Losing Your Memory ° Kai Parker

Chapter 40

They didn't go to Kai's mansion to negotiate.

They didn't go for information.

They went because people were already dying—and they were afraid of how many more would follow if they didn't confront him now.

Damon was back. Safe. Breathing. That debt had been paid.

This was damage control.

The house hit them in layers.

Blood first. The smell of it—old and new—clinging to the walls like rot disguised as luxury. Then the bodies. More than one. Women scattered through the lower level like discarded possessions. Some dead. Some barely alive. Some so still Bonnie had to kneel beside them just to confirm the truth.

Damon swore under his breath and moved immediately, lifting one woman carefully. Stefan followed, already coordinating, already triaging.

Caroline's voice shook. "There's too many."

And then they reached the bedroom.

The door was half open.

Inside, the room was dim, intimate, obscene in its stillness. One woman lay on the bed, naked, blood soaking the sheets beneath her neck. Kai sat beside her, feeding with unhurried precision, like he was finishing a meal he'd enjoyed.

He looked up when they entered.

"Oh," he said calmly. "You're early."

Jennifer didn't understand what she was seeing at first.

Her eyes caught on the blood. The torn sheets. The way the girl's chest barely rose.

Then the bracelet on the nightstand.

Then the jacket tossed carelessly over a chair.

Recognition slammed into her like a physical blow.

"No," she whispered.

She moved closer, hands shaking, staring at the woman's face as if denial alone could rearrange reality. "No, no—"

"Maddie?" Her voice cracked. "Maddie?"

The woman didn't respond.

Bonnie rushed forward, hands glowing, but she stopped short almost immediately.

Jennifer felt it before Bonnie said anything.

"No," Jennifer whispered again, louder this time. "Please—she was just—she was just working—she trusted me—"

Her knees hit the floor beside the bed. She grabbed Maddie's hand, sobbing now, desperate. "I should've warned you. I should've told you to leave town. I should've—"

Her grief twisted inward, suffocating.

This wasn't random.

Kai had chosen her.

Jennifer turned slowly.

Kai was watching her with open interest.

Not guilt.

Not regret.

Satisfaction.

"You recognized her eventually," he said mildly. "I wondered how long it would take."

Jennifer screamed and launched herself at him.

Her fists slammed into his chest, his shoulders, his face—slaps more than strikes, grief breaking into rage. "You did this because of me!" she sobbed. "You killed her because of me!"

Kai caught her wrists easily, holding her in place while she shook and cried, eyes bright with something cruel and pleased.

"I brought her home because she reminded me of you," he said softly. "Same laugh. Same trust. Same mistake."