Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Chapter 158

Annie's eyes frantically searched the opulent hall; her breathing began racing as her eyes desperately searched for Alexander. He had been just a few feet away from her a moment ago, his figure strikingly unmistakable among all the masked faces. But now he was nowhere in sight. And for some weird reason, she searched around the room for Emma, her stomach filled with dread when it dawned on her that Emma, too, was nowhere to be seen.

Panic coursed through Annie as her perfectly manicured nails dug into the palm of her hand, her fists clenched. There was no reason, no plausible explanation for both Alexander and Ena to disappear at the same time unless something was terribly wrong. Her mind reeled with possibilities; each worse than the last.

Annie's heels clicked against the marble floor as she made her way down the hall, weaving between groups of guests. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breathing uneven as she pushed past servers and ignored the curious glances of onlookers. Her desperation made her careless. And if fate had decided to toy with her even more, she ran into someone.

"Excuse me." she muttered hastily, not bothering to look up, trying to figure walk pass him. Apologies were not her things, but she had more important things to attend to

But before she could move away, he moved his head closer to her, his lips dangerously close to her ear, whispering, "Your attempt to kill me failed. The videos will soon be out for the world to see."

The color drained from Annie's face, her vision blurring as the words hit her like a freight train. Her heart felt as if it had stopped altogether, her breath catching in her throat. Her fists tightened by her sides, trembling slightly. She knew that voice, How could she not? It was etched into her memory, a voice that had once whispered hot and spicy words to her months ago. A voice she was certain she'd silenced forever.

pulse roared in her ears as she whipped around, her mind racing to rationalize what she had just heard. It couldn't be him. There was no way. She has confirmed his death. He couldn't possibly be alive unless... she had

blazed in her eyes and

desperately for the man who had whispered into her ear, her stomach churning with every twist and turn. And there he was: his back turned to her, as he was walking away. He was one of the servers

deep inside of her, she knew

security, he had found a way in. What if he has attacked her the

away, toward the exit, really Jim. Alive. Breathing. And

crashing down in an instant. Everything she had fought

Jim being alive. She couldn't risk drawing security to herself. She could not call them not when it might expose her own dirty secrets out into the open for the world to

this alone.

with every step. The crowd thinned as they moved further from the main hall, the sounds of merry chatter and music fading into the background. She was in the garden now, and the moonlight cast eerie shadows on the path ahead. Blossoms surrounding her did

11:07 Fri, Jan 24

Chapter 158