Found Obsession

Chapter 84: An imitator?

Rose sat frozen for what felt like an eternity after Elijah left, her mind reeling and her breathing uneven. The door had closed softly behind him, but the tension he left in his wake was suffocating.

Her thoughts spiraled. Does he have my mother? Or now he knows I don't either? The uncertainty was unbearable, her fear gripping her like a vice.

Minutes later, she forced herself to move. Ignoring the sharp protests of her bruised back, she pushed herself off the bed and stumbled to the door. Her heart pounded in her chest as she swung it open, her eyes scanning the room.

He was gone.

Panic surged through her as she rushed to the front door of her apartment. She yanked it open, startling the soldiers stationed down the hall Their eyes widened slightly at her sudden appearance, but they quickly composed themselves.

"Did—did anyone get out just now?" she asked breathlessly, her voice tinged with panic. Her eyes darted between them, searching for confirmation of what she already feared.

The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances before one of them stepped forward. "No, Miss Hansley," he said firmly. "No one has entered or exited since we've been stationed here."

Her face went pale, her blood turning cold. How is that possible? She leaned against the doorframe, her knees trembling.

He was here. I saw him. I spoke to him. And yet, no one had seen him leave. The realization sent a fresh wave of unease through her. How does he keep doing this?

Her heart raced as she tried to make sense of it. Elijah was always steps ahead, moving like a ghost through her carefully guarded world. 

They called Jonathan.

Rose sat curled up on the couch, the blanket wrapped tightly around her trembling frame. The red rose sat on the table in front of her, next to the crumpled newspaper and the jar of ointment. The television flickered in the background, the chaotic news cycle playing on loop. Her mind was a haze of disbelief and unease, the events replaying over and over in her head.

The sound of the door flying open made her flinch. She looked up to see Jonathan, Raven, and Lucas entering the apartment. Jonathan's face turned pale as his eyes scanned the room, taking in the rose and the newspaper. Raven swallowed hard, the tension in his posture palpable, while Lucas looked as though he was ready to jump out of his skin.

"He was here," Rose whispered, her voice shaky but laced with certainty.

Jonathan froze, his disbelief evident. "Did he... did he do something?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Rose let out a humorless chuckle, her voice tinged with hysteria. "He showed me the news," she said, gesturing toward the television with a wave of her hand. "And then..." Her voice cracked slightly in disbelief, her emotions bubbling to the surface. "And then he applied ointment to my back."

Her words hung in the air, and the room fell into a stunned silence. The absurdity of it all—Elijah, the Golden Knight, sitting here and tending to her wounds—was too much to process. The hysterical disbelief in her voice mirrored the chaos in her mind.

Jonathan's jaw tightened, his knuckles white as his hands clenched into fists. "He what?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Raven's expression darkened, his shoulders tense as he struggled to comprehend what he was hearing. "He came here... to take care of you?" he muttered, his tone filled with disbelief and frustration.

Her words silenced them all, the weight of her statement settling heavily in the room. The absurdity of the situation was undeniable, but beneath the surface lay something far more dangerous—a man whose motives were as unpredictable as his actions.