Page 14 of Symphony for Lies (Tangled Truths #2)

After my shift, I went to the tutoring session at school.

The kids were anxious about their upcoming exams, but I tried to calm them down. They understood the material well. Only their nerves were holding them back.

To relieve the pressure, I ran a small practice session to go through the exercises together. There were some gaps here and there, but overall, their grades were decent.

I clapped my hands and stood from my chair.“That’s it for today, everyone! You all did amazing.”

A loud sigh swept through the room.Some of the kids even let their heads fall dramatically onto their desks.Simon and Jade were the only ones still smiling and looking confident.

“I don’t want you studying anymore tonight. You’ve all done enough, and you’re more than capable of passing these tests. I’ll take you all out for something fun after the exams are done.”

A chorus of cheers broke out.

I grinned and reached for a stack of small gift bags. Each one was filled with candy and a personal note.“Before you head out, grab one of these. My grandmother and I made them for you. ”

The kids sprang up immediately, stuffing their books into their backpacks and lining up excitedly. Each thanked me as they took their gift, and some hugged me quickly before running off.

“You’ve got this!” I called after them.

“I finished the book,” Simon announced proudly, setting it down in front of me along with some loose sheets of paper covered in notes. “My mom read it with me. She said she remembered it from her childhood.”

I blinked, caught off guard.

“She was happy about it,” he added.

His mother was happy? I was genuinely surprised.

She had given me the cold shoulder for weeks, and I had gone out of my way to avoid her. Honestly, I had assumed she was upset with me for giving Simon things she disapproved of.

“Thank you, Simon. I’ll look through your notes, and we’ll talk about them next time.”

Beaming, he nodded and took Jade’s hand.“We’ll see you later, Amelia! Have a wonderful evening.”

I waved as they left, then looked down at the papers on my desk. There was a summary of the book and a few questions he had come up with on his own.

My smile faded as I read the last note. Does wanting to live your own life make you a bad person?

I swallowed hard, running my fingers over the words before slowly gathering the paper.

Thoughts swirled through my mind… Thoughts I couldn’t quite sort out.

My eyes wandered around the empty classroom. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the chalkboard, but the silence felt heavy instead of comforting.

I sighed tiredly as I pulled my phone from my bag, scrolling through my unread messages.

One from Spencer stood out.It had been left unread, waiting for me to open it.

Something about reading his message alone in a classroom didn’t feel right. But my curiosity was too overwhelming to ignore…

With trembling hands, I pulled out a notebook and pen before opening the chat.

Officer Wilson:

Hey, Amelia . I recorded the chimes and took pictures of the poles. You were right . There are numbers on them.

I scanned through the pictures before playing the file, and to my relief, Spencer hadn’t filmed the entire crime scene. Still, some things stood out, things that reminded me of the pavilion.

The aster petals tinged with deep blue and crimson, the wind chimes hanging from poles that should have been carrying electricity, and the streetlamp at the intersection where a single, hollow wind chime dangled.

I switched to the audio.

Melodic tones filled the empty classroom, each note echoing through me, and my heartbeat became irregular as I jotted down the sequence.

D, G, A, F.

I paused, rewinding the recording. Something wasn’t right.

“This doesn’t make any sense, I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on the notes. I flipped them around and tried to rearrange them into a message, yet nothing clicked.

The door cracked open, and my fingers fumbled the phone as I paused the recording.

“Are you always this tense?”

“Zane?” My voice came out hoarse, and I swallowed quickly.

The smirk on his lips deepened.

The man was tall to begin with, but with me seated, his presence loomed over me. And the scent of his rich, dark, and intoxicating cologne seeped into the air between us.

Wait. Why is he even here?

I forced my gaze away from his imposing figure dressed in jeans and a loose-fitting black sweater, but my chair spun sharply, turning me directly toward him again.

“Done staring?” he teased.

“What are you—?”

“Good. My turn.” His brown eyes dragged over me, deliberately slow, from the top of my head to the tips of my shoes before sweeping back up to my face.

My fingers tightened around the chair’s armrests, trying to snap myself out of whatever spell his presence had cast.

Before I could turn back toward my desk, his hand shot out, gripping the back of my chair.

“I’m not done yet,” he murmured as he leaned in closer.His mint-tinged breath brushed against my skin, and the fine hairs on my nape stood on end.

