Page 42 of Symphony for Lies (Tangled Truths #2)

Zane's POV

“I’m staying here until the police arrive,” Layla mumbled, crossing her arms lightly over her chest. Her voice trembled, but her resolve was firm.

Tiana pulled her into a comforting hug. “I’ll stay with her.”

Spencer gave them both a quick nod. “We’ll drive around and look for anything suspicious while trying to figure out what this labyrinth could mean.”

Stacy stepped in front of the door before he could leave, her expression cold and razor-sharp. “You should take a closer look at Ella Aria.”

“Why?”

“That girl’s always been lurking in the background, and she’s the one who spread rumors to make Amelia’s life hell,” Stacy explained with disdain.

A tense silence filled the room. Every second that passed sent another surge of anxiety through me.

And then, it hit me.

Watson’s name had been in the same file as Ella’s. “She took lessons from Mr. Watson as well.”

Stacy’s eyes widened in horror. “Now she fits way too perfectly into this mess. ”

Layla and Tiana latched onto the idea. “She was jealous of Amelia!”

“Maybe it wasn’t just jealousy. Maybe she’s involved!”

I was torn. It would be easy to pin Ella as the culprit.

She had wanted me. She had hated Amelia. And she certainly had the means to make other people’s lives miserable. But would she really kill for it?

And if she was obsessed with me, would she go so far as to kidnap me? Okay, maybe. I had fantasized about kidnapping Amelia before.

Spencer studied us carefully before stating, “Amelia had lessons with Mr. Watson, too. By your logic, doesn’t that make her a suspect as well?”

A suffocating silence followed.

“Amelia was present at multiple crime scenes. She had no alibi. Her apartment wasn’t broken into. She could’ve staged her own disappearance.”

I was seconds away from striking Spencer, but then I saw the look in his eyes.He was calm.

“I never once suspected Amelia. Not because I like her. But because my gut tells me it’s not her.” His gaze flicked to Stacy. “But Ella? She’s no killer. She’s just a spoiled brat who never learned what no means.”

She scoffed, “We should still talk to her. Maybe she knows something.”

“Forget it,” I interjected.

Tiana rubbed her forehead tiredly. “But if she had lessons with Mr. Watson, she might know something useful.”

I crossed my arms. “Ella only cares about one person—herself. She won’t help us.”

She wouldn’t help someone who took away her love. Sadly, that reminded me of my own actions regarding Tristan.

“You’re right… she could lie, too.”

“Then it’s a waste of time. Besides, the Arias can only be contacted through their lawyers now that they’re under investigation.

” Spencer cast me a pointed look. “No matter what game she played with Amelia, murder is something else entirely. She’s not a killer.

Just a girl who didn’t get what she wanted. ”

Those last words were aimed directly at me.

He was right.

Amelia suffered because of me.

If I had handled the Arias better, if I had controlled my mother better, she wouldn’t have had to endure so much. Maybe she would have been better off if I had told her the truth about my miserable life…

If…If… I was such a fucking fool.

Tiana’s frustrated sigh dragged me out of my thoughts. “Fine. We’ll drop it. You two should go.”

Stacy stomped toward the door, and Spencer followed.

I cast one last glance over my shoulder at the fridge.Then at Layla and Tiana.

“I swear, I’ll bring Amelia home.”

Tears welled in their eyes. They nodded, too choked up to speak.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked out, bitterness curling inside me like poison.

I climbed into my car, gripping the wheel so tightly my hands shook.

Fear slithered up my spine, coiling around my ribs and squeezing my lungs like a vice.

It was suffocating.

Sickening.

I had held Amelia in my arms just that morning. She was gone.

Clack.

The passenger door swung open, and Spencer slid into the seat beside me. “I sent Stacy to Paws it must be turned off. That means we only have what little information we’re left with. Something must have stood out in her notes.”

This was all his damn fault.

If he hadn’t dragged her into solving the damn puzzle, she wouldn’t be in danger. I know blaming him was irrational, but I didn’t care. He sat there, too fucking calm like he hadn’t realized that his stupid case had led to Amelia vanishing.

But then I looked at him closer.

His shoulders were rigid. His grip on the papers was almost too tight. His knuckles were white, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

So… it was getting to him. Somehow, that only made me angrier because while he could wallow in regret, I was the one who had lost his woman.

We all love Amelia.

Those words echoed in my head. I wasn’t the only one who loved her.

Fuck. I was desperate.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to recall anything that could help.

The day I was taken was dark and cold. It happened too fast, on a day when I was planning to tell Amelia that no one, not my mother or the Arias, could keep me from her. And then… I was gone.

I tried reconstructing the details. But there was nothing.

By the time I woke up, I was already tied up in that basement. Blindfolded. I couldn’t see anything. Even when the captor gave me water, I had been too out of it to process anything. No sounds. No voices. No clues.

But then there was Amelia.

The blinding light had hit my face as she tore the cloth from my eyes. And for a moment, I truly saw her the way I always saw her in my mind’s eye, like a fucking angel.

“Mr. Cole, I’m trying to talk to you .” Spencer’s voice yanked me out of my trance.

I jerked the car to the side and slammed the brakes.

My body shook, and my hands trembled as I dragged them through my hair. My breathing was erratic and shallow. I couldn’t get enough air.

