Chapter 75: The half eaten pie raina’s pov 2

The drive to Anderson & Park felt twice as long as it should have.

Every mile gave my imagination more opportunities to create disasters.

Maybe Felix was alive.

Maybe someone was pretending to be Felix.

Maybe X-Reveals had finally decided to stop playing games.

That last possibility refused to leave my mind.

I arrived before Ethan.

Parked where I had a clear view of the diner.

And waited.

A few minutes later his car pulled into the lot.

I watched him go inside.

Then the waiting began.

At first nothing happened.

Customers came and went.

A delivery truck stopped outside a bakery across the street.

An elderly couple walked their dog through the snow.

Life continued exactly as normal.

Inside the diner, Ethan sat near the window nursing a cup of coffee.

Checking his phone.

Looking toward the entrance.

Waiting.

An hour passed.

Then two.

By the third hour I was certain nobody was coming.

Whatever this was, it wasn’t a reunion.

It was something else.

Something designed to keep Ethan sitting exactly where he was.

The realization sat uneasily in my stomach.

I scanned the street again.

The sidewalks.

The storefronts.

The parked vehicles.

Nothing looked unusual.

Nothing stood out.

Which was precisely what worried me.

Because whoever was behind this never stood out.

That was the problem.

They blended in.

They watched.

And by the time you realized they were there, it was already too late.

Across the street, Ethan suddenly straightened in his seat.

I followed his gaze instinctively.

For a moment I thought he’d spotted someone.

Instead, he was looking directly at me.

Or rather, at my vehicle.

"Oh no."

I closed my eyes.

Of course.

Of all the things that could go wrong, it had to be that.

Inside the diner, Ethan was already standing.

A few seconds later he emerged through the front door.

I immediately started the engine.

Maybe if I left now—

The idea died before it finished forming.

Because Ethan had already crossed the street.

The moment my vehicle moved, he followed.

"Fantastic."

I pulled away from the curb.

Behind me, Ethan jogged back toward his own car.

And just like that, I found myself leading the world’s most ridiculous pursuit through Anderson Park.

A chase implied speed.

This was mostly traffic lights and mutual irritation.

Every time I checked my mirror, Ethan was still there.

Every time I hoped he’d give up, he stubbornly remained.

Eventually a red light trapped both of us.

I sighed.

A few seconds later he was marching toward my window.

The determination on his face almost made me laugh.

Almost.

Two knocks sounded against the glass.

I ignored them.

A third followed.

"I know somebody’s in there."

I lowered the window.

The second he saw me, every trace of determination vanished.

"Raina?"

"What exactly are you doing?"

He blinked.

"What am I doing?"

"Yes."

I folded my arms.

"You chased me across half the city. I’d love to hear your explanation."

He rubbed a hand across his face.

"This conversation is not going the way I imagined."

"No?"

"Not particularly."

A horn sounded somewhere behind us.

Neither of us moved.

Finally I sighed.

"You disappeared before sunrise."

The irritation in my voice wasn’t entirely fake.

"I got a call."

"I know."

His expression changed immediately.

"You know?"

"I heard enough."

For a moment neither of us said anything.

I looked away briefly before returning my attention to him.

"You looked upset when you left."

That was the truth of it.

Not suspicion.

Not jealousy.

Concern.

The kind that sneaks up on you before you realize it’s there.

Something shifted in his expression.

The annoyance faded.

Understanding took its place.

"I wasn’t trying to worry you."

"No."

I nodded.

"I know."

The light turned green.

A chorus of impatient horns erupted behind us.

I glanced toward the intersection.

"We should probably continue this somewhere that isn’t blocking traffic."

Ethan looked around as if only just remembering we weren’t alone.

A moment later he nodded.

And a few minutes later we were heading back toward Harrington together

The drive back to Harrington passed in relative silence.

Not because there was tension between us. If anything, the confrontation at the traffic light had dissolved most of that. But neither of us seemed particularly eager to revisit the morning while we were still trying to make sense of it.

I drove ahead.

Every now and then I caught sight of Ethan’s car in the rearview mirror, following a few vehicles behind while my thoughts drifted back to the diner.

Three hours.

Three hours spent waiting for a man who was supposed to be dead.

Three hours spent exactly where someone wanted him.

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it.

By the time we reached my house, the knot in my stomach hadn’t loosened.

It had only gotten tighter.

I parked in the driveway and headed inside.

A few seconds later, Ethan followed.

The house felt strangely quiet.

Winter sunlight streamed through the tall windows overlooking the backyard while the heating system hummed softly somewhere in the walls. Everything looked normal.

Ordinary.

Safe.

Which only made me trust it less.

I set my purse on the kitchen island.

When I turned around, Ethan was already watching me.

Waiting.

He knew exactly what was coming.

"Talk to me."

My voice remained calm.

Ethan pulled out one of the stools and sat down.

"There’s not much to tell."

I raised an eyebrow.

His sigh was immediate.

"Someone called me last night claiming to be Felix."

"Claiming?"

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Ethan leaned forward slightly.

"When I first heard the voice, I was convinced it was him."

I looked away.

"Now?"

He stared at the countertop for a moment.

"Now I don’t know."

Neither did I.

At least not completely.

But I knew enough.

