Chapter 344

Chapter 344:

Now, he wondered if that moment would ever come.

“I’m coming for you,” he whispered, clutching the necklace tightly in his palm. “Hold on, Camille. Just hold on.”

Cold. That was the first thing Camille felt. Cold and a deep, throbbing pain in her head.

She tried to move, but her arms wouldn’t respond. Slowly, her eyes opened to a dimly lit room with wooden walls. Her vision swam, the effects of whatever drug Rose had given her still lingering in her system.

Looking down, Camille saw thick rope binding her to a heavy wooden chair.

Each wrist tied separately to the armrests, ankles secured to the chair legs.

Whoever had tied these knots knew what they were doing.

A wave of fear washed over her, threatening to drown her reason. She forced it down, focusing instead on her surroundings. Wooden walls. A stone fireplace. Large windows showing dense forest outside. And something else, something familiar.

Recognition dawned slowly. She knew this place. Or rather, she knew what it had once been.

The old Lewis family cabin. Where they had spent summers when they were younger. Where they had once been sisters before everything changed.

But this wasn’t exactly the cabin she remembered. That had been smaller, older. This was a new structure built on the same spot, incorporating elements of the original: the stone fireplace, the position of the windows, but larger, more modern.

“Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?” Rose’s voice came from behind her.

Camille tensed but kept her breathing steady, refusing to show fear as Rose walked around to face her. Her sister looked different than she had at the roadside. She’d washed out the black hair dye, returning to her natural color. Dressed not in the tactical gear from the ambush but in casual clothes—jeans and a sweater that reminded Camille of what they used to wear during those summer vacations.

“Do you like what I’ve done with the place?” Rose asked, gesturing around them. “I rebuilt it exactly as I remembered, with a few modern touches. Dad sold it after everything fell apart. After they thought that you died.”

Camille worked moisture into her dry mouth. “Why am I here, Rose?”

“So impatient,” Rose chided, pulling up a chair to sit facing Camille. “No appreciation for symmetry. For perfect endings.” She leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

Glittering with excitement, Rose said, “Don’t you see? This is where we were happiest together. Before you turned everyone against me.”

“I didn’t turn anyone against you,” Camille said quietly. “You did that yourself when you tried to kill me.”

Rose’s face hardened. “Is that what you tell yourself? That I’m the villain in this story?” She stood abruptly. “They abandoned me. Our parents. Stefan. Everyone chose you and threw me away.”

She paced the room, agitation making her movements sharp and jerky. “But that doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that we’ve come full circle. Back to where we were once happy. Back to where everything changed.”

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