"You've been poisoned."
"Poisoned?" Ethan Reed's glare bore into Sam. "Impossible! I didn't inhale any of the gas on the fourth level. How could I be poisoned?"
Sam responded with a casual smile, his tone almost conversational. "Who said… the poison came from the fourth level?"
Ethan froze, his mind racing as he tried to piece together when and how it could have happened. He couldn't think of an answer. But behind him, Lily's body trembled violently, her pupils shrinking in shock. She had clearly realised something.
Ethan noticed her reaction, and the pieces clicked in his mind.
"It was the meal Lily made!?"
His expression shifted through a storm of emotions—disbelief, fury, heartbreak—all colliding and twisting on his face.
"Lily, you—"
"No! It wasn't me!" Lily's pale face betrayed her desperation as she tried to explain. "I didn't poison you, I swear! And… and I ate the food too!"
"Miss Lily," Sam interjected with an infuriatingly polite tone, "have you forgotten? You did throw up earlier."
Lily's body stiffened as the memory hit her. "But I didn't poison it! Ethan, you have to believe me! I didn't do it! It must have been Sam—he must have slipped the poison in while I was cooking!"
Ethan's mind was a chaotic swirl of thoughts. The weakness in his body intensified, his breaths grew ragged, and the world around him began to spin.
Thud!
Ethan stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
"Ethan!" Lily cried out in terror, her face as pale as a ghost. She rushed to help him up, but as a mere mortal, she couldn't possibly lift someone with a body of steel.
"All right, all right," Sam interjected, his tone light, almost playful. "The meal wasn't poisoned."
Lily's heart lifted slightly at his words, only for it to be crushed again by what came next.
"But the poison did come from you, Miss Lily."
"You're lying! I didn't do it!" Lily shouted, her voice trembling with anger and desperation.
"Oh, but you did." Sam smirked. "The poison lingered on your lips. Ah, silly me—I nearly forgot. By now, Ethan must have ingested it all, courtesy of that little kiss of yours. Tasted a bit salty, didn't it?"
Lily froze, her mind blank for a moment before the horrifying truth hit her like a tidal wave. Her wide eyes turned to Sam, her voice shaking. "It was the wine… no, wait. You drank the wine too. It was the wine glass!
"You smeared the poison on the rim of the glass. It transferred to my lips when I drank, and then… then it passed to Ethan when I kissed him!"
She gasped, her voice rising in panic as the full picture came into focus. "That's why you insisted on me having a farewell toast before I left! Because I had vomited earlier and wiped away the poison from my lips. You needed to reapply it! It was you!
Ethan! Ethan! Do you hear me? It wasn't me—it was Sam! He did this!"
Ethan seemed not to hear Lily's frantic explanation. He looked at her with dim, lifeless eyes, his voice hoarse and filled with sorrow.
"Didn't you say you slipped out secretly?" he asked, his tone trembling. "Then why… why were you drinking wine with him? Just now, you found me so quickly. That means… you've been watching me through the surveillance cameras too, haven't you?
"So, the whole time I was struggling, you were sitting there with him, watching my humiliation, drinking wine, laughing and chatting?"
His voice cracked as his gaze bore into her. "Lily… which of your words were true, and which were lies!?"
Lily froze. Her hands, which had been supporting Ethan moments before, dropped limply to her sides. Her once-beautiful face was drained of all colour, her expression blank and hollow, like a marionette with its strings cut.
"And just so you know," Sam interjected lightly, as if offering a casual observation, "she didn't stop at wine. Miss Lily also enjoyed a fine M9 steak—medium rare, perfectly cooked."
Double kill.
With a single line, Sam shattered what little resolve both of them had left.
Ethan and Lily stood there like soulless husks, their spirits crushed beneath the weight of betrayal and doubt.
Sam sighed softly, as though marvelling at the fragility of human emotion. Love was such a peculiar thing. Just moments ago, they had been locked in a passionate embrace, and now, they seemed like strangers standing worlds apart.
"Well then," Sam said, his voice calm and composed, stopping three metres away from Ethan. "Shall we get back on track? I believe it's my turn to ask some questions now, Ethan Reed… classmate."
His smile was warm, almost kind, but to Ethan and Lily, it looked like the grin of a devil reveling in their despair.
