The servants transformed into hard-working ants, as if in a frantic race.
What was this I saw? Respect or fear? This whole scene aroused my suspicion. My gaze shifted from appreciation to pity. If all palaces were like this, then this was a tragedy that needed to be resolved.
"Please, my lady."
I sat down at a white porcelain table. On it were plates of date- and nut-filled cookies, halloumi cheese, labneh with thyme, spiced eggs, crunchy falafel, and pomegranate and lemon juice with mint. The scene overwhelmed my stomach.
I started with the cake, then moved on to the labneh. I ate greedily, as if I'd just recovered from a famine. Yesterday I hadn't had dinner, and I'd missed lunch on the way.
The servants gave me strange looks, especially when I ate with my hands, ignoring the cutlery.
I looked up and saw the girl who had greeted me. She had fair skin, a slender figure, and curly black hair adorned with silver earrings.
" sharing something with me?" I asked.
"Share what?" she answered, amazed.
"The food."
She shook her head with a smile. "Impossible, my lady... Enjoy."
"What is your name?"
"Jana."
I nodded, and I felt their piercing gazes. Suddenly, the door opened, and silence fell. Everyone stopped, knowing that one of the palace's lords was inside.
As we expected, Caster entered.
I quickly wiped my mouth, wondering why he'd come. Perhaps he came for food, or to continue his silent punishment.
He placed his hands behind his back, in a grand manner. He looked around and ordered, "All of you out."
The servants complied immediately. I was left alone, sipping my juice and watching him advance.
Suddenly, he reached out, holding two tubs of ice cream. Joy returned to his face. "Shall we make up?"
I chose my words carefully: "I'm full... There's no room in my stomach for ice cream."
"Please..." He pushed away the empty plates and sat down, holding a tub of chocolate.
His smile faded. "Sorry for yelling... I shouldn't have..."
I interrupted. "I want vanilla... I don't like chocolate."
He smiled and handed me the other tub. We began to eat in silence. I tried to stifle my laughter as the ice cream dripped from the corners of his mouth.
He looked at my tub. "Shall I taste some?"
I hugged her. " in your dreams."
He frowned and pointed. "Stingy!"
.
.
.
I spent a whole week within the walls of this palace, settling into a repetitive daily routine. But many things stopped after that fateful day. After I reconciled with Caster, a deeper bond developed between us. In fact, I find myself reclaiming my childhood innocence with him. We spend long days together, and I taught him how to organize his thoughts for writing his first novel. One day, we were overcome by exhaustion and fell asleep in the garden after spending the whole day playing with our bikes.
I know I'm eighteen, but my childhood was incomplete, deprived of the simplest pleasures of life. I wasn't allowed to play or have fun, so this childlike personality hidden deep within me is now emerging with Caster.
As for Stacker, since that night we spent together in the room, he hasn't exchanged a single word with me. If he did speak, his words remained as icy as ever, and he often ignored my presence altogether. Since then, I've stopped breaking the rules; I've learned my lesson well. Even if I'm driven by curiosity, I stay in my room. I've even forgotten the rest of the rules Caster told me, so I no longer try to break them.
As for my mother and her husband, they're busy with their married life, and I only see them at breakfast or dinner. My mother no longer asks about my well-being, preoccupied with her husband's work outside the palace and her return late at night.
As for the old woman who lives in the palace, I noticed that I only see her on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For the rest of the week, I have no idea where she disappears. Although I've spent a full week here, I've learned only a small amount of information, because everyone I've asked avoids answering my inquiries. The entire family avoids questions and avoids answers, and that was the first lesson I learned here. After only four days, I stopped asking anyone... I waited for the days to answer me.
As for the servants, I've grown a bit closer to Jana. We're not close friends, or even colleagues, but we do occasionally chat. This only happens when I find her watering the roses or when she comes into my room to change the towels and bedsheets. During my conversations with her, I discovered that discussing the palace's details is strictly forbidden. Even I, who've become semi-friends with her, would avoid my questions when I asked her about these or other rules... simply saying, "I don't know."
I also noticed that she secretly loved Stacker. She always watered the roses at noon, when he was coming home from work, and made up excuses to run into him as he parked his car by the garden. I saw how she would tense up when she saw him, and how she tried to attract his attention during dinner by piling huge quantities of food on his plate... these are the actions of a girl truly in love. As the only young woman here, I know exactly what she's trying to achieve.
