My breath caught as I drew further back as much as possible, but my clumsy movement sent me crashing to the ground.

I picked myself up, on my hands and knees, as I crawled, my heart pulsing so loudly I could hear it in my eardrums, silencing every other noise.

I raised my trembling hand to my mouth, stomach twisting painfully. Unable to hold it in anymore, I puked whatever I had for breakfast.

I coughed and spat vomit out of my mouth, heaving through it with everything I had.

When the wrench in my stomach eased, I rested my back against the tree trunk. Slowly, my eyes moved back to the gruesome corpse.

That’s Ian—Noelle’s husband.

I couldn’t have recognized him if it hadn’t been for his clothes. His whole face was disfigured as though a bear had gotten to him. Flies swarmed around, their loud buzzing filling the air.

Dread seeped into my bones at the thought of a bear out here. But it couldn’t be! This was a secured ground, and the lands belonged to the Salveros.

There couldn’t possibly be a wild creature hanging around. Right?

But seeing the state of Ian’s body.

My mouth puffed, and I hurled again.

Hearing a branch snap, my body locked. Someone’s coming!

I quickly grabbed my rifle and forced my body to move. I was so sluggish because of how weak I suddenly was. So I could only hide behind a tree.

I peeked, and a chill swept through me when I saw the twins.

They pushed past the branches sticking out from the bushes, using the bottom of their rifles before they made it out into the clearing.

The moment they saw Ian’s body, there was no reaction, except for Luca, but I wasn’t sure if he was worried or in shock.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "Fuck! I think I’m gonna be sick."

Dante came closer and crouched near the corpse. He hung his rifle behind his back and held his camera. To my astonishment, he started taking pictures like he was some forensics.

"God, I don’t know how you can be near that," Luca said, face twisted in disgust.

Dante sighed as though hanging on to his last patience, but chose to be calm.

"Shut up and help me with this."

"Alright," Luca grumbled in reply. Dipping his hands into his pocket, he pulled out gloves and wore them.

He crouched and tilted Ian’s head slightly, causing those lifeless eyes to face me again, and nausea churned in my stomach.

What the fuck are they doing?

It was almost as if they were documenting.

I thought they killed Ian because that was the only explanation. But Luca’s reaction and Dante’s eagerness to document everything told me that this wasn’t their doing.

"Found it!" Luca announced, pushing Ian’s jaw backward as if to reveal something.

Dante was sure to take the pictures.

What... What is going on?

Shaken and confused, I took a step back but stepped on a branch.

In the blink of an eye, a knife was stapled to a tree just a few inches from mine.

I pushed away from the trunk in panic and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t stop for even a moment, determined to put distance between us.

When I was sure I was far enough, I stopped to catch my breath, my hand on my chest, and that was when I realized something was missing.

I left my fucking rifle!

Oh god, oh god!

I ran a hand through my hair, my whole body trembling, still in shock from that whole display, and more importantly, I was alone out here with nothing to protect myself with.

I have to calm down. I’m far from fucking calm, but I have to because panicking further isn’t gonna do any shit.

I threw myself into this mess since the very day I decided to go on this fucking hunt.

Ian is dead.

Ian is fucking dead!

What about Noelle and Gabriel? Are they dead too?

Ice flooded my veins. W-Was this Zade’s doing?

He may not have done it himself, but the brothers could. Elliot could have, and the twins could be having some kind of fucking sport with their bodies!

I panicked more, thinking through everything, and the more I did, the more this whole thing pointed toward their direction. There was no other way to see it!

Was this some kind of plan to get rid of the Russo family and make it look like some bear attack?

I held my head, the heaviness weighing me down.

I recalled the dinner and how they acted like a family, laughing and chatting. It was oddly familiar, like the wedding dinner before everything went south.

This could be the same case. I tried to breathe, clenching my jacket.

I heard a rustle and whipped my head toward the sound. The movement in the bushes told me something, or someone was nearby.

My eyes darted around, searching for somewhere to hide, but the cover of the trees was too far away.

Then the person emerged.

"L-Lisa?"

Her red-painted lips stretched in a wide smirk that failed to reach her eyes. "Hello, Ana. It’s been a while."

What’s she doing here? I thought she was on leave. She was dressed for the hunt, too.

Was this under Zade’s orders?

"It was quite the trouble looking for you. And here I thought separating you from Zade would be the major challenge. Thanks to your stubbornness, that is the least of my worries."

I gulped. I don’t think Zade has anything to do with her being here.

"Once again, you waltz right into my fingers without me doing a damn thing. Just like our little advantage with Jacob. Remember?"

I clenched my fist, feeling my anger rise to the surface.

"Don’t tell me you have forgotten so soon."

"What are you doing here, Lisa?" I found my voice.

She chuckled softly. "I know, I know... I should be on my leave. In fact, I’m still on my leave, which makes this perfect."

I narrowed my eyes at her words.

"It means no one will know I was ever here." She pulled out a gun from the back of her waistband and pointed it at me.