Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite 6)

After I pulled an all-nighter reading the book, I found the message Silver left me this morning.

Okay! I’ll meet you there!

Mum deleted the message she sent her from my phone, but I know where she’ll take her.

To where it all started. The fucking pool.

I told Sebastian how I stumbled upon Mum’s special edition version of her new book — the one she said she won’t release — and I had to read it because I’m a fan of her work.

I told him about the pictures and everything in between. I told him how she wrote her life into Gav’s personality, and how she’s used her alter ego to be a part of every story she’s written.

The Killer and the Father.

Serial CEO.

The Doll Maker. Cynthia. She wrote an entire book about her

and made her a serial killer.

I should’ve seen the signs. I should’ve found the stash of unused pills she eventually flushed down the toilet. I should’ve stopped to question the manic way she wrote on her plotting board.

I should’ve gone with her on those jogs instead of believing it was her ‘me’ time.

I should’ve noticed more.

But then again, I couldn’t have. Mum lived her double life so perfectly, it’s crazy.

Yes, it is. Crazy. My mum is a criminally insane person, and the weight of that realisation hits me like a brick wall.

But that’s not the reason for the heaviness in my chest.

It’s the fact that she lured Silver here. That she’s been watching her for years.

She noticed her the first time I did in that fucking park. She followed me, to make sure I hadn’t seen her kill William, and then she found her doll.

Her crying doll who’s even more beautiful than her previous plastic doll.

I led her to Silver.

I’m the one who made her stop seeing Silver as Cynthia and Sebastian’s daughter, but her long-lost doll.

It was me.

“You have to be careful,” Sebastian says. His face is hard, but he keeps a cool head. “From what we’ve learnt thus far, she’s unpredictable.”

I nod as we hurry to the pool area. He’s carrying his gun in case anything happens. He called Frederic during the drive, and his head of PR said he’ll meet us here.

“Doll?” Mum calls in a serene voice. “Come out. Stop hiding.”

I stop near the pool. A body floats in the water. Red water.

Blood water.

Her golden strands float around her while she remains unmoving.

Like that day.

Just like that day.