This chapter is dedicated to hannievee for her unending support and beautiful comments :)

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Cassie threw her alarm clock across the room as it rang non-stop, she had suffered a sleepless night; the killer's boldness in climbing up her balcony shook her. It was impossible not to consider the fact that in the past the only person that ever came in through there was Tyler, he did that so he could sneak into her room without her parents finding out.

She took slow, hesitant steps to her balcony door and wiped off Danny's name with a wet cloth before going to check up on him. When she got there she found him sleeping, he looked peaceful despite the chaos they were in.

"Wake up sleepy," she yelled in his ears as she jumped on the bed causing him to roll over and land on the carpeted floor. He mustered a few profanities at her as he groggily got up and crawled back into the bed.

"I hate you," he said, as he scratched his eyes. He tucked himself into Caleb's blanket, Cassie did the same.

"Yeah I'm sure you do" she said, rolling her eyes playfully. "Get up, we have school today," she said in a commanding tone.

"Give me five more minutes," he rubbed his palms together and pouted.

"Cassie why are you in your brothers room and who are you talking to?" Came her mother's voice as she barged into Caleb's room,  her eyes widened in shock when she saw Cassie and Danny underneath the covers. "Goodness gracious Cassie!" She exclaimed. "Didn't I raise you better than this? I can't believe you're cheating on Tyler," she said pointing her hands at Danny.

"OMG , stop being extra, Danny spent the night here because he was robbed last night and his parents are away," she said. She couldn't tell her mother the truth because it would lead to the revelation of the fact that she was still somehow on the case. "And Tyler isn't my boyfriend anymore," she said sadly, which left her mother dazed.

"Good morning Mrs. Meyer," Danny greeted with an awkward wave as he sat up in the bed, pulling the blanked further over his chest until it reached his neck.

"You poor thing, I hope you didn't get hurt," she asked in a concerned tone.

"No I didn't, they just took a few things but I left for fear that they'll be back," he nodded.

"You're welcome to stay for as long as you need," she said sweetly.

"Thank you, I'll go take a shower in your bathroom Cassie," he announced before leaving them alone.

"Why didn't you tell me about your breakup?" she asked sadly as she took a seat beside Cassie on Caleb's bed.

"It's because we never talk, you're always at work, always busy with your models, I didn't want to bore you with my petty problems."

Her mother heaved out a loud sigh. "I know you think I only care about my modelling, but that's because modelling literally saved my life."

"What do you mean?" Cassie furrowed her eyebrows and got cozy in Caleb's bed.

"Growing up I didn't have anything, my dad was a farmer and my mum a teacher, what they were making was hardly enough to feed us."

"I never knew this," Cassie said softly.

"I never liked talking about my past, I didn't want to recall all the bad memories," she said "Anyways, one day I was taking a stroll and then I saw a poster, it advertised a modelling agency that needed more models. I knew nothing about modelling but I decided to give it a try," she explained "at first, they didn't want me, they sent me back home, I was devastated."

"Then what happened?"

"Two weeks later I received a call from the agency. One of the girls had dropped out, fortunately for me, she and her family were moving away and so they called me in to replace her. I worked my ass off till I became the best, I knew it was my only hope."

"Modelling saved your life," Cassie said.

"Yes it did, and that's why I love it so much, I feel like I owe everything to it, and I feel like it's my duty to give someone else the opportunity I had. Without it, my family would have been in abject poverty, maybe the poverty would have even killed us if I hadn't gained success from modelling." She said "most of all, I love it because it was through modelling that I met the love of my life, your father,"

"I've always wondered how you and dad met," she beamed.

"We had a great year that year and so our manager decided to treat us to a luxurious cruise. I remember when I first stepped unto the ship, I noticed your father, he was sat in a bar with a few friends having drinks and a good laugh. I stared but then I looked away, I assumed he would never like a girl like me, I didn't know I was beautiful, I still saw myself as the poor girl, he looked so polished, so regal."

"And then?" Cassie urged.

"That night there was a party, everyone was there, I felt so out of place, I knew I wasn't as classy as most of the people and then I went over to the poop deck, I leaned by it admiring the water. 'You're beautiful' I heard someone say behind me, I turned around startled."

"It was dad."

"Yes," she nodded "he had a cigar in his hand. I never liked smokers, they offended me but when I saw him with that cigar, the way he twisted it in his hands, the way he brought it up to his lips" she said dreamily " I was enchanted I wanted to be that cigar because of how tenderly he held it, how he brought it up to his lips, how he caressed it" she said , reminiscing.

Cassie couldn't help but smile, she had never heard her mother talk about how she met her father before, listening to her talk about her dad reminded her of her and Tyler.

"That night we talked for the longest time, he made me do things I never thought I'd do and he didn't even have to force me, he did and I followed. For the first time I felt free, he was quite the troublemaker we caused so much havoc on that ship in one night, for me, he was sin, but I wanted it to consume me," she smiled.

