Chapter 17

3 0 0
                                        

Back at the bookstore, we found the impossible.

A burner phone left neatly on the counter.

It rang once.

Raquel answered.

A voice like velvet dipped in venom spoke:

"Hello, daughter."

Raquel went still.

Moms stepped forward, but Raquel raised a hand.

"Why now?" she demanded.
"Why come after me now?"

Her father chuckled softly — too softly.

"Because you're finally old enough to take my place.
But you refuse.
And refusal... is betrayal."

Raquel snarled:

"You betrayed my mother."

A long pause.

"Your mother betrayed me.
And I will finish what she started."

The phone clicked.

Raquel crushed it in her hand.

The room went silent.

Moms whispered,
"It's time."

Raquel nodded.

"For the end."

Deju'reWhere stories live. Discover now