"If it wasn’t Felix, then somebody knew enough about him to get my attention."

That much was obvious.

The question was how.

"And if it was Felix?" I asked.

A humorless laugh escaped him.

"Then apparently he drove me an hour away to sit alone in a diner for three hours."

A faint smile touched my lips before disappearing.

Neither of us found it particularly funny.

"You really believed he might be alive."

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

A second later he shook his head.

"Okay, maybe I did."

His gaze drifted toward the windows.

"For a little while."

I remained silent.

Letting him continue.

"People don’t realize how difficult it is when somebody disappears."

My chest tightened.

"You never get answers. There’s no ending. No certainty. Just years of wondering."

I looked down at my hands.

"I can imagine."

The words sounded smaller than I intended.

Ethan watched me for a moment before looking away.

Thankfully.

Because I wasn’t sure what my face would have given away.

Eventually I glanced toward the staircase.

"I should get ready."

"For the shoot?"

I nodded.

"Victor has already called twice."

That earned a small smile.

"If I’m late, he’ll probably file a missing persons report."

"At least somebody would look for you."

I rolled my eyes.

"That was terrible."

"It was."

He stood.

For the first time all day, he looked slightly less burdened.

I stepped forward and adjusted the collar of his jacket.

A habit more than anything else.

"You should get some sleep."

His eyebrow lifted.

"That’s rich coming from you."

"I wasn’t the one sitting in a diner all morning."

"No."

A faint smile appeared.

"You were apparently stalking me."

I gave him a look.

That was enough.

His hands immediately lifted in surrender.

"Fair."

Satisfied, I stepped back.

"I’ll be downstairs in twenty minutes."

He nodded.

"Take your time."

I turned and headed upstairs.

The moment I disappeared around the corner, the smile vanished from my face.

Because unlike Ethan, I couldn’t leave the diner behind.

The entire thing felt wrong.

Too deliberate.

Too precise.

As though someone had spent weeks arranging pieces on a board before finally making their move.

I entered my bedroom and crossed toward the closet.

The house had fallen quiet again.

Not unusual.

Just quiet.

I changed clothes.

Checked my phone.

Ignored three messages from Victor.

Then paused.

Something downstairs had moved.

I stood still.

Listened.

Nothing.

A few seconds passed.

Then another sound.

A soft thump.

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

Just enough to pull my attention toward the bedroom door.

"Ethan?"

No answer.

I frowned.

Maybe he’d stepped outside.

Maybe he was on the phone.

Maybe—

Another sound.

Closer this time.

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Slowly, I left the bedroom.

The hallway stretched empty before me.

Sunlight spilled through the second-floor windows, casting long pale rectangles across the hardwood floor.

Everything looked normal.

But the feeling remained.

That instinctive certainty that something wasn’t right.

"Ethan?"

Still nothing.

I started downstairs.

Halfway down, I froze.

Someone stood at the end of the hallway below.

Motionless.

Watching.

For one impossible second, my brain refused to process what I was seeing.

Then recognition arrived all at once.

White rabbit mask.

Black clothes.

Hands tucked casually into his pockets.

X-Reveals.

The world seemed to narrow around him.

The hallway.

The sunlight.

The house.

Everything else faded.

The rabbit mask tilted slightly.

Almost curious.

Almost amused.

"Hello, Princess."

My pulse hammered against my ribs.

"You."

The distorted laugh that followed was soft.

Comfortable.

Like we were old friends meeting unexpectedly.

"What are you doing in my house?"

"Visiting."

My jaw tightened.

"Where’s Ethan?"

The mask tilted again.

"Relax."

His voice echoed softly through the hallway.

"He’s exactly where you left him."

That answer did nothing to reassure me.

"What do you want?"

For a moment he didn’t answer.

Then he reached into his coat.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

And pulled out a photograph.

He held it up between two gloved fingers.

I recognized it immediately.

Ethan.

Outside the diner.

Earlier today.

The angle wasn’t distant.

Whoever had taken it had been close.

Close enough to see him.

Close enough to follow him.

Close enough to know exactly where he was.

The rabbit mask turned slightly toward the photograph.

Then back to me.

"You’re worried about the wrong dead man."

The words settled heavily between us.

Every instinct I possessed told me exactly where this conversation was heading.

And I hated it.

Because if I was right—

Then Felix had never been the point.

The rabbit took one slow step forward.

"Felix isn’t the secret."

I said nothing. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The mask tilted.

Waiting.

Watching.

Enjoying this.

Then his attention drifted briefly toward the family photographs hanging along the wall.

When he looked back at me, the amusement was gone.

"Your grandfather is."

The air seemed to leave the room.

For a second I simply stared at him.

Unable to speak.

Unable to move.

Unable to think.

The rabbit stepped backward toward the front door.

"Call Katsuro."

His voice had become quieter now.

Which somehow made it worse.

"Before everyone learns what really happened that night."

Everything inside me went cold.

Because there was only one night he could possibly mean.

Only one.

And nobody was supposed to know about it.

The rabbit reached for the doorknob.

Then paused.

"Tick-tock, Princess."

The door opened.

And closed.

Leaving me alone in the silence.

Staring at the space where he’d been standing.

While one terrible realization echoed through my mind.....