I blinked rapidly, and when I met his eyes again, I felt like I was being pulled under, caught in something I didn’t know how to escape.

“Do you always get this close to people, or do you just enjoy making them uncomfortable?” I muttered breathlessly, ignoring the heat creeping up my neck.

Zane tilted his head with a wicked grin tugging at the corner of his lips.“Uncomfortable?” His gaze flickered to my lips, lingering for a beat too long. “You sure that’s what you’re feeling?”

I cursed the heat pooling in my core.

“I don’t seem like the one flustered here.”

I rolled my eyes and spun back to the desk more forcefully than necessary. “Don’t flatter yourself, Zane.”

He chuckled, stepping closer.

I pressed myself against the desk, trying to put some distance between us, but it was useless.

“What are you even doing here?”

“Simon told me you were still here.” His expression remained relaxed, almost amused. “Figured I’d check in on you and let him hang out with his friend.”

I looked up at him.“And why would you need to check in on me?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

My mouth parted slightly, caught off guard by how effortlessly he admitted that.

Zane didn’t even blink. His gaze drifted over the classroom, then landed on my notes.“What’s that?”

Oh. Right.I had completely forgotten why I was sitting at my desk in the first place.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I doubt that.” Zane leaned forward, his body barely brushing against me as he reached for the notebook. The heat of his proximity sent an unwelcome shiver down my spine.

His finger slid against mine as he took the pen from my grasp. Just for a moment. A brief touch. Fleeting. But it left a mark anyway.

I forced my gaze away from his long, elegant fingers that made everything he did look effortless.

He studied the notes I had scribbled down, his expression shifting into something unreadable.“You wrote it wrong.”

My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

He removed the F from my notes and replaced it with an E.

“See? The sequence is D, G, A, E. It’s a common progression in classical compositions. It actually sounds like something, even on paper.” He tapped the page. “Now it makes sense.”

I blinked at the scribbled notes, racing to process it. “Oh.” The sound left my lips involuntarily.

He might actually be right.

I replayed the recording.

Zane crouched beside me, arms folded over the desk, as he focused on the chimes filling the silent room again.

“You’re right,” I whispered as I began carefully arranging the notes into a sentence.“Underneath the bride of flowers lies…”

Even though I was finally piecing something together, something about it felt wrong. A part was missing.

Goosebumps erupted along my arms. Excitement and fear tangled together in my chest.

“Who’s giving you this stuff?” Zane’s words interrupted my thoughts.There was no playfulness in his tone, just a quiet, dark curiosity that brought on a new wave of unease.

“No one,” I lied too quickly. “It’s just… just a riddle.”

He didn’t buy it. Not even for a second.Zane hopped on the desk beside me, his knee brushing against my arm.“Careful, tutor. Riddles can be dangerous. Especially when they come from the wrong people.”

I swallowed hard, and my fingers curled around my phone.Zane was right to be suspicious; this wasn’t just a riddle.

His sharp eyes flicked to my screen, and before I could turn it off, his lips turned into a knowing smirk.“Officer Wilson?” he mused .

Shit.

“Err… he’s a good friend,” I stated, placing the phone face down on the desk.

Zane raised a brow. “A good friend?”

“Yes.”

“Your good friend sends you riddles… why?”

I bit my lip, my mind scrambling for an excuse. A plausible lie.

“Just for fun.”

Zane gave me a look.

My pulse hammered against my ribs.

“Is it important?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Really important.”

He studied me for a moment before tilting his head.“I can help.”

“Y-you can help me?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I know a bit about secret messages in music. I actually have a book on it at home.”

I practically beamed, relief flooding my chest.“Oh my God! That would be amazing!”

A slight smirk tugged at his lips. “Okay. Come with me.”

Wait.

The rush of excitement died immediately.“Where?” I asked, suspicion creeping in.

“My place.”

I shook my head. “Nope. No way. Just give it to Simon. He can bring it to me next time.”

“That’s not how this works.” His smirk widened slightly. “Either you come with me, or I won’t help you.”

I scowled. “I’m not driving with you ever again.”

“I came in my car, and I promise to drive slow. ”

His brown eyes gleamed with something unreadable. For once, there was no teasing behind them. He was serious.

I hesitated.

Did I want to go to his house? Absolutely not. Did I need to? Probably. If the book could help me understand the message and maybe even prevent something terrible in the future, then I had to take it.

“Getting cold feet?” Zane taunted.

Say no.