"That's a beautiful story"

"Yes, but your dad is nothing like he was back then, he's changed, and so have I" she said as she wiped a tear away from her eyes "well enough about me. Now tell me, why did you and Tyler break up?"

"I guess we both changed and we became incompatible," she said sadly.

"You're just going to throw three years out of the window?"

Cassie let out a scoff "you're one to talk, you're throwing out twenty-one years, at least I was never married to Tyler and we don't have kids that would be affected by our breakup."

"I know it seems like we just gave up on our love but our relationship has been shaky for a while now, we just covered it up with smiles, we were trying but after everything that's happened lately, we decided to end things."

"You can't just split up" she said weakly "The both of you complete each other, when I look at the other of you I see perfection; a finished puzzle."

"I love your dad and I've tried, but I think I've driven him so crazy that he wants out. I've failed I failed with my kids and that's the one job I had," she said weakly.

"No you haven't, yes you've made mistakes in life but you haven't completely failed, just give him time and hopefully he'll come around."

She let out a melancholic laugh "if your brother knew we were in his room he'd kill us."

"Yeah" Cassie chuckled "mum I don't want Caleb to die, I'll never be able to forgive myself," her voice broke.

Her mum held both her cheeks in her arms "Your brother isn't going to die, we'll find a way okay?"

"Okay mum," she said "and I know I've probably never told you this before but I just want you to know that I love you, and you're an amazing mum, flaws and all" she said with a single tear crawling down her cheeks.

Her mother was startled, she pulled her in for a hug "I love you too Cassie, from now on, let's act like actual mother and daughter, and not friends."

"That's a great idea, and I can follow you to your agency sometime."

"You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to."

*
"You and your mum talked for a while this morning" Danny said as he and Cassie drove to school in her car.

"Yeah, I feel bad for always judging her, I guess I never really knew or understood her, I'm glad we talked, our wounds are healing, slowly but surely."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said as Cassie parked into her favourite spot in school.

"So what are you guys doing? it's a Friday," She asked as they both got out of the car and walked to the school building.

"Actually, we decided not to do anything. Caleb's situation has changed everyone's mood" he said sadly "and besides, Tyler wouldn't be able to make it, he wasn't there last week and he said he wouldn't be coming for some time."

"Why?" Cassie asked bewildered.

Danny shrugged his shoulders "don't know, he's been full of excuses lately and anytime I try to ask him why he's always so bruised up, he changes the subject."

"Do you think he's doing something shady?" She whispered.

"I'd love to say hell no because of how much I know him, but with the way he's been acting, I'm not sure anymore."

*
Cassie noticed that Tyler wasn't in school, she had searched for him everywhere and asked around for him but no one had seen him anywhere, that was when she knew for sure that she had to find out what he was up to and where he always disappeared off to.

As soon as school was over Cassie scurried down the stairs and got into her car and immediately rushed down to Tyler's house.

It was a long drive and she was scared that Tyler had already rushed off to who knows where. The fact that his house was incredibly huge and his parents were never in town made it easier for him to get away with anything.

She was in great luck, as soon as she got to his house she noticed his gates swing open and saw his car roll out of the building. She hid her car by one of the big trees that surrounded his streets and waited for a little while before following him.

She followed him for about fifteen minutes trying her best not to be seen, after a while she noticed that he took an odd turn, he was headed for a secluded part of town that no one ever went to. They kept on driving for some time and then he drove past so many places that Cassie didn't even know existed.

They drove past a terrible looking motel, a gas station which Tyler stopped at and a diner. He drove for about fifteen more minutes and Cassie really started to get tired, he took a turn and they got to an eerie looking area with hardly any buildings or cars, the air was thick there and Cassie had a terrible feeling about it. He took another turn and they drove in a straight path for a few more minutes before she noticed him pull up at a huge, old, abandoned, grotesque looking warehouse.

She made sure to park her car a reasonable distance from the warehouse to avoid getting caught. There was another car there parked beside Tyler's that she didn't recognize. He got out of his car and got in, Cassie sat in her car for a bit waiting for him to leave so that she can inspect the strange looking place, she sat there for about ten minutes, her patience got weaker and then she decided to go in for herself.

She slowly walked to the entrance and used the tips of her fingers to push the filthy looking door handle. She was poorly welcomed by a terrible looking interior. A fat rat ran past her and it took everything in her not to scream and jump, so as to not  draw any attention to herself. There was bad furniture, some random tools, car parts and various odd items scattered on the floor.

She noticed wooden stairs that looked like they could collapse at any second and she carefully climbed up, the place was so big and there was still no sign of Tyler. Up the stairs was a lot better than down, it looked tidier but still had this eerie feel to it, a foul smell attacked her nose and she placed her hands over her nose to block the smell.