Honestly, the week was completely calm... filled with Caster's presence alone. Nothing strange happened on those days like the first one. Everything was under control...
The days in this mansion pass with eerie monotony, until that cold winter morning. I was sitting in my room, the fog touching the windows, the melodies of a soothing song echoing in my ears. My fingers moved across the keyboard as I wrote the words of my new novel.
I noticed a strange absence today. Even the breakfast table was served by no one but Stacker, my mother, and me. An unfamiliar silence hung over the place.
I have always loved winter. During my school days, I would sit in the park alone, contemplating nature before classes. I dreamed of attending Oxford University to study literature, but circumstances prevented it.
And now I am here in Edinburgh, where winter is long and endless.
As I was finishing a chapter of my novel, I received a mysterious message. I tried to ignore it, but a second message arrived two minutes later:
"We must meet at the same place. I have an important question. Come at ten o'clock. Your coming will do you more good than it will do me. Come alone."
Adam Farke
The address was the same as the fancy restaurant where we met the land buyer.
My heart raced. It was the beginning of a story that would lead me to an unknown fate.
The clock struck 9:40. I quickly got up and put on a warm black cotton skirt, a brown jacket, and tall boots. I grabbed my umbrella and left quickly.
Having a taxi wasn't difficult, and within moments I found myself at the designated location. The view was the same: the majestic beach café with its antique walls and windows overlooking the turbulent sea. But today there was a fundamental difference. Winter had cast its gloomy shadow over the city, transforming the damp buildings under the rain into a sad painting reminiscent of Hogwarts. It was as if fate were taking me back to where my mysterious story began.
I stood looking closely, my small bag under my arm and my umbrella shading me from the rain, trying to identify the table that had brought us together at the previous meeting. And indeed, there he was, sitting as I expected, sipping his coffee quietly, as if waiting for one of his victims.
I wondered: Is this how prey is hunted in this terrifying game? I'd always read about such scenes in novels, where the plot begins with a mysterious encounter, but what kind of story would mine be? Was it a story of forbidden love, a plotted revenge, or a dangerous adventure?
I walked toward him with measured steps. He stood up and greeted me with dignity, gently shaking my hand, then returned to his seat. I sat across from him, and even before I could open my mouth, he had ordered me a cup of coffee. He straightened up, saying,
"You must be wondering why I've summoned you..."
"I should really," I replied, my voice almost whispering.
I then added, trying to reveal his intentions: "Our previous discussion about the land for sale doesn't directly concern me. If you want to follow up on the island, you should have contacted Custer or Stacker. I'm just a secondary player in this equation, and I think you've overestimated my importance."
I noticed that he had deliberately invited me alone to lead this round of heated discussion away from the eyes of his brothers. Perhaps he thought a young girl like me would be easy prey in the tough world of real estate, but he was going to be disappointed.
He replied with a sly smile, "I don't intend to buy the land at all... Rest assured, your presence has nothing to do with the deal."
"So what do you want from me?"
He leaned forward slightly, a wry smile on his lips as he pulled a file from his black leather bag.
"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Adam Farke, a federal investigator specializing in historical mysteries. I've received the Civilian Valor Medal and have been named Investigator of the Year three times in a row."
I looked at the file he placed in front of me. I saw his official photo with the federal eagle emblem, certificates proving his expertise in uncovering historical mysteries, and a list of cases he'd revived from oblivion.
I began to realize that I was at a dangerous juncture. This wasn't just any ordinary buyer, but a seasoned investigator leading me into a maze whose depth I had no idea how far along it would go. I wondered: Has he been stalking me for years to find a loophole in my father's death to arrest me? I'll never forget that the police didn't fully punish me because I was too young at the time.
Despite my inner turmoil, I maintained my composure.
"So... a federal investigator? What business is that of you?"
He answered in a serious tone, "I didn't call you here to investigate you, but to provide you with information that might save you from your upcoming predicament. You may need our help one day, and you, in turn, are part of a mystery I've been trying to solve for four years with little progress."
My blood froze at his last words. Ever since I'd set foot on Scottish soil, I'd felt like I was walking in an unknown labyrinth, but to be part of a mysterious case with roots stretching back to the past... that was something I never expected.
I raised the glass to my lips, feigning calm, my heart pounding like war drums.
