Chapter 20: Curiosity Kills the Cat
The hum clawed at my chest, a jagged buzz like a blade scraping bone. Norwegick's dawn was too quiet—gray, still, like the town was holding its breath. Hale's scandal. Ramsey's ledger. Dr. Carter's ruined marriage. The chaos I'd unleashed had burned through everything. But now the streets were empty. No protesters. No shadows. Just the hush after a storm. The Female King had gutted Norwegick—and now it waited for my next move.
But I was stuck. Trapped.
I lay slumped on my bed, Dad's knife in one hand, his notebook open beside me. Marcus's name, slashed through in black ink, glared up like a wound. Liriwick. The "pact." Dad's death. I'd burned the town's liars to ash, but Mystery M still loomed—untouched, watching. The Edenville scholarship was a year away, a cruel joke after my score got buried by corrupt hands. My life was a ruin. Happiness? Starved out. All I had was revenge. And I was failing.
The hum in my chest mocked me. Low. Constant. Hungry.
"Hey, sweetie," Mom chirped, her voice cutting through my spiral like sunlight through storm clouds.
I blinked. She was glowing—happier than she'd ever been, even when Dad was alive. Humming. Smiling. For weeks she'd been slipping cash into my account, leaving cheerful notes: "Mama cares, muah!" acting like we hadn't fought, like the purse stuffed with hush-money cash didn't exist.
Now she was setting down a plate. Meatballs and spaghetti. Dad's favorite.
I stared. She noticed.
"Everything will be fine, Isa," she said gently, using the name she hadn't called me in years.
Isa.
It hit like a punch to the gut. I forced a smile, choking on the strange warmth of it. She wasn't angry anymore. Just... different. Off. Like she knew something I didn't. The hum shifted, uneasy, urging me to listen.
She sat across from me, eyes calm. "I'm going on vacation. A week. That's all."
I froze.
"I know you're suspicious," she added. "You're the Female King, after all. Just like your dad."
Time stopped.
What?
She'd never said it before. Never even hinted. I opened my mouth, then closed it again. My brain was soup. Who was this woman? What did she know?
"You've always respected my space," she said, standing up with a bittersweet smile. "And I've respected yours. But when I come back... I'll tell you everything. It's time."
She rolled her suitcase to the door.
I didn't stop her.
The hum roared, rising into a chaotic symphony of piano chords and chains. The Silent Noise screamed for answers. I was shaking. She knew. And she was hiding something—something tied to Liriwick, the pact, my father's death.
Curiosity kills the cat, they say.
I texted Denis:
"Track her. Find out where she's going. Keep her safe."
I trust her. But I'm not stupid.
Norwegick was my battlefield. And I'd burn it down again if it meant the truth.
The hum whispered, fierce and soft:
Be strong, my female king.