She noticed a table, almost like a sanctuary at the far end of the room and tiptoed towards it. On getting closer, shock filled her at the sight her eyes beheld. There was a huge picture up on the wall of a beautiful lady that she recognized to be Rose. Her eyes widened, there were roses everywhere, and smaller pictures of rose on a table beneath the big picture. On another table at the far right lay a laptop, some notes, files, and books.

No table frightened her like the last one to the left, on it were thirteen tiny caskets, four were opened up and the rest were closed, she dragged her shaky knees to the table and once again her eyes widened in shock and her heart beat rapidly in fear. In the opened caskets was a rose in each and a picture of each of the killers victims in their individual caskets. There was also a piece of paper that read 'Rose' in each of them.

Now more than ever, she was sure that she was in the killers hideout, this was were he concocted all his sinister plans, where he stalked all his victims and planned their deaths. Where he masterminded everything.

On a table really close to that one were various briefcases, thirteen of them. She opened up the first one and saw a blood stained knife that smelled terrible, she quickly shut the briefcase to reduce the fowl odour. She opened the next and saw the same thing, the first four had bloodstained knives and the last nine had new, sharp clean knives. Beside the table was two boxes, the first one contained cameras, gloves and cleaning equipment, the second contained all sorts of black outfits and black masks.

She slowly went back to the table with the caskets and used her shaky hands to open the fifth one, there was a picture there, she held the picture and saw a girl that fit the profile, she gasped in horror, it was his next victim, she turned the photo around and written behind it was the name 'Arabella Night' she opened up all the other caskets and in them contained the same thing, different photos of all his victims with their names placed at the back. She was terrified, she knew she needed to run, she needed to leave as fast as she could so she could call the police.

She picked up her shaky legs and scampered down the stairs as quickly as possible, she tripped and fell at the last step but she got back up, she ran over to the door and just as she was about to run out, the doorway was blocked, it was the killer.

"I never planned on killing you," he said "but now you've seen my face, you've seen my hideout, I'm afraid I have no choice."

"Please don't kill me" she pleaded as she came face to face with the killer.

"You should never have come here" he said through gritted teeth. "It hurts me anytime I have to kill anyone that doesn't match my profile" he said as he craned his neck from side to side, each time producing a cracking sound. Sweat began to roll down her face, her palms became moist and her skin pale from fear, she was finally face to face with the killer and she was terrified.

"I promise I won't report you, please let me go" she pleaded as tears began to rush out her eyes "I promise I'll back off, no one will have to find out" . He took threatening steps towards her and she slowly moved back.

"Don't insult me, I'm not foolish," he said in a deathly tone.

As her back came in contact with one of the chairs, she climbed over and saw a spade on the seat, he kept on walking towards her like a robot, like he was possessed. She slowly grabbed the spade and waited for him to come forward, she felt sick, she felt like she could throw up because she knew that she could be killed at any second. He pushed the chair away and she waited for him to get closer with her heart still beating rapidly, he didn't notice the tool, that she hid perfectly behind her thin frame, luckily she was wearing a maxi dress that really helped to cover the tool.

He took more threatening steps towards her and as soon as he was close enough, with all the strength she had, she brought the spade out and banged it on his head forcefully and she quickly ran past him, she knew it wouldn't bring him down but she had to distract him so that she could run out.

She was able to run out but when she looked back she was him very close to her, running, she picked up her pace and ran down to where her car was packed, she was exhausted but she knew that if she slowed down for a second he would catch her, she finally got to her car and she hurriedly climbed inside and immediately locked all the doors.

She could see him struggling to open her car but to no avail, she quickly kicked the car to life as she sped off, after about thirty seconds, she could see a car following her through her rear view mirror. Luckily her car was parked quite a distance from the warehouse and so he wasn't so close to her. Her hands were shaky but she tried her best to place them firmly in the steering wheel as she kept on driving. She was scared, she wasn't even sure where she was, she was far from home, she knew it wouldn't be easy to escape him. Her phone started ringing and she jumped in her seat in fear, she pulled it out of her bag as she was driving and saw Danny's name pop up. She quickly picked it up.

"Hey Cassie, Where the hell are you? I'm calling to tell you that I'm going back home" he said.

"Danny!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

He noticed the fear in her tone "Cassie what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"Danny I'm scared, I need help, I'm being chased"

"What? why?" He screamed through the phone.

"Danny I found out who the killer is, please I need you to go the station for me I might not be able to make it, Danny the kille-" before she could say the name she noticed a huge truck headed her way and she quickly dropped the phone on the floor. She hadn't been watching the road and didn't even notice that she had been driving on the wrong side. She made an abrupt turn but on doing that, her car came in contact with a bigger car, she smashed right into the car and her car tumbled a few times and stopped as it landed on Cassie's side causing her to smash her head against her car window. She hit her head really hard and there was a huge cut on her scalp, she struggled to keep her eyes open but she was too weak and so, she let them shut.