"You still seem to be misunderstanding. I'm just a girl who just moved to this city, not involved in any trouble."
He nodded slowly, his piercing eyes never leaving my face.
"Exactly... your sudden arrival as a new player in this equation is what's suspicious."
I couldn't stand this ambiguity anymore.
"Can you speak clearly? I don't have time for ambiguity and mysteries. What case are you talking about? And what is my connection to it?"
He smiled a smile that was not devoid of sarcasm. "You'll know everything soon... but first, allow me to ask you a few questions."
"If that clears things up..."
His first question was direct: "What exactly brought you to the Jozid family? I think you're the newest member of this family."
"The answer is clear. My mother married the head of this family, so I had to follow her. Isn't that enough to get me out of your mysterious case?"
He ignored my protest and continued: "That's what I did, but what's the real reason? Did your mother marry for love? Did she investigate this man's past? Is she truly satisfied with this marriage?"
His question was even more vague than the previous one. I began to feel like I was being led into a maze whose depth I had no idea.
"I don't know..."
He laughed a provocative laugh. "Wonderful... like all those before you."
Another sentence terrified me. "What do you mean?"
"I won't complicate things further, my dear. You don't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation, so I'm going to tell you the truth, contrary to work regulations. I've been failing in this case for years, having sat with girls like you at this same table. I warned them of the danger that awaited them in that palace... but it all ends the same way."
I fell silent, stunned, my eyes fixed on his serious ones, trying to analyze his horrific words, which terrified me more with each sentence. Then, as if reading my silent question, he answered:
"It ends in death..."
Time froze around me at his final word. Death? Is this the end that awaits me within those ancient walls? Is this the fate that this palace has planned for me?
"And to get to the heart of the matter, I need to remind you of the previous members of the family and explain to you the history of the palace's founding..."
"I know... I know about the previous members of the family," I interrupted, trying to prove my knowledge.
He pulled a rare Cohiba from his pocket and lit it slowly. His first puff of smoke was defiant and provocative.
"You know? And where did you get that information? On the internet? From those annual family photos they post with the caption 'We look forward to seeing you in the next one'?"
On our first meeting, I noticed how knowledgeable he was about family secrets, but I didn't expect his knowledge to extend to my most minute movements. How did he know I'd searched for those photos? Unless he was tracking my every move.
"How did you know?" I asked, trying to sound confident even though my heart was pounding.
"I told you that you're no different from those who came before you... History repeats itself, but I won't let that happen this time." He slowly stubbed out his cigarette. "Miss, I'm going to explain the situation, and I hope you listen carefully so we can make the most of the time we have left."
Then he took the empty sugar bowl beside him and began drawing a diagram on the table with his fingers, as if explaining to a child in math class.
"Your stepfather... had a brother." He placed a sugar cube representing the husband and another representing the brother.
"His older brother, Joseph, was the original owner of the mansion and a successful global businessman. He had a younger brother, Peg."
He added a third cube.
"And suddenly, as the years passed, Joseph found his younger brother a divorced wife with a son. They married... and a year later, she died." He wiped the wife's cube with the back of his hand. "In the outside world, she's dead, but in the case file, she was murdered."
He removed all the sugar cubes, making way for a more detailed explanation. I just stared at his fingers as they traced the fates of people on the tabletop.
"The first case failed to solve. Then a year later, Peg married another divorced wife with two children... and then what happened? A year later, she disappeared." A sharp look flashed in his eyes.
"The media reported that she stole the palace's money and fled. But what did the FBI conclude? Murdered."
His words sounded like a fairy tale, but my heart pounded as if he knew this wasn't just a story. This was a real FBI agent, and I was the next victim on his list.
"Well... another case you failed to solve... and then you closed it. And a year later..." I paused, trying to process what he was saying.
"Exactly." He took a deep breath.
"They announced that Page had remarried to a divorced woman who had a 12-year-old daughter... and then what? She disappeared. The announcement? That she died in childbirth. But the FBI concluded that she was murdered."
He looked directly at me, his eyes bearing the weight of years of research and frustration. "And all the victims who followed her disappeared in the same way. You must have understood by now that your mother is one of the victims of this bloody game."
He paused for a moment, then added in a prophetic whisper, "And I'm telling you, you're going to die with her."
