Elara's POV,
I stand outside with the remaining house staff, fingers in my teeth and eyes twitching. When they informed us of the fire, we evacuated all the guests, telling them the party was over. I ran to Asher and Lucy to take them out, then told Noemi and Camille to follow me.
I didn't really care about Celene, but she also followed. Luckily, the fire didn't spread to the main wing of the house, but it burned down about five different rooms.
Coming from my room.
I don't have any fire-hazardous items in my room, and it's always locked when I leave, so except for an intruder, they'd have to break down the door or window.
And I can't think of any person who knows about that room except Seraphina, who I heard is halfway across the globe for a fashion show.
Aside from that, I have no idea…I dig my hands into my dress pocket and touch something. I bring it out, and my eyes darken.
"...Viktor Halev."
I access the blank white card, looking for some sort of clue. He didn't seem like a careless man who'd give me a random card, and he definitely looked suspicious.
What if he's the one to cause the fire?
I bring out my phone and walk over to Lucy, who was holding a sleeping Asher in her arms.
"I'll be back," I say to her, kissing Asher's head. "I'm going to the garage."
When I get to my car, I lock it and open the security footage I had hacked into of the entire house. I watch for almost two hours until I notice him.
He dressed up as a busboy, passed the bodyguards when they were switching posts, then waited till I finished dancing, timed my movements and "bumped" into me.
After our conversation, I saw him remove his jacket, ruffle his hair, take a random tray and remove his jacket. No wonder I couldn't notice him.
Then I saw him go back to the exit, when the bodyguards switched again, and I followed him till he walked over to the garage.
I see him walk over to my car, this car, he placed something in the hood of the car, looked up the camera footage and made a sign with his hand.
The Virelli loyalty sign.
Then he raised his hand. Three fingers.
What?
He bowed and skipped out of the compound. Three…Three what?
I got out of the car, placing the card back in my pocket, and I move one step. Two.
And then…BOOM.
The world explodes. A deafening crack tears through the air, heat slamming into me like a wall, and the force hits my back, throwing me forward slightly as glass shatters in every direction.
My ears ring, and my vision blurs as the world tilts. I turn slowly and see it. There are flames where my car used to be, and my chest tightens.
My breath stutters. Three fingers. That footage was three hours ago. He knew someone would watch it, and it was a clue.
Three hours until my car explodes.
The ground suddenly shifts beneath me as the world tilts again. Or maybe it's me. I try to steady myself, but everything is spinning. My vision darkens at the edges, and then I hear a voice.
"ELARA!"
A figure runs fast and desperately toward me.
Lucien.
I try to focus on him, but he's blurring, getting farther. My lips part slightly to say something. To tell him that the gas is poisonous, that he shouldn't come closer.
But nothing comes out.
Instead, the ground disappears, and muscular arms catch me before I fall.
"Stay with me." His voice is right there now, and a hand grips my face. "Come on, baby. Look at me."
I try. I really try. But everything is slipping. His voice fades. The fire fades. And the world goes black.