The Château was quiet. Just as Star remembered it—except the last time she was here, she'd been unconscious and at the mercy of strangers. Now? Now she'd made some calls. And just like the Ferrari, the Château was registered in her name.
So she moved in.
Safe was beyond words. Well—he was always beyond words, but this time his shock was visible. His eyes went wide. His mouth hung open. He looked at the grand house like it might eat him.
"You'll be staying here now," Star said.
But somehow, Safe didn't look excited.
"What's wrong?" Star dropped his bag by the grand couch in the living room.
Safe signed: "Whose house is this?"
"It's mine."
Safe frowned. Deeply.
"I know. It's complicated." Star waved a hand at the sprawling space. "You're going to stay here from now on. I parked your groceries. And I'll stay here too. With Mom."
Safe signed again: "Am I finally going to meet your mother?"
"Yes... just—" Star glanced toward the stairs. "Let me look around first. Sit there."
She headed upstairs.
The house was enormous. A kingdom of marble and shadow. Last time Star was here, she hadn't had time to properly explore—she'd been too busy waking up from a coma and fleeing from Alex. But now? Now she took it all in.
And it made her skin crawl.
"Is it safe here?" she whispered to herself.
She opened the room that had been her hospital room. To her surprise, it had changed. Gone was the sterile, empty space. Now it was packed with emergency medical equipment, first aid kits, and bandages in massive quantities. Everything you'd need for a crisis.
She checked the other rooms. Same story. Yesterday, the Château hadn't been ready for move-in. Now? Everything was stocked. Organized. Waiting.
In the master bedroom, something caught her eye. A black bag. Placed deliberately. She was about to squat down and open it when her phone rang.
Her mother.
"Mom—" Star answered, but then she stopped. Her blood ran cold.
She sprinted downstairs.
"I'll come back later with Mom. Just make yourself comfortable," Star said, her heart racing.
Before Safe could sign a single question, she was gone. Speeding off into the darkening evening.
It was already getting dark. The Château was far—a long way from Crestfall. And Star wasn't thinking clearly. She was breaking every speeding rule, her mind a hurricane of what if and please let her be okay.
As she reentered Crestfall City, she saw it. A car with lights so bright they blinded her and lost control.
The Ferrari rolled violently end over end. Time seemed to stop. Glass shattered. Metal screamed. Star thought she was dying—she felt herself dying—but then she heard footsteps. Coming toward her.
Her world turned blank. Then dark.
Her last word: "Mom."
A tear laced with blood rolled down her cheek. And then nothing.
***
At the Crestfall Escarpment, a sleek black SUV stood parked at the edge of nowhere. Adrian, Jamal, and Lazarus got out, their shoes crunching against the gravel.
"We could have done this tomorrow." Lazarus stretched his arms, clearly unimpressed with the timing. "It's after hours."
He'd scheduled Adrian to check out the geo-location for AUDO at four p.m. But Adrian had rescheduled. Insisted on six p.m. Instead of sunset views and golden hour lighting, they got creeping darkness and the kind of wind that made you question your life choices.
Lazarus yawned. "I'm more of an office guy; what am I even doing here?" He stretched his arms further
"I'm paying for your overtime," Adrian said without looking up. He was comparing Jamal's map of AUDO with the actual location beneath their feet. "Why are you complaining?"
He was clad in black pants and a black polo neck—fitted perfectly, showing every line of his abs. His gold watch caught the fading light. He adjusted his specs as he walked around the large area, surveying like a general inspecting a battlefield.
"You mean this escarpment is five thousand two hundred hectares?" Adrian frowned with something close to disappointment. "It looks small."
"It is, sir," Jamal replied.
"Don't get greedy now, Ad," Lazarus smirked.
Adrian shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood, then continued exploring further.
"Where are you going?" Lazarus called out, suddenly uneasy. "This place doesn't feel safe."
Adrian didn't look back. "I'll be safe, Mom."
Lazarus muttered something under his breath about disrespectful bosses and their death wishes.
Adrian reached the end of the escarpment. A cliff. So deep that if someone fell off, they wouldn't fall—they'd fly. Briefly. Then they'd die.
