Page 21

C hapter 21

Unknown

The two broken dolls fell right into his palm, he realized, as the trees rustled in the breeze with an almost hypnotic trance. A thick blanket of unease draped over the silent woods, grating on the nerves of everybody around. It was as if he had planted a seed of tension; they were drawn to it amidst their minds, not understanding the dangers lurking nearby. The taste of victory lingered faintly in his heart, waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike.

He had waited long enough, playing his cards right. For months, he’d been the unseen puppet master, pulling the strings with calculated precision. Every move was deliberate, from scaring the dolls with the cryptic notes he left behind like breadcrumbs to the subtle manipulations that frayed their sanity, like edges of a tattered piece of paper.

All the same, he had orchestrated this game of cat-and-mouse, biding his time for just the right moment when all the pieces would fall into place.

And now, as he stood poised on the brink of his final move, he watched as they unknowingly edged toward committing the ultimate crime against him. They never realized that they had fallen right into his palms once again. After all, there was no escaping fate, and theirs were sealed firmly in his clutches. He had made sure of that, especially with the tracking chip embedded in her neck.

It had been easy—almost eerily so—to manipulate those around him, to feign sympathy, and wear the mask of a concerned, dutiful citizen. Those around him were unwitting pawns in his game, helping with the investigation to hunt them down. The dolls were criminals in the public’s eyes, outcasts who were dangerous, and capable of burning down buildings. Their minds were corrupted, leaving nothing left to lose; and nothing left to save.

Society had shunned them, all thanks to him.

Time and time again, they had escaped his clutches, but he knew that they could only run for so long before they fell right into the trap he’d laid. His hand twitched with anticipation, imagining the feeling of crushing the freedom they foolishly thought they had accomplished.

The game of cat and mouse was over, and the shrill of the chase was fading, but it was finally time for the ultimate victory.

In the end, no one crossed him and lived to tell the tale.

He was the mastermind of it all; the one player who all should fear—the one capable of twisting minds and turning them against each other.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he glanced down at his phone, watching the red dot blink on the map before abruptly losing its connection. Realization dawned on him as he looked over his shoulder at the backup he’d brought along. It was a trap, designed to lure the dolls in. The men stationed amongst the trees, dressed in their dark police uniforms, unknowingly played their roles he’d oh-so-perfectly set up. They believed they were here to capture and arrest the refugees, but little did they know that the moment they signed up to this, their fates were sealed as well.

Their only purpose was to help him recapture the dolls, before he’d take them back to his institute once again. There were three officers in total—one of them undercover, pretending to be just another member of their team, but secretly aligned with the master, ready to carry out his orders.

Oxygen filled his lungs with freshened air, feeling lighter, better than he had since the dolls dared destroy everything he and the Grimhill brothers had built up. It was up to him to steer things the right way.

Lily and Grey thought they’d won their freedom, but they were wrong. So damn wrong.

By the time he was done, they would wish they never existed at all, and he would relish every single second of their misery.