Chapter 140

• I sat on the floor beside my bed, gripping the note from EH tightly in my hand. My eyes remained fixed on it, my mind racing to process everything. He had to be close. He had to have been watching me all this time, tracking my every move like a silent shadow lurking just out of sight. The thought sent a shiver through me. If he truly intended to kill Bopha, should I warn her? But warn her against whom? A ghost? A name without a face?
• Helplessness settled over me like a suffocating weight. My first instinct was to run to Icarus, to show him the note, but a far more chilling thought held me back—what if EH or one of his spies was watching me even now? I had to stay calm, to think rationally. Rushing to Icarus would only draw unwanted attention to him, marking him as my ally. That would force EH’s informant to be even more careful, making it nearly impossible to uncover their identity. As much as it sickened me, the only course of action was to pretend as if I had never seen the note at all.
• Pushing myself off the floor, I snatched the black rose and tossed it into the trash. I was done with this game. I didn’t have the faintest clue who EH was, nor could I understand why he would want Bopha dead. Was this some twisted attempt to “help” me? And if so, why? What could he possibly gain from this?