<h4>Chapter 320: 320-They Are Under Her Spell</h4>
<strong>Clementine:</strong>
"Okay, everyone, get to the second floor!" I shouted, pping my hands to pull their attention away from the man.
But no one moved. Everyone stood frozen, staring toward the door, except for my three mates.
As for Oriana, she started to panic. I watched her stumble to the floor while rushing upstairs.
"You three, Yorick, Troy, Haiden,e with me!" she called, and they turned around, walking away easily as if the whispers didn’t affect them.
I covered my ears and looked at my squadmates.
"I have a confession to make."
After a brief silence, Mira spoke, and my heart stopped.
"I’m guilty of sleeping with Sebastian, even when I knew Renee liked him too," she confessed.
Gasps filled the air. But that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was realizing ’why’ she was saying it. It was the game the whisperer yed.
"No," I muttered under my breath, just as Mira pulled out the knife Miss Lenora had given us.
The moment she did, I lunged at her.
The others hesitated, they all seemed too shocked to react.
I grabbed the knife from her hand.
"No! I must die. I must sacrifice myself for the truth!" she screamed, her eyes rolling back.
She fought me hard, refusing to let go of the de.
"No, Mira, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself!" I shouted, forcing her back against the wall.
I grabbed her wrist, prying her fingers open.
She scratched me as I tried to disarm her.
Every time I pulled the knife away, she came at me again like a madwoman.
When she realized I wouldn’t let her end her life, she bolted toward the kitchen.
I ran after her, grabbing her around the waist.
She elbowed me in the face, but I dodged the next blow, spun her around, and mmed her to the floor.
I pinned her hands down.
"No! I have to die!" she screamed again.
"Somebody get that man away from the door!" I yelled to the others.
I knew the whisperer had already found one victim.
For now, he wouldn’t attack anyone else. That much I was sure of.
The others didn’t seem affected by the whispers, neither did I.
The victim was Mira. Maybe her guilt had made her vulnerable.
That’s when Ranee and Sebastian rushed in. Ranee grabbed Mira’s hands to help me hold her down.
She was strong, stronger than I had ever seen before.
"Mira, stop this! I already know you slept with Sebastian. He told me, and I’ve forgiven him. You were both scared and stressed, it’s okay. I wasn’t even that serious about him back then and I knew that you liked him too," Ranee said gently, pressing her hand to Mira’s forehead to calm her.
Meanwhile, Joshua and Jack opened the door to attack the man outside.
I heard shouts and a loud scuffle before they mmed the door shut again.
Mira’s eyes slowly lost their wild look. Instead of fighting back, she went limp and then she passed out.
Sebastian carried Mira to the side room, and Renee went with him.
I was honestly surprised and impressed by Renee’s maturity.
All this time, I had seen the red squad through Oriana’s eyes, and now I was realizing she was the only one at fault.
I felt bad for the twin sisters who had be her victims.
She’s the type who’ll kill anyone just to survive.
"That’s scary," Nate remarked, breaking the silence.
"Well, all we have to do is scare away the guy whenever he shows up and someone starts confessing their guilt, right?" Jack asked.
I nodded. At this point, it was just me with the white squad.
That’s when I noticed Joshua staring at me a little too hard.
"Tell me something, Clementine. Why do you think Mira was targeted?" he asked, his hands resting on his waist.
I didn’t understand why he was asking me, but I answered anyway.
"Because she felt the most guilty."
As soon as I said that, heughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"And why aren’t you feeling guilty?"
The question caught me off guard. I knew he had issues with me, but that one stung.
"You want me to kill myself?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. "And exactly why would I do that?"
He didn’t answer. He just scoffed, patted Jack on the shoulder, and walked away.
"I can’t believe this," I muttered. "Does he seriously think I killed Suki? Does he not remember what Suki did to me?"
I turned to Jack, since he was still there. He just shrugged.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"To be honest, I don’t think you’re the reason she’s dead," he replied, sounding certain.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Suki was a terrible person. Self-centered and selfish. I don’t know why Joshua won’t admit that she caused her own demise, but at this point, there’s nothing I can do."
He shrugged again and walked off toward the kitchen, following Joshua.
"So, how long before you crack the code on how to kill the man?" Nate asked, stepping closer.
"What?" I questioned, stepping back to give him a full look. "What makes you think I’ll be the one to do that?"
"Isn’t that how it always goes?" he said with a shrug. "You show up to save everyone and kill the monster."
Once I was the only one left in the living room, my attention returned to my mates.
I looked up at the second floor and finally decided to sneak upstairs.
I was afraid of what I might see, but I was far past worrying about catching them being intimate with her.
From the way Troy hit her to the way Haidenined, I no longer believed it was about lust.
As I reached thest step, I heard Oriana’s voice.
She spoke to them the way a mother might speak to a child, trying to shape them for the world.
"How many times have I told you that you’re not allowed near Clementine, huh? Haiden, listen to me and repeat after me. You will not speak to Clementine again. Come on, repeat after me," she demanded.
"I will not speak to Clementine again," Haiden repeated, his voice empty and lifeless.
At that moment, I realized it wasn’t just their fault, it was mine too.
I had let emotions guide me instead of my mind.
How could someone change so much, lose every trace of themselves, and be nothing more than a ball being tossed between her and me?
I should have known from the beginning that something was wrong.