A/N: This chapter is told from Lyle's point of view. Beware: sudden flashbacks will transport you to the dark, formative moments of my life—a life intrinsically tied to Madeleine's fate.
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I stood silently in the corridor and watched Madeleine converse with Laura in the dim lamplight of the room where Laura was staying.
Their voices, hushed and measured, floated into the stillness of the passage. But it was not their words that troubled me—it was the smile on Madeleine's face. A smile so insidiously empty, as if concealing treacherous promises I had long since come to doubt.
I felt a surge of disgust coil in my stomach. Every fiber of my being screamed that Madeleine's smile was a mask designed to hide her true intentions. Deep down, I knew she would never honor what she had promised. She was not even listening to a single word Laura dared to utter.