"You… ask," Ethan muttered, his head hanging low, his voice barely audible.
"Good. Thank you for your cooperation. First question—"
"Go to hell!"
The sudden outburst shattered the tense stillness. Ethan, who had seemed utterly drained, sprang to life like a coiled spring, channeling the last remnants of his strength. He launched himself at Sam, a desperate, ferocious lunge akin to a starving tiger pouncing on its prey.
The three metres separating them became the razor-thin line between life and death. With Ethan's steel-like body, even in his weakened state, a single touch could spell instant doom for Sam.
But Sam was ready.
With a graceful backward leap, he dodged Ethan's attack with ease, as if he had rehearsed it a hundred times.
Bang!
Ethan hit the ground hard, the impact cracking the floor beneath him and leaving several deep craters. It was his final gambit, and it had failed. Exhausted beyond measure, he lay motionless, unable to rise again.
Anger, hatred, and humiliation burned in his eyes as he glared at Sam, his gaze filled with the desire to tear him limb from limb.
"I knew you wouldn't cooperate willingly," Sam remarked with a calm, almost amused tone, dusting off his suit. The dust had been stirred up by Ethan's fall. "After all, that's how it always goes in the dramas, isn't it?"
Sam stepped closer, his voice lowering. "Now, let's try this again. You answer my questions."
"Dream on!" Ethan roared, his voice raw with defiance. "I'd rather die than tell a despicable bastard like you anything!"
Sam didn't seem bothered by Ethan's defiance. Instead, he shrugged helplessly, as if resigned to the situation. "It seems I'll have to resort to some… unconventional methods."
"No!" Lily, who had been standing in stunned silence, suddenly rushed forward. She grabbed the corner of Sam's jacket, her delicate face streaked with tears.
"Please! Please don't hurt him!" she begged, her voice trembling.
"Lily…" Ethan's tiger-like eyes were red, his emotions a maelstrom of guilt and heartbreak. "You don't have to beg him!"
"Ethan, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. But I can't let him harm you any more," Lily choked out, tears spilling freely.
Their gazes met, both pairs of eyes filled with anguish, regret, and an unspoken connection that defied the chaos around them.
Sam, standing between them, sighed deeply. "You two are making me look like the villain here. Honestly, all I want is to ask a few questions. Why must you push me to such extremes?"
His tone shifted, edged with theatrical drama. "Well, since you leave me no choice, I suppose I'll have to—"
Swish!
A flash of silver streaked through the air.
Sam's words faltered as a sudden chill pressed against his neck. A sharp, stinging sensation pricked his skin—a gleaming dagger rested against his throat.
The hand holding the weapon was steady, its owner none other than Lily.
"Chief!"
"Protect the Chief!"
Ryan Cole and the others turned pale and instinctively moved to rush forward.
"If any of you dare come closer, I'll kill him!" Lily shouted, her voice sharp and trembling, like a cornered cat baring its claws.
The Vipers froze in their tracks, wary and unwilling to take a single step closer.
"Sam! Let Ethan go right now, or… or I'll kill you!" Lily's hand quivered slightly, but her gaze was steady and filled with determination. She knew she was protecting the person she loved.
"Lily! Don't worry about me—just leave!" Ethan cried out in panic, more concerned about her safety than his own.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You two really do switch faces quickly, don't you?" Sam remarked, his voice light and tinged with mockery. "Back to being lovey-dovey already? Has it even been a minute?"
"Sam, order them to release Ethan now!" Lily demanded, her voice taut with urgency. Unlike Sam's calm demeanor, she was a bundle of nerves, every muscle tense.
But Sam acted as if he hadn't heard her, continuing his monologue with a faint smile. "Ah, the twists and turns of love. As nauseatingly dramatic as it is, I must admit—this little unexpected reversal is rather entertaining. I had been so focused on guarding against Ethan's desperate last stand that I completely overlooked you, Miss Lily."
He sighed theatrically. "You're quite brave, I must say. Not just anyone would dare to smuggle a dagger into the Vipers' lair, let alone seize the moment to hold me hostage."
Then, his tone shifted abruptly, growing darker, colder.
"But, Miss Lily… are you really sure that the one you're holding hostage… is me?"