Chapter 422


    ?


    He didn''t want to exin, and frankly, he couldn''t be bothered.


    I got it. In the eyes of ordinary folks, Colin and I with our oddball attitudes were the weirdos.


    Just by being us, we were the anomalies.


    Colin knew in his heart that Ste and Bran might still be alive, but exining that to people who didn''t share his level of understanding was futile... They probably wouldn''t believe him anyway.


    Only when we''d escape this ce and they saw Ste and Bran alive would they truly get it.


    "Ste''s not dead?" Robin asked Colin, his voiceced with anxiety. "Colin, you gotta make this clear, man."


    "If she''s innocent, she won''t die," Colin replied, locking eyes with Robin. "Are you absolutely certain she''s innocent?"


    Robin frowned. "She has to be."


    "Those who get caught fall into a few categories: the viins from the old orphanage incident, all bad to the bone, none spared. Then there''s the cops, you, Finn, Ste, you''re witnesses. As long as you don''t do something incredibly dumb and walk into the lion''s den, the puppet master won''t touch you."


    I nced at the security camera, offering an exnation for Colin. "And then there''s the mastermind or someone who could upset the whole scheme."


    My gaze settled on Melody. "Like her. The reason she''s still kicking isn''t luck or fate but because she''s under Damian''s protection. The person pulling the strings of this horror show isn''t out for blood but to provoke, to challenge the forces behind Melody, to poke at the web of kidnapping, human trafficking, gic tampering, and possibly more crimes."


    "It''s also mockery. He''s revealing the truth bit by bit,ughing at the so-called specialists like Finn for their inaction." I frowned, looking at Finn.


    Finn opened his mouth, probably to argue, but apparently too embarrassed, he looked down. "No one thought to connect human trafficking with gic crimes."


    "Idiot," Colin chimed in, timely as ever.


    Finn clenched his jaw, clearly itching tosh out but wary of Colin''s reaction, he swallowed his anger.


    "So... Colin''s not grieving because he


    trusts that Bran and Ste are innocent. He believes they''ll survive till the end, just getting out of this game earlier than us, safe and sound," I said, squeezing Colin''s hand.


    swne


    Before Colinid it out, I too was blinded by the mastermind''s smokescreen.


    His words were like a lightbulb moment for me.


    "What about Zoe?" Dexter chimed in.Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    "Wasn''t she innocent? We saw her getting skewered by a chainsaw, vanishing into the mechanism."


    I paused, at a loss for words.


    Zoe... she indeed was beyond my expectations.


    "Zoe was innocent," Annora managed through sobs. "She was good. She''s been protecting me all these years."


    "Everything we see in this building is


    only what the game''s creator wants us to see," Colin said gravely, holding my hand as we moved forward. Passing by Dexter, he added firmly, "Move."


    Dexter nced at the wide-open space, clearly not in the way, but Colin was obviously picking a fight. "Caleb!"


    "Let''s go," I sighed, tugging at Colin''s arm. "Why are you always picking on him?"


    "Just can''t stand him," Colin grumbled.


    We hadn''t gone far when we heard Dexter gasp and slump against the wall. "Phoebe, I''m hurt."


    Now he decided to y the victim.


    "He''s been shot!" Finn examined the wound, shocked. "Why didn''t you say something earlier!"