"Yeah, I hate heights." Lazarus's skin crawled with goosebumps. He took a step back. Then another.
But Adrian was excited. He handed Jamal the iPad.
"Is there a way to get down?" He peeled off his watch and handed it to Lazarus. "I need to imagine the view from down there."
Lazarus stared at him. "What, are you going to jump?"
"There's a built-in ladder on the other side," Jamal replied, already leading the way.
Adrian turned to Lazarus, who was walking slowly behind them like a man approaching his own execution. "You need to wait for me by the car. You're becoming too much of a princess right now."
"Thanks." Lazarus didn't need to be told twice. He turned and walked—briskly—back to the SUV.
Better to be a princess than dead.
***
Meanwhile, in an abandoned cabin that reeked of rats, metal, and filth, Star sat strapped to a chair—hands bound, ankles tied, head facing down. Blood dripped from her scalp onto the dirt floor. She was unconscious.
A splash of ice-cold water hit her hard.
She jolted awake. Her vision blurred. She gasped for air, trying to breathe, only to realize her hands were bound. The water drowned her face for a moment before she coughed it out.
"Oh, for a second I thought you were already dead." That familiar voice—sweet but venomous.
"Give me a break, Frieda." Star blinked, water dripping from her chin.
"Nah. I'm not done, sweetie. I'm just getting started." Frieda's voice was casual. Too casual.
Star looked around, assessing. Measuring the tightness of the ropes.
"Hmm. Where are your men?" she asked.
"Your boyfriend killed them. Did you know—"
"Frieda, honey." Star cut her off, sarcasm dripping. "You really suck at being a villain in my story. The delivery is just... meh."
Smack.
A hot slap drew blood from Star's mouth.
"You think this is funny?" Frieda's rage boiled hot in her veins. A flash of Lucian slicing her brother's throat crossed her mind—then went blurry when she felt something disgusting wash over her face.
Star had just spat on her. Blood, saliva, and mucus.
"You bitch." Frieda screamed, ripping off her jacket to wipe her face.
Star smirked. Her teeth were stained red.
"You really aren't scared of me?" Frieda studied Star's expression—and found dark steel instead of fear. "Or what's in store for you this evening?"
She called out, "You can come in."
Footsteps and a sound of dragging filled the cabin as the door creaked open.
Star's eyes widened in shock. Then her expression shifted to pure fury.
"What did you do to my mom?" she roared.
Loise stood there—arms bound behind her back, mouth stuffed with cloth, a black eye blooming on her face. She winced in fear.
But what Star didn't anticipate was the person dragging her mother.
"Selena?" Star's voice cracked. Questions flooded her mind like a broken dam.
"Hi, roomie." Selena smiled. A wicked smile Star was seeing for the first time.
"Are you the one who uploaded those pictures?"
"Oh, yeah." Selena shrugged casually. "Mom needed to strip away everything you hold dear."
Star recalled Selena always on the phone with her mother—a mother who clearly despised her. Selena spent every conversation trying to prove she was worthy of love. Now, seeing her call Frieda "Mom," everything clicked.
"Okay." Star sighed, exhausted. "This is it. I haven't gotten enough sleep since I woke up from that coma. I need it. This joke is expired. Rotting, even."
"Did you know Lucian killed my brother last night?" Frieda stepped forward.
Star didn't flinch. "He killed him in my name? Is that why you sicced your daughter to get me expelled?" She knows Frieda is lying but she's tired of arguing
Frieda ignored the question.
"If it's any consolation, those pictures were deepfakes. The school will figure it out eventually. But by then, you'll be gone." She picked up Loise, who had been quiet the whole time, fear living rent-free in her eyes. "Say your last words. I'm not that cruel."
She removed the rag from Loise's mouth.
"You'll burn in hell, Frieda." Loise's voice was hoarse but steady. "This is cruelty."
She looked at Star—blood dripping from her head, clothes torn and bloodied—and broke.
"Mom, you'll be alright." Star forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'll get you out of here."
