Chapter 15: The Echo in the Mirror
Elias didn't sleep.
Not really. His thoughts ran in circles—Cassian's hand in his, the weight of Damien's silence, and the dead boy in Room 709. But beneath it all was a name that refused to leave his mind:
Alexander Musk.
The senator's son.
Wealthy. Shielded. Charming on the surface. But there was something too clean about his files, too prepared. Like someone had wiped the truth away.
So Elias did what Damien told him not to: he returned to campus.
---
Saint Mark's University looked almost dreamlike in the summer haze. Students milled around with iced coffees, earbuds in, laughing like nothing could go wrong.
Elias didn't feel like he belonged here anymore.
He found the student lounge. A familiar face waved him down—Theo Lin, a journalism major, always too curious for his own good.
"Elias Vale. Back from the dead?"
"Just trying to make sense of things," Elias replied. "You remember Jamie Luan?"
Theo's face sobered. "The escort? Yeah. Some said he took clients from campus. Rich ones."
Elias leaned closer. "What about Alexander Musk?"
Theo raised an eyebrow. "That creep? Oh, he's got a whole following. Girls love him, boys avoid him. It's the eyes, I swear."
"Did he and Jamie ever talk?"
Theo hesitated. "People saw them at the library once. Jamie looked... off. Like scared. Or sick."
Elias wrote it down.
"And he sometimes left with some of the law frat guys. Private parties."
Private. Rich. Hidden.
Elias stood, thanked him, and began walking back toward the bus stop. But his stomach twisted with a growing dread.
He didn't make it far.
---
Hands grabbed him. Cloth over his mouth. He struggled, kicked, bit—until darkness claimed him.
---
He woke up tied to a velvet chair.
Dim lighting. Cigarette smoke. Mirrors on the ceiling.
A room designed for pleasure, but reeking of fear.
Then—
Footsteps. And a voice like silk over broken glass:
"You're even more beautiful up close, Elias."
Alexander Musk.
Blonde, elegant, eyes empty of empathy.
Elias jerked against the ropes. "You sick bastard."
Alexander just smiled. "That's no way to speak to someone who's admired you for so long."
"Where the hell am I?"
"My father's retreat house. No one will hear you. Just like Jamie."
Elias froze.
Alexander walked in slow circles. "He reminded me of you. Same eyes. Same mouth. So delicate. But he didn't deserve to look like you."
"You killed him."
"Eventually," Alexander said calmly. "But first... I played."
Elias's heart pounded. "You're insane."
"I'm broken," Alexander corrected. "You want the sob story? Fine. My father raped my mother. She died of cancer when I was eleven. I used to hear him in the other room. Hurting women, paying them to scream. I thought that was love."
His voice cracked.
"So I found ways to feel power again. BDSM. Control. But none of them... satisfied me. Until I saw you."
Elias felt bile rise in his throat.
Alexander kneeled in front of him. "I'm not going to kill you yet. You'll scream for me first."
He forcefully kissed Elias. "Fuck, why don't you open your mouth before I fucking kill you", he spat in frustration. Immediately returning his mouth on Elias's lips.
---
Meanwhile, miles away...
Damien's phone buzzed. A text. Blocked number. One image: Elias tied to a chair. Another: GPS coordinates.
His heart stopped.
He grabbed his keys, shoved a gun into his belt.
"Hold on, Elias," he muttered. "I'm coming."
______
Elias's heart pounded as Alexander stalked closer, voice silky, unhinged.
"You want to know why it was Jamie? Because he looked like you. That sweet little face, the fear in his eyes. But it was never enough. Because he wasn't you, Elias."
As Alexander reached for the drawer again, Elias's instincts screamed. His eyes darted to the door. Unshackled. The rope had loosened just enough—
He bolted.
The chair crashed behind him as he sprinted down the dim hallway, bare feet slapping the concrete, lungs burning.
Behind him, a twisted laugh rang out.
"Ooooh, you're running? We're playing hide and seek now? I love that game!"
Elias ducked into another room, heart hammering. Darkness. Shelves. Storage. He squeezed behind metal racks.
Footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Confident.
"Come on, Elias… you don't think I know where you are?"
"I've watched you walk your campus route three hundred and twelve times. I know the way you breathe when you're scared. So predictable. So... mine."
A flashlight beam swept across the door.
Elias covered his mouth, tears of sheer terror blurring his vision. The footsteps stopped just outside the room.
"Do you want me to count again? Just like I used to when Daddy locked me in the cellar?"
"Ten… nine… eight…"
The light clicked off.
"Run again, Elias."
"Make it fun."