and came back to school to get it. I found it, but when I came out of the classroom, I saw Lillian taking a video of something. I looked closer – she was secretly recording Charlotte searching for her story that she had printed out and the flash drive that contained her story in her locker. Charlotte finally found it and ran away with it.
"She submitted it and won the competition. I thought that was the end. Then one day, Charlotte was expelled.
"Someone ask me why?" Mirabel adjusted her top as if she were feeling herself as a very good storyteller.
"She was expelled because she stole someone's story. It was obvious," Diana spoke out.
Mirabel hissed. "Would it kill you to ask why? Anyway, it turns out Lillian called Charlotte, and I followed her to the rooftop, secretly recording.
"She showed her the video of Charlotte taking her story. Charlotte was tensed up, but to hide her tension, she got angry. Lillian looked as if she knew that was going to happen. Charlotte threw Lillian's phone to the ground and tried to throw Lillian off the roof. Can you believe that – someone who liked to stay on the rooftop every day after class for hours before going home was there and saw everything.
"Lillian knew who stayed on the rooftop. She knew that was going to happen. This was reported to the school. Lillian showed them the video of Charlotte stealing her story, and there was a witness who saw Charlotte attempting murder. The award was given to Lillian, her popularity blew up regardless of her poor background, while Charlotte was expelled. Not only that, Lillian made her trend online for the things she did. Since then, Charlotte never made it as a story writer. That incident boosted Lillian's possibility to become a writer, even though she had no supporter. That's the manipulative, complicated Lillian for you."
"You mean Charlotte can never rise up again?" Bryan asked.
"She deserved it. Why would she reveal what Lillian tried to cover?" Tiana said.
"How can a normal fourteen‑year‑old think of that? She could have gotten her revenge by succeeding, by winning that writing competition."
"I guess that's all. Now, leave!" Diana shouted at her.
"Is this how she barks?" Mirabel asked, making everyone giggle, and went to carry her handbag. "Since Shawn isn't here, I guess I'll take my leave." Mirabel turned around and walked out without looking back or saying another word.
"I swear I feel like strangling her," Diana said angrily.
"Rest. I wonder why you always fume with anger," Tony said.
Everyone sighed in unison again.
---
Meanwhile, in the mansion, a theft was about to happen.
The maid, known as Shaffy, entered the room and met Miles. "Young master, it is time to help Miss Lillian change."
"Okay. I'll be waiting here." Miles said.
Shaffy struggled to help Lillian up, so Miles helped by carrying Lillian in his arms to the bathroom.
"You do the rest." Miles left.
Shaffy, before doing anything, took off Lillian's amulet. She smiled as she fulfilled the task she had received through Paul's message.
Miles barged inside. Shaffy quickly hid the amulet behind her in fear.
---
Miles caught her. What happens now? Drop a Power Stone and add to library – Chapter 23 is coming fast.