The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 370: [ Volume 1] Chaper - Trap

Even so, doubts clawed at the edges of his mind. She doesn’t mean it, he thought bitterly. This was recorded before everything happened, before she knew... before she blamed me.

But as Esme’s voice carried on, soft yet unyielding, it felt so achingly real, as if she were speaking directly to him.

For years, everyone had told him it wasn’t his fault. For years, those words had felt hollow, meaningless. But now, hearing them from Esme, even through a recording, was different. It cut through the layers of guilt, seeping into the part of him that had longed for her forgiveness.

And yet, that same guilt whispered back, She should’ve blamed me. She had every right to.

Jay’s knees finally gave way, and he sank into the nearest chair, his head in his hands as his shoulders shook. The words he had craved for so long, yet felt undeserving of, echoed in his mind: It’s not your fault.

Even if they were just words from the past, for a fleeting moment, they felt like hope. And for the first time in years, the pain of his guilt didn’t feel so heavy.

Esme’s voice was steady but serious, her gaze fixed ahead as if reliving every word she spoke.

"Listen carefully," she began, her tone unwavering. "If anything ever happens to me—if I die—it can’t be by accident. Not unless you see it happen with your own eyes. And if I die but my body isn’t found, not even a single piece, remember this: I am not dead. Do you understand? Without my body, I’m alive, no matter what anyone says."

She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in, then continued in a somber tone. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"This didn’t start recently. It started long before I met all of you. It began when I met someone named Summer. From childhood to adulthood, there’s a part of my life that even Helga and Aaron don’t know about—a friend who lived overseas. Summer and I didn’t meet often in person, but we were close online. He was a beast owner like me, his beast was a scorpion, and we bonded over that. At the time, I was the youngest to unlock beast power, and my mother... she never supported me. No one did. So I turned to Summer for guidance.

"But something always felt off. I remember wearing the beast ring and feeling... strange. Like, when I slept, it felt as though something was being drained from me, like my life force was slipping away. Yet, every time it happened, my body would feel better afterward. The first couple of times I used my power, I’d just feel tired—nothing extreme. But slowly, things began to change.

"Each time I used my power, I grew more and more exhausted. Eventually, I started vomiting blood. At first, I thought it was just my body adjusting, but then I noticed something odd—new people would always show up around me. In school, there’d suddenly be a transfer student in my class, or in college, a stranger would begin appearing in my vicinity. It wasn’t random.

"I remember when I first met Cain. He wasn’t like the others. There was something about him—a smell, faint but distinct, like herbs. It didn’t make sense. This was the city. No one else could smell it, and that’s when I realized it had to be my heightened senses, a side effect of the beast power.

"At first, I brushed it off. But then I started noticing Cain showing up in the most unlikely places. No matter where I went or what path I took, he’d cross my path, like he was following me. It didn’t matter if I used the main gate, the back gate, or even jumped the boundary wall. He’d always be there, almost as if he knew where I’d be.

"And then came the final straw. One day, I was in a rush, jumping over the boundary wall to leave college. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but as soon as I landed, Cain was right there. I fell into him, and his book dropped to the ground. It felt too deliberate to be a coincidence."

Esme’s voice trailed off for a moment as she took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with determination. "That’s when I knew. Something—or someone—has been watching me all along."

Esme’s lips curled into a ghost of a smile, though her eyes betrayed a deeper unease. "I played it cool with Cain, you know. A smile here, a quick laugh there, and then I rushed off, acting like the carefree girl everyone thought I was. But then... Summer stopped contacting me. For a whole month, no word, no response, no sign. I tried everything—calls, messages, even reaching out in every way I knew. Nothing worked. That’s when I realized something was wrong."

Her voice lowered, carrying the weight of a secret she’d been holding for far too long. "I couldn’t sit back. I had to find him, and fast. So, I made a decision. I’d create something small, a group—no, maybe even an organization, to track down Summer, but here’s the catch: someone was watching me. Always. Following every move. I couldn’t let them know what I was up to. So, I gave them what they wanted. I made it seem like I was falling for Cain. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. I convinced Helga, Aaron, everyone... They believed it. And that’s how the group grew."

Esme’s eyes grew distant, the weight of the lies pressing on her. "But I couldn’t let anyone’s real name be known. Everyone had an alias. Only I knew who was really involved. Not because I didn’t trust them, but because if anyone learned the truth, if anyone followed the trail back... they’d be exposed. And the watchers would follow them, too."

Her tone shifted, colder now, as if something dark was creeping into the air between them. "It wasn’t just me they were watching. I didn’t notice at first, but Helga—she’d been living with me the entire time. If they were after me, they had to be after her too. They weren’t just following my every step. They were blending in, moving like shadows, always one step behind. Going to the same school, taking the same paths, living in the same places. They weren’t obvious... they were just there."