DAGON MANSION

CHAPTER FOUR: SCARLETT'S POWERS

WARNING: This chapter has some somewhat explicit sexual content. 

Theolinda listened to Ryan with wary eyes.

"Then there are these Custu—"

"Custodes Sanguinis," he corrected smoothly.

"Right. You think they're responsible for this crime. Before the murder, the girl had a consenting sexual encounter with two boys. Is that typical behavior for vampires?"

Ryan leaned back, thoughtful.

"Not quite. If more than one vampire had attacked her, her body would have been... broken. No blood left. My advice, Theo? Talk to her friends again. They're hiding something. Fear does that."

"We already questioned them. They denied everything."

"That makes sense," Ryan said. "I don't blame them. I'd be terrified too."

Theolinda exhaled. "Ryan, this all feels too strange. I don't know what to believe."

He smiled faintly. "Believe this — I once loved a vampire woman. That's how I learned what they are."

Theolinda froze, unsure whether to laugh or take him seriously.

On the Road Back to Glouminster, Theolinda drove in silence.

The hum of the tyres filled her thoughts, replaying Ryan's words and that impossible motion of the book floating in midair.

What else could he do? What else was he hiding?

She couldn't tell Rogers about vampires — not yet. He would never believe her

But she could suggest reinterviewing Sia's friends — and Alisha. The girl might know more about Sia's secret life than she realized.

Meanwhile — At Rowena's House

"Good day, darling! Oh, the little one is beautiful!" Rowena beamed, lifting her hands in delight.

"She is," Mia said with quiet pride.

"Sit down, sweetheart. Tell me how you're doing."

Mia placed Scarlett gently in her stroller. "I'm surviving, Rowena. It's hard studying while raising her. I love her so much, but it's... exhausting."

Rowena smiled knowingly. "And your heart, Mia? How's that?"

Mia looked away. "Xena left me. She has a girlfriend now."

"I'm sorry, dear. But I wasn't asking about Xena."

Mia fell silent, struggling with what she felt. Rowena's eyes softened.

"You love him, don't you?"

At those words, Mia broke. Tears filled her eyes. Scarlett stirred, sensing her mother's pain. She looked at her stuffed toy on the table — and with a soft flick of her tiny hand, the toy floated gently into Mia's lap.

Both women froze.

"Mia," Rowena whispered. "Your daughter is extraordinary. But with parents like hers, could we expect anything less?"

"She wanted to comfort me," Mia said through tears.

Rowena smiled warmly. "She's gifted, and deeply empathetic. Don't fear it, darling. Watch her closely, and come to me if you ever need help."

At the Police Station

When Theolinda entered the office, she stopped short.
Rogers sat behind his desk — his phone in hand, his body tense. A woman's recorded moan leaked from the speaker—wet, wrong for Rogers' office.

"Rogers?"

He looked up, startled, caught in the act.

"Don't you think those things are done in private?" she snapped.

Rogers' lips curved into a strange, leering smile. "What's the matter, Brady? Don't you like what you see?"

Theolinda froze. That wasn't his voice — not really. It was too calm, too cold.

"I won't report you," she said quietly, "because I know this isn't you."

His eyes flickered. He blinked — and the shame hit him like a wave. He quickly buttoned his pants and switched off the phone.

"I'm sorry, Brady. I swear... I don't know what's happening to me. I do things, then forget them."

"You need counseling," she said softly.

"I'm not going to a psychologist."

"You need it," she insisted.

Rogers turned and left, leaving Theolinda standing there — torn between pity and an ache she hated to admit. She'd loved him, silently, for years. Even now, when his mind seemed to be slipping into darkness, she couldn't help but want to save him.

But she also knew — this wasn't just stress. Something had entered him.

Something from Forestvale Manor.