Chapter 888

It looked no different from a regular fountain pen. Just as Skylar was about to unscrew it, Joe said abruptly, “This isn’t my pen.”

Skylar turned to him, asking, “What do you mean it’s not yours?”

“I’ve never used it before,” Joe replied, confusion shimmering in his eyes. Had he accidentally taken someone else’s pen during a meeting?

“I’ll unscrew it to take a look first,” Skylar said, though the pen made her severely uncomfortable. She disassembled it quickly.

She soon discovered the problem: a tiny, almost imperceptible bone nestled in the cap’s top, tightly adhered. It wouldn’t have been noticed by simply removing the cap. If Skylar hadn’t examined it thoroughly, she wouldn’t have found it, or even recognized it as bone.

“Do you have a needle? I’ll try to get the bone out,” Skylar said.

“I’ll look for one,” Joe replied. Hearing about the bone, his eyes turned cold. Someone had planted this item on him without his knowledge.

A few minutes later, Joe found a sewing kit. Skylar used the needle to pry at the bone. After several attempts, she dislodged a portion, then banged the cap on the table. A small, ivory-colored fragment, about the size and thickness of two sesame seeds, fell out.

“This is part of a skull,” Skylar stated. She retrieved a tissue, carefully picked up the bone fragment, and wrapped it.

“Why would it be a skull?” Joe asked, his eyes narrowed.

“This skull belonged to a man who died a gruesome death—his head crushed by a carriage—because of a cursed item. Pieces of his skull were collected and retained. It has caused the deaths of several others. I don’t think you’ve used this pen before; otherwise, you would have been affected upon opening the cap,” Skylar explained calmly.

Joe’s jaw tightened as he listened. “I don’t remember much about this pen,” he admitted. Someone must have slipped it into his pen holder while his office was unoccupied. He hadn’t locked his office during office hours.

Skylar nodded. “I’ll take care of this pen. You must be more careful. Don’t let anyone near your office except those you trust completely.”

“I’ll check the surveillance footage,” Joe stated.

Skylar continued her examination of the office, even more thorough this time. The silence was broken by Joe’s ringing phone.

“Have you got anything lined up for today? Let’s play together!” Rowan invited.

Joe glanced at Skylar. “Alright, I’ll head over in a bit.”

After hanging up, he said to Skylar, “Rowan invited me to play badminton. Would you like to come?”

Skylar’s interest was piqued. “What are you guys going to do?” she asked.

“Badminton,” he replied.

“Alright. Give me ten more minutes.”

An hour passed.