Chapter 87
After sealing the deal with her signature, Nicole had gotten everything she wanted, leaving Grandma as nothing more than a pawn with no value. I saw where this was headed and jumped in front of Grandma, my face tight with worry, trying to stop Nicole.
“Nicole, stop! Get out of here. Leave us alone!”
Even shouting, I felt invisible. They couldn't see or hear me. Grandma's health was fragile; she couldn't handle any shocks. Desperate, she clutched Nicole's hand. “What do you mean? What’s happened to my girl? Why can’t I see her?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Amanda’s been gone for a while.”
Grandma's face went rigid, her eyes wide and vacant. She whispered, “What… what did you say?” Her voice was barely audible; she seemed about to crumble.
I leaned in to cover her ears. “Grandma, don’t listen to her. Not a word.” The truth was more than she could bear. My heart ached for someone to intervene.
Marian, who usually spent time with Grandma, had vanished into the kitchen ages ago and hadn't returned. The other staff were nowhere to be seen. This was all part of Nicole's twisted plan.
Nicole smirked. “I told you, your precious granddaughter is dead! I didn’t just take her finger. I did a lot worse.”
While Grandma stood there, lost, Nicole snatched the leather-bound book from the shrine. “Do you know what this is made of?”
“Nicole, shut up!” I lunged at her, rage boiling over. I couldn't physically harm her, but my body moved on its own. I wanted to stop her, to end this horror. My intense anger stirred a fierce gust of wind, whipping through the windows. The candle flame on the shrine flickered wildly, and the incense smoke danced frantically. A book on the desk rustled its pages, the sound echoing through the room. I screamed, my voice blending with the howling wind, becoming a ferocious beast. Nicole’s words were swallowed by the sudden storm.
Moments before, the weather had been calm, making this abrupt windstorm eerily strange. Grandma, leaning heavily on her cane, wobbled. She fixed Nicole with a fierce glare. “What did you say?”
Nicole snapped back to reality, clearly unbothered by anything supernatural. Otherwise, she wouldn't have done such horrible things to her own sister.
“This? It’s a book bound in your granddaughter’s skin. You’ve been poring over it every day. Didn’t it feel familiar?”
Grandma’s wrinkled face froze. She questioned Nicole, “What did you say this is?”
Nicole ran her fingers over the book’s cover. “See? It’s so smooth. No animal skin could match its softness. It’s as smooth as silk. It’s just a pity Amanda was impaled through her waist before she died, so her skin has some big holes. It’s not perfect. Otherwise, it could’ve been skinned perfectly, creating something truly artistic!”
Grandma refused to believe it. Her fingers clenched, the veins on her hand standing out.