Page 156 of Bound By Crimson

“I’m okay,” she said quickly, trying to keep her voice steady. “Just really tired. I think I’m going to sleep early.”

Tessa, the maid, smiled softly. “Of course, rest well.”

She waited.

Waited until the footsteps disappeared completely.

Then, heart still pounding, she turned and crept back toward the hidden stairway once agian.

She climbed again, each step heavier with dread. At the top,

her hand wrapped around the cold brass handle. It stuck for a moment—then turned. The door creaked open.

And there it was.

The attic. Still. Silent.

She stepped inside. The door creaked shut behind her with a soft, final click.

She glanced back at the door. Every sense sharpened.

All around her: dust, forgotten furniture, old trunks, and shadows that moved when she did.

It smelled like cedar and something else.

Something older.

Something waiting.

She didn’t know what she was going to find.

Only that whatever it was…

It had been waiting for a very long time.

Chapter Fifty-Six

The Woman in the Photograph

The click of the attic door still echoed in her mind.

Lyric stood still, letting her eyes adjust to the amber glow. Dust softened the edges of everything, but something about the space felt alert—undisturbed, but not forgotten.

Moving forward, one hand beneath her belly, Lyric scanned the room.

The air was dense, quiet, watchful—and she welcomed it.

Lyric wasn’t sure what she hoped to find—just something. Something she could show Kai. Something that might finally make him listen—make him see his mother for who she truly was. Cruel. Controlling. Unhinged.

And maybe he would love her again, like he did before. And finally take her away from this place.

The first thing she saw was a small baby shoe—pale pink, frilled, delicate. It sat atop a cedar chest like a memory that had been waiting for her.

Reaching for it with careful hands, she found a matching one sitting beside it. Lyric then opened the chest.

Inside were baby clothes. Dresses, mostly. Faded pinks, creams, and pale blues. Some had intricate lace collars, others, tiny, embroidered music notes.

Music notes.