Chapter 245: Chapter 245

I sat in the dark, hugging my knees close to my chest. My hands were shaking, my body still trembling from what happened. My heart refused to calm down.

I whispered to myself, my voice weak.

"What... what did I turn into?"

My mind kept replaying the moment, the fire that spread through my veins, the way my nails grew sharp, the golden eyes staring back at me in that puddle of water. I remembered the bars bending under my grip, the guards screaming, the fear in their eyes when I threw them aside like they were nothing. The way I had hurt Belinda, and Fridolf.

I squeezed my head between my hands, pressing hard as if I could crush the thoughts out of my skull.

"No... no, that wasn’t me," I whispered, my voice breaking. "That can’t be me. I’m not... I’m not a monster."

But no matter how many times I said it, the truth sat there inside me, heavy and undeniable. I had felt it, something crawling under my skin, something wild and ancient, tearing its way out. The way my body had shifted, the way my eyes glowed in that puddle of water... it wasn’t human. It wasn’t me.

My whole body shook. I buried my face into my arms, my tears soaking the rough fabric of my sleeve.

"Why me? Why now?" I whispered, rocking slightly.

My chest rose and fell too fast. I wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened, to convince myself it was just a nightmare, but my body still remembered, the burning tattoo on my back, the power in my hands, the sound of iron bars breaking like twigs. It was real. Too real.

Then another thought came crashing into me. That man. The one I had seen earlier. The one who looked at me as though he had found something lost.

His eyes, those strange golden eyes, mirrored mine. His face... it was like looking into a twisted reflection of myself. The line of his jaw, the way his expression shifted in shock, it was almost the same as mine. I couldn’t stop seeing it.

My chest ached, my heart squeezing painfully as I remembered the way he stared at me, frozen, like the world itself had stopped.

"Who was he?" I asked the empty room, my voice trembling. "Why do we look alike?"

The question lodged itself deep inside me, and fear rushed in to fill the silence. I had no answers, only more pain.

And then, like a knife twisting through me, my father’s voice came back. The man I had loved and trusted until the very end. His last words played in my mind, clear as though he was whispering them right now:

"Lisa... I am not your real father. One day, you must find your family."

The words I had buried deep, the ones I had refused to think about because they hurt too much, came roaring back. They tore through me like claws, leaving me shaking, gasping.

I covered my mouth with both hands as sobs ripped out of me.

"No... no..." My voice was muffled against my palms. "Please don’t tell me... he’s my family."

I remembered the man’s face again, the resemblance that haunted me, the strange pull in my chest when I saw him. It wasn’t just a coincidence. It was as if my body already knew the answer before my mind dared to accept it. A truth my heart wanted to deny but couldn’t escape. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥

The sobs shook me harder until I could barely breathe.

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Father?" I cried into the empty room. "Why did you leave me ? Why now, when everything is falling apart?"

My stomach twisted with sharp pain as another thought hit me like a blow. My baby. My hands moved on their own, pressing against my belly where life once grew. But it was gone. Stolen from me by the endless torture, the merciless beatings. A small, innocent life taken before it even began.

The grief cut me open all over again. I pressed my forehead against my knees, my tears soaking my clothes.

"I lost everything..." I whispered. "My baby, my peace, myself... Who am I now?"

Time slipped away. Minutes, maybe hours, I couldn’t tell. I was drowning in questions that had no answers, sinking deeper and deeper into the dark.

Then a sound ripped through my thoughts.

Knocking. Hard, desperate knocking.

"Lisa! Lisa, open the door!"

My breath caught. That voice, I knew it. My heart jolted. Damon.

I froze, staring at the door, my body trembling. For a moment, I thought I was imagining it, that my broken mind was playing tricks. But then it came again, louder, raw with emotion.

"Lisa, it’s me! Please, open the door!"

My lips trembled. "He’s alive..."

Relief flooded me so suddenly that my chest hurt. I thought I had lost him forever. I thought I would never hear his voice again. Yet here he was, calling for me, begging for me.

Fresh tears spilled down.

And then, just as quickly, fear wrapped around me.

"No..." I whispered, shaking my head. "I can’t face him. Not . Not now."

I wasn’t ready. How could I let him see me when my hands still felt stained with blood, when my eyes still burned with the monster inside me? How could I tell him about the baby I lost.

His voice broke again, raw and desperate.

"Lisa... I’m here. Please... just answer me. Please..."

I covered my ears with shaking hands, rocking back and forth like a child trying to block out the world.

"I can’t... I can’t, Damon. I’m sorry. I can’t do this..."

The words tasted like ashes in my mouth, but they were all I had.

I wanted to run to him, to throw the door open and fall into his arms, but my body wouldn’t move. The weight of everything held me down like chains.

I whispered to myself over and over.

"My life... it’s upside down. Everything is ruined. I can’t fix this... I can’t reverse it."

I heard him hit the door again, his fists pounding. His voice cracked with desperation.

"Lisa, don’t shut me out! Please, don’t do this to me!"

I buried my face in my knees and cried harder, whispering so softly he couldn’t hear me.

"I’m not shutting you out... I’m shutting myself in. I don’t even know who I am anymore."

My body shook as I cried harder. My chest burned like fire, each sob tearing through me. I wanted so badly to run into his arms, to hold him, to tell him how scared I was, but I couldn’t.