He looked at me thoughtfully, then asked a question that seemed more out of personal curiosity than part of the official investigation.
"Did you attend your mother's wedding to Page?"
I shook my head sadly. "No... It all happened so suddenly. Her marriage, my moving here... it wasn't anything planned."
"Any wedding photos?"
"She didn't show me anything... not even documentary photos..."
His smile widened as he shrugged. "As expected... Page didn't have a wedding with any of the previous women. The only one who did officially get married was Joseph... and his wedding was absolutely lavish."
"And what about his wife?" I asked curiously.
"She was the first woman to be murdered in that mansion... Did you know that the island you pretended to want to buy actually belonged to him?" A weighty look flashed in his eyes. "Page and his sons tried to sell it repeatedly without success... because it had become a burden."
"A burden?"
"He bought it as a birthday present for his wife... but she flatly rejected it." He smiled bitterly.
"And asked for a diamond ring instead."
I immediately remembered the story he'd told us during the purchase attempt. This explained the change in the brothers' expressions when they heard him speak.
"I get it now... but it wasn't necessary to tell the same story during our first meeting."
He relit his cigarette. I'd noticed he did that when he was nervous, the way he puffed at the smoke revealing a deep-seated fatigue.
"It wasn't necessary?... Stacker knows I'm a detective."
Damn, the story was more complicated than I'd imagined.
"How?"
"My purchase of the land was a pretext to get closer to the family and gather information... and Stacker has known the truth about me for years." He said slowly. "He found out about it in the past... but he didn't interfere with me because he's innocent of the crimes in that mansion."
A deep look in his eyes.
"If you ever examine his emotions, you'll find him living in a hell of consciousness, torn between his hatred for what happens every year and his inability to stop it... so he allows me to pursue the case."
"And what about Caster?" I asked.
He smiled teasingly. "He lives in blissful ignorance... He also knows the truth and opposes it... but he doesn't care what's happening, he doesn't give it any importance."
My coffee had cooled completely, and my hand was reddening from clenching it tightly. I tried to connect the threads and grasp the whole picture, but it was too complex to contain.
"Don't worry, this time I'm sure we'll uncover the truth." A voice held a note of hope.
"I trusted you and told you all this so you'd watch your steps in that palace and help me with information... so don't disappoint me." He paused.
"Do you remember the rules they imposed on you on your first day?"
"Yes... how did you know them?"
"That's the job of a detective... for now, let me explain more." He leaned forward.
"The cemetery?... It's the burial place of women who were previously murdered... they keep them there secret."
"I expected that from the small number of graves." I whispered to myself.
"That's what we could explain... As for not going out at night, we didn't quite understand the reason for that." His eyebrows met in deep thought.
"The library, too. None of the new girls have ever been in there before... And even if they had, we couldn't interrogate them like I'm doing with you now... So I don't know why they're preventing it."
I suddenly remembered what had happened that night. "I went out at night a week ago and saw something strange..."
He smiled triumphantly as he lit another cigarette. "That's what I need you for... Come on, tell me everything."
I recounted everything that had happened from the time I left the room, through the meeting with the old woman, the dog attack, Stacker's rescue of me, and the night we had spent together, all the way up to the next morning.
He listened intently, his eyes lingering on my features, trying to connect the dots and draw conclusions.
I expected an explanatory answer or doubt in my story, but he ignored all the dramatic events and said, putting out his cigarette:
"Did you know that Stacker fell in love once?"
"We all fall in love, what's so strange about that?" I asked, surprised.
"You said that the next day he treated you as coldly as he had the days before?"
I nodded.
"That's because he doesn't see that it's the same mistake." His voice held a hint of sorrow.
"All the women Page married were mothers, except one who had a daughter your age... and unfortunately for him, he fell in love with her... and she ended up being murdered too... so..."
I interrupted, realizing, "So he treats me coldly... he thinks he might fall in love with me... or he hates being around any girl."
"Maybe..."
He looked at his watch and sighed deeply. "It seems I'm late for my appointment with my wife... Well, can I be assured that you won't act rashly?... That you won't tell anyone what I've told you?... And that you'll return to the palace quietly and without fear?... All I want from you is for you to provide me with information from time to time."
I nodded, my face still bearing the shock of everything I'd just heard.
"What's the ultimate goal of this case?" I asked suddenly.
"To catch Joseph."