“I-I can’t focus.” My heart pounded so hard I thought my ribs might crack under the pressure. The air in the car felt suffocating, tightening around my throat.

“Mr. Cole. Take a moment. ”

Spencer rolled down the windows, and the frosty wind crashed through the car, hitting my skin like needles. Slowly, painfully, my body started to come down from the edge.

I sucked in a deep puff of air. Held it. Exhaled. Rinse and repeat.

Cars blurred past us, wind rattling against the frame of the vehicle. But inside, I still felt empty.

I had just gotten her back.

And she was gone. Again.

Cold. So fucking cold.

I shut my eyes. How the fuck am I supposed to find her? What if she was… already dead? What if I was too late? What if I found her like that bird?

My stomach twisted violently.

Oh God.

“She’s alive,” Spencer stated firmly.His gaze was unwavering. “Mr. Cole, Amelia is alive. I believe that.”

His conviction was the only thing keeping me from breaking apart.

He pointed to his notes. “The killer tested Amelia. He sent her coded messages that only a few people could decipher. He challenged her with your abduction. The message said that he would win if she found you. That means he was waiting for her to figure it out. You were never the target.”

The third victim was someone Amelia deeply cared for. Susan Rivers. There was a message at the scene. ‘You saw the signs, but do you see the truth? We will meet soon.’ Clearly, it was a message to Amelia.”

My teeth clenched so hard I thought they’d break.

“This person wanted her from the very beginning.”

“But why now? Why today?”

Spencer swallowed hard. “Perhaps… because she was always being watched. Maybe Amelia realized it too late.” His voice darkened. “She di sappeared right after she sent me that text message… it’s possible her phone was hacked.”

I ran a hand down my face, rubbing my temples.“The labyrinth. Could it be the school again?”

Before Spencer could respond, I had the engine roaring back to life.

The car door slammed shut behind me as I stepped out onto the school grounds. It was silent.

No movement. No voices.Just the eerie whisper of the cold night wind rustling through the empty branches.

Spencer followed close behind, eyes scanning the empty school as we approached.

I was the first to climb through the same basement window Amelia had used to save me.

There wasnothing but dust, old crates, and police tape that still marked the remnants of a crime scene.

There were no signs, no clues, no Amelia.

A guttural roar tore from my throat.

Without thinking, I kicked one of the crates, sending it crashing to the floor. My fist slammed into the wall, and pain shot across my knuckles as the skin split open.

But it was nothing. Nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

I had to find her.

I had to find her.

I had to find her!

“Let’s keep searching.” Spencer tried to sound composed, but even he didn’t seem convinced.

I pressed a trembling hand against my chest.

I couldn’t think straight.

The silence was suffocating.

I needed a sign.

Anything.

My vision blurred as my thoughts spiraled. I felt useless.

“An aster flower… was this here before?” Spencer’s musing cut through the haze.

I blinked.

He crouched and plucked a nearly wilted blossom between two crates.“Aster flowers… they were present at almost every crime scene.”

Amelia had mentioned aster flowers in her notes.

Wind chimes. Classical music. Flowers. A performance. A carefully crafted arrangement.

“Is there any place with these flowers? Somewhere that could be a labyrinth?”

A labyrinth… Something clicked. The pieces were finally falling into place.

Spencer’s phone buzzed. “Yeah, Stacy?”

Turning, I stormed out of the room, stuffing my bloody hand into my pocket.

Spencer followed me.When we climbed out the window and into the open air, I inhaled a deep, shaking breath. The sky was pitch black, and the temperature had dropped.

It felt colder than usual…

“The bird came from the clinic.”

I scoffed, “And what does that do for us?”

“The clinic’s surveillance footage was erased.”

Fucking hell.

Every damn lead—gone.

“I have a question.”

“Then ask.” My patience was gone.

“The killer has a fascination with music… we know that.”

I rolled my eyes. “No shit, Sherlock.”

“No, listen.” His brows furrowed. “What about wind chimes? Do they have any significance?”

I opened my mouth, ready to snap back at him, but stopped.

Wind chimes.

My memories reeled back to the day Amelia and I flipped through books, jotting down notes.

I yanked my phone from my pocket, scrolling frantically through the pictures I had taken of her notes.

Wind chimes.

They hang in open spaces so the wind can move the rods, creating music. Their soft melodies bring peace, but when storms come, chaos follows.

Aster flowers, wind chimes, music…

My heart stalled as it hit me. “The garden maze.”

Spencer frowned. “What?”

“In front of the old community center. There’s a courtyard with overgrown aster flowers, tulips, roses, and… wind chimes. A class placed them there years ago.” My stomach twisted. “My mother’s class.”

Spencer shot me a questioning look.

I exhaled, trying to recall the memory. “My mother told me about it once. I don’t remember why, but she mentioned that her class put up those wind chimes. And…”

“And?”

“She said there was a young, talented man, someone with a bright future ahead of him, but he chose to stay behind and just teach instead.”

Spencer’s expression darkened. “You think it was Mr. Watson?”

My blood boiled.

If that was true… If Watson had some twisted connection to that place…

“It’s ideal.”

A maze full of dead ends. A place where you could get lost. It could be a trap. Or it could be exactly what we were looking for.

Spencer gave me a firm nod. “Then what the hell are we waiting for?”

I was going to find Amelia. And if that sick bastard had laid a single finger on her, I would tear him apart.