"What do you want, Frieda?" Loise pleaded. "I'll give it to you. Just let me and my daughter go. Is it Tomas? He's yours. You can have him."
"I already have what I want." Frieda tilted her head. "But tell me, friend. What happens to the house if you were... dead?"
Loise and Star went cold.
"What?" Loise's voice was barely a whisper.
"Just imagine you were dead. What would happen to the house? It's a simple question, Loise."
Frieda picked up a knife. Big. Long. Sharp.
Loise froze at the sight.
Star struggled against the ropes—but they were impossible. They seem like they were tied by an amateur, but somehow, they'd become iron.
Frieda grabbed Loise by the collar from behind, pressing the knife to her neck.
"Mom!" Star screamed, thrashing.
"I want to show you how Lucian killed my brother last night." Frieda signaled Selena, who walked over and held Star's head in place towatch her mother's execution.
Star closed her eyes.
Frieda drove the knife through Loise's throat.
Blood oozed out. Loise's body slumped to the ground with a sickening thud.
"MOM!"
Star opened her eyes. Terror pierced through her body like a thousand needles. In one violent, desperate motion, she broke free—the wooden chair splintering beneath her—and crawled to her mother.
"Mom, please. Don't leave yet. Please. Mama." Star's voice cracked, tears streaming.
Loise's lips moved. "It's... o... okay."
"It's not okay, Mom. Please don't close your eyes yet."
But it was already too late.
"Your... real... f-father is..." Loise's voice gurgled. Blood filled her throat.
"I don't want my real dad. I need you."
"K... K..."
Those were the last words of Loise Set.
Star screamed. A shriek that didn't sound human—an animal in agony, mourning its only tether to the world.
Back at the escarpment, Lazarus jolted in fear. "What the fuck is that?"
Back in the cabin, Star's red eyes shot at Frieda and Selena. They looked relaxed. Bored, even.
Star lunged toward Frieda—but Selena caught her, holding her tight.
"Kill me now, Frieda," Star said, her voice hollow.
"Kill you?" Frieda frowned. "You'll have to live with this nightmare. Your mother dying. Over. And over. Again." She started packing up.
But Star laughed. A manic, broken sound that made Frieda glance at Loise's body to make sure she was really dead.
"You're a fool." Star spat. "Pathetic. I won't live with a nightmare. I will be the nightmare. Your nightmare." Her bloody grin was terrifying. "You just stripped away everything that could hold me back. My mother. My school. What else do I have to lose?"
Frieda's frown deepened as realization dawned.
Star was right. If she lived, she'd have nothing left to lose—but everything to burn.
"So kill me," Star said.
"With pleasure."
Frieda drove the knife into Star's heart and she gasped. Then-
"You missed."
In one swift, blurring move, Star pulled the knife from her own chest—turned—and drove it through Selena.
She didn't miss.
Selena's eyes went wide. She crumpled into Frieda's arms. Lifeless.
Frieda stood frozen, holding her daughter's body, shock paralyzing her. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Two people. Two of her closest people—dead because of Star.
Star ran.
She ran through the bushes, a trail of blood following her like a scarlet shadow. Her chest was a gaping wound. She could feel herself losing consciousness—but she kept going. Tried to scream. Her voice came out hoarse. strangely too low.
She dragged herself forward.
Frieda followed the blood trail with a torch, tracking her like prey. The sun was setting. City lights flickered on one by one. It's was nautical twilight.
"Oh, uh," Star breathed when she realized she'd reached the edge of a cliff.
Before she could retreat, she lost her balance.
And fell.
Down at the bottom of the cliff, Jamal and Adrian stood looking up, imagining the view of AUDO. They'd just climbed down a long built-in ladder.
"What's that?" Jamal's eyes narrowed, watching something fall.
Adrian looked up. The object got nearer. Clearer.
"It's a person."
He ran. The falling figure landed in his arms. Dead weight.
His face went pale as he recognized the bloody, broken person.
"Star?" His voice was barely a whisper. Terror.
He looked up and saw a figure with a torch retreating from the cliff's edge. Too high to make out who it was.
Frieda walked away, a smirk on her face.
Star had fallen dead. She was sure of it.