<h4>Chapter 246: Chapter 246 The Ind Game</h4>


    Cecilia’s pov


    My heart skipped at Sebastian’s promise.


    Then I remembered the woman--the foot, the blue silk.


    Yeah. Win an ind, get a ghost. Perfect.


    "While I don’t particrly love this ind," I said, squeezing Sebastian’s hand with exaggerated sincerity, "if you give it to me, I’ll definitely sell it for a good price."


    Sebastian didn’t answer. He just looked at me, unreadable.


    Evelyn leaned in, voice light and teasing. "Sebastian, don’t be so sure. Vance and I might get there first."


    Sebastian nced at her. His smile was charming, but it cut.


    "Might? Evelyn, don’t aim too high. You’ll only disappoint yourself."


    Evelyn opened her mouth, then thought better of it.


    Tang and Sawyer jumped in, both iming they’d be the ones to win.


    The tension broke intoughter, and for a moment, it felt like a college scavenger hunt.


    Then Belinda appeared. She handed each guest an aged-looking map and a single clue.


    "The game begins in twenty minutes," she said. "Good luck. I’ll be waiting in the first room on the third floor. Whoever finds the ne, bring it back and ce it around my neck."


    She turned and glided up the stairs like a reality show hostess.


    The main hall buzzed with voices as guests clustered around their clues.


    Some insisted the jewel was hidden inside the castle. Others were sure it was buried in the woods. A few argued for the basement. One couple swore it was in the attic.


    At first, it felt like a game.


    Then it didn’t.


    Voices got sharper. Movements more erratic.


    Whatever they’d slipped into our drinks was kicking in fast.


    The men got loud. Twitchy. On edge. The women weren’t any better--snapping over nothing, eyes ssy.


    The energy in the room shifted, fast and hard. Like someone had flipped a switch from "party" to "powder keg."


    Sebastian had already pulled us aside. No clue-sharing. No strategy. He just stood there, watching the room like a fieldmander watching a battlefield fall apart.


    We noticed. We said nothing.


    When the twenty minutes ran out, he leaned in to Tang, whispered something, then turned and walked toward the stairs.


    We followed. No questions asked--until Vance broke the silence.


    "Sebastian," he said quietly, "we’re not actually chasing that ne, are we?"


    Sebastian didn’t look back. "First, we need air."


    "Air?"


    "Don’t you feel it? That room’s turning radioactive. People are cracking. This is how zombie movie start."


    Vance went quiet.


    Behind us, I exchanged nces with Evelyn and Sawyer. We’d felt it too, but hadn’t wanted to admit how off everything had started to feel.


    "This isn’t about a ne," Sebastian continued. "It’s a pressure test. A recruitment filter. They’re studying us...who’s clever, who’s loyal, who’s unstable. It’s quick, clean psychology."


    "Like corporate team-building meets cult initiation," Evelyn muttered.


    "Exactly."


    "This is messed up," someone said.


    "What did you expect? This ce is a billionaire’s fever dream mixed with a secret society handbook."


    "Maybe we should just leave..."


    "Leave? That’s cute."


    We kept moving. Step by step, voices fading behind us, like the game was still chasing us down the corridor.


    Outside the castle, the moon kept slipping behind low, fast-moving clouds, casting the forest in flickering silver and ck.


    It wasn’t raining, but the air was soaked with cold. The kind of damp that crept under your skin and stayed there.


    Vance shrugged off his jacket and ced it gently over Evelyn’s shoulders. She didn’t protest.


    I scanned the tree line to our right, nerves prickling.


    Then Sawyer’s voice cut through the quiet, sharp and high.


    "The bridge is gone!"


    We all turned.


    The bridge wasn’t gone, just broken beyond use.


    The ropes were severed mid-span, the nks sagging into darkness.


    From a distance, it looked like the path just vanished into the void. ssic horror movie trick.


    Message received : no early exits. No quitting the game.


    "Even if the bridge were still intact, we’d be stuck here," Sebastian said, voice steady. "Cutting it is just theater. Psychological warfare. The more afraid you are, the more you’re ying by their rules."


    I didn’t answer. None of us did. But we all felt it--that creeping unease curling tighter in our chests.


    Behind us, the castle doors creaked open again.


    More guests trickled out of the castle, their expressions tighter now. Less polite curiosity, more sharpened suspicion.


    This wasn’t just a party anymore. It was apetition. And everyone knew it.


    "Alpha Sebastian..."


    A voice called out.


    It was Dick, the hedge fund type who’d cornered Sebastian before dinner. He looked jumpy, overly eager, sandwiched between two women and two men who didn’t seem thrilled about being behind him.


    "Hello," Sebastian said cordially.


    "Alpha Sebastian, are you heading to the forest too? Perhaps we could go together?"


    Dick’s voice was too casual to be casual. He was asking for backup.


    "Mr. Dick, you’re free to go wherever you like," Sebastian said smoothly.


    Trantion : you’re not on our team--but I’m not stopping you from tagging along.


    Dick gave an awkward nod, clearly unsure whether to take the hint or keep tagging along.


    Sebastian didn’t wait. He turned and led us toward the right, not sparing Dick another nce. Thick-skinned as ever, Dick followed anyway.


    We reached a familiar spot on the side of the castle.


    I stopped short, staring upward. "How is this possible... "


    There, above us, was the window of our room.


    But below it, nothing. No broken branches. No blood. No body.


    If she hadn’t died from the fall, there should’ve been something.


    My pulse jumped. Was she ever real? Or just part of the setup?


    The memory came in shes. The knock. The blue dress. The foot outside the window.


    A cold gust swept around my ankles. That’s when it clicked.


    She didn’t fall. She was staged. nted.


    "Let’s check the back," Sebastian said. His voice cut through the fog in my head. He took my hand and pulled me away.


    The others followed, ncing over their shoulders but saying nothing.


    We reached the forest’s edge.


    I expected darkness. Instead, the trees sparkled. Tiny lights hung between branches like someone had decorated the woods for a wedding.


    It was beautiful. Too beautiful. That made it worse.


    Sebastian led the way.


    The woods weren’t wild. Small streams cut through moss and ivy. Mushrooms pushed up through damp ground.


    We walked maybe three minutes before Sebastian stopped in a clearing and stretched like he’d just run a mile.


    "Let’s rest here. I’m tired," he said.


    I blinked. "Seriously?"


    One of Dick’spanions tilted her head. She wore a dress almost identical to mine.


    "Aren’t you looking for the ne?" she asked, trying to sound casual.


    "We are," I said, smiling. "But our fearless leader needs his beauty break. You’re wee to keep going with Mr. Dick if you’re feeling ambitious."


    She gave a politeugh, but it didn’t reach her eyes.


    "The map says there’s a treehouse about four hundred meters ahead," she said. "We could check it out while your team rests."


    I chuckled. "Really chasing that prize, huh? Just so you know, the ind doesn’te with a deed."


    Evelyn perked up. "Treehouse? I’m in. Cece, let’s go. I’ve always wanted to climb one in heels."