Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

Jaxon lunged at Zoe, looking to land a punch, but Bran sent him flying with a swift kick. "Come on, man, hitting a woman? Show some class." Jaxon hit the ground hard, groaning as he struggled to get up.

Cursing under his breath, he pointed a threatening finger at Annora. "Fine, you've got your knight in shining armor now, but just you wait. Once we're out of here, you're dead."

Annora was in tears, too scared to even look at Jaxon.

Zoe wrapped her arms around Annora, whispering words of comfort that I couldn't quite catch.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Then, all of a sudden, the lights went out.

Silence fell over us.

Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what madness would unfold next.

The only sounds were our collective breaths and the steady drip of a leaky faucet. No other hint of what was to come.

"Please don't tell me there's some sort of gas leak. This place isn't exactly well-ventilated," someone said, their voice shaking with fear. "Are we going to die here?"

Panic started to spread.

"What do we do? What do we do?"

In the darkness, a hand found mine, squeezing it gently as if to say, "Don't worry, I've got you."

My breath hitched. It was Dexter's presence I felt.

He guided me back, shielding me as we moved to a corner of the room.

In the pitch-black darkness, it felt like the worst of humanity was magnified.

After what felt like an eternity, a dim light began to spread from a distance.

The lights flickered back on...

Everyone looked up in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Was that it? Just a power cut?"

They couldn't believe that the perpetrator would do something as mundane as cutting the power.

Then, a scream pierced the silence.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air.

Turning around, I saw a body hanging from the ceiling. His throat had been slit, preventing any cries for help, and a knife was plunged into his heart. It was a clean, precise kill.

Jaxon...the man who had threatened Annora, was now dead.

Instinctively, my gaze shifted to Annora.

She was still nestled in Zoe's arms exactly as she had been before the lights went out. She didn't looke capable of committing such a dark act in the shadows.

A

Who killed Jaxon?

The killer had to be among us.

Bran frowned at the sight of Jaxon's body, urging Zoe and Annora to move. "We need to get out of here."

"Dexter muttered something under his breath, standing close to Melody. "Crazy..."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Was the murderer really hiding among us?

"Who killed Jaxon... Was it his wife?"

"Is his wife the murderer? That lunatic said the killer is among us."

"It had to be his wife. He was just attacking her."

The crowd began to stir, suspicion growing.

Annora sobbed, shaking her head in denial. "It wasn't me..."

But her calm demeanor in the face of Jaxon's body was too much for some.

I took a deep breath, stepping in front of Annora. "How could a single woman pull off something like this in such a short time? She's not capable of that."

"Then it must be a group effort..."

James narrowed his eyes, stirring the pot "They're outsiders. It must be them planning this whole scenario to pick us off."

James had a bone to pick with me likely thinking this was all a setup for revenge, and he began riling up the crowd to turn on us. "If they don't die, we're the ones who will

And just like that, talk of murder spilled out as casually as deciding what's for dinner.