Upstairs, Isaac waited until he heard the back door close. He stayed motionless for another five minutes, listening as the house settled into its familiar evening silence. Only when he was certain Jeremy had vanished into the night did he finally let himself exhale.
He rolled off the bed and walked to the window. The dark suburban street below was quiet, amber streetlights casting pools of light across empty sidewalks. There was no sniper, of course. That had been a bluff, but a necessary one, and it had worked perfectly. His lips curved into a cold smile.
Jeremy's Intelligence sat at 12. He'd discovered that using Sevenfold Inquest earlier that morning, before leaving for school. Turns out the skill didn't require him to look at someone on the same day he used it. As long as he held a clear image in his mind and could write seven accurate details about them, it would work. It had taken him a few tries to figure that out, but once it clicked, everything opened up. Better still, the book wouldn't return any information if the details were wrong, which meant he'd never have to waste a use of the skill on faulty guesses. A small mercy, given its daily limit.
With an Intelligence that low compared to his own and Victoria's, Jeremy had never stood a chance. The man was easy to intimidate when you backed it up with information he thought no one could possibly know.
The truth was that Isaac had been the mysterious blackmailer from the very beginning, orchestrating every letter and every psychological pressure point with meticulous precision.
Before leaving for school that morning, he had prepared the entire operation. He drafted the first blackmail letter and delivered it to the postal service near his school, scouted and arranged the money drop location, and timed every element to create maximum impact.
What worked even better for the first phase was his father's call to Victoria. A call that applied maximum pressure and made her vulnerable to everything that followed. As for how he managed that, he had borrowed a random phone on the street before school. He hadn't expected anyone to help him, but was surprised when someone actually did. It didn't come free, of course.
Once he finished sending the message, he blocked and deleted both the message and the number from the phone to avoid being traced. He'd worn his hoodie, but still had to be careful. He repeated the process with another person's phone, but this was after school, and he made sure to add a delay to the delivery time. This message would arrive at Victoria's phone later in the evening. He knew how his father could be with Victoria, so he used that dynamic to his advantage.
That was why he'd woken up so early. Even if Victoria had stirred awake, she wouldn't have been able to tell what time he'd actually left for school. It might have been two hours before she woke up, or one. She couldn't tell. That uncertainty gave him enough time to handle everything he needed to do in the morning.
The second phase had unfolded after he came back from school. He found a kid near the postal service close to his estate, gave him the sealed envelope with instructions and a tip. Once he made sure the letter would be delivered, he made his way home. He had already calculated the arrival time. It came a bit later than he'd hoped. He had been counting on it arriving the moment he got home, but the actual timing still worked fine. Everything had fallen into place, so he wasn't worried.
Looking at his school bag on the bed, he was glad he had removed the Book of Sins and hidden it under his wardrobe before leaving for school. He knew Victoria must have searched his bag for proof. From what he could see, she was desperate to get answers, which meant she would suspect everything and everyone. He had made sure not to leave any slip that might backfire on him.
The psychological manipulation had worked exactly as he intended. Jeremy had fallen perfectly into the trap of believing Isaac was merely an ignorant messenger caught in someone else's game. By positioning himself as harmless and useful, Isaac had removed any target from his back while simultaneously making himself appear too valuable to eliminate. Jeremy would leave Victoria to face the blackmail alone, taking his muscle and his violence with him into the night, just as Isaac had planned from the beginning.
Victoria was now completely isolated, trapped like a king piece on his personal chessboard with all her escape routes controlled by his strategic positioning. There had been vulnerabilities in his plan, holes that a more careful investigation might have exposed, especially since Victoria was there when he asked for the allowance money. If she had demanded an accounting of how he spent it, because those were the very funds he used for the postal services and tips, things could have gone wrong. But fear had clouded her usually sharp judgment, reducing her Intelligence to reactive panic, just as he had counted on. It was a safe bet. Humans, when confronted with sudden invisible threats, tend to fall back on instinct over reason. Fear, after all, is the most primitive of motivators, and he had wielded it like a scalpel.
And now, with Jeremy retreating from the board and Victoria cornered with nowhere left to move, the game had reached its inevitable conclusion. Every piece had fallen exactly where he needed it to fall. Every sacrifice had served its purpose. The board was clear, the king was trapped, and there was only one word left to speak.
Checkmate.
He looked toward his desk where the Book of Sins lay. He had already brought it out from under the wardrobe. As for why Jeremy didn't see it, Isaac had simply stacked other books on top of it. He would have written down the sin by now, but that would have to wait. There was still one more element he needed to put in place to maximize the grade and rewards. Victoria was still out delivering the money, and the only other person left in the house was Emma, who hadn't come out of her room since arriving home from school.
He found himself wondering about Emma's recent pattern of isolation, these periodic retreats behind her locked door that seemed to happen more frequently lately. There were times like this when she would just disappear into her room for hours, and he couldn't help but be curious about what was troubling her. But he quickly pushed the thought aside. Tonight was about completing his masterpiece of manipulation, and every moment of focus needed to be directed toward that goal.
He glanced at his wall clock. 8:37 PM. Victoria had been gone almost half an hour now, which meant she'd found the drop location and was probably reading the second letter by now. He'd made sure to plant another letter at the money drop, this one designed to make her think Jeremy had been working with the blackmailer all along. It was a tough gamble, but it had paid off. If Jeremy hadn't shown up in his room tonight, everything would have scattered before it even began. He would have had to find a way to leave the house with Jeremy still in it, and that would have complicated things considerably. But fortunately, things had turned out exactly as he needed them to.
He made his way out of the house, slipping through the back door. First, he retrieved the hoodie from the drainage spot where he'd hidden it after today's operation. The location where he'd asked Victoria to drop the money wasn't far from the estate, but the second letter would take her a while to process. It also sent her in another direction entirely. Where she was going would be almost like turning the place over, searching for something that wasn't there. It was just a waste of time, but he didn't think that would matter to her. Her desperation would keep her moving, and that would give him enough time to get the money without being seen.
He made it there in good time, though he didn't know this area very well and it would have been disheartening if someone else had taken the money first. It was hidden under a shop bench, and since it was nighttime, no one would really pay attention to it.
As soon as he got the briefcase, he left. Looking at the time, it had taken him about thirty minutes to do all this. Realizing he was cutting it close, he hurried back. He made it just in time. Victoria was also pulling into the driveway as he slipped back inside.
She made her way upstairs without calling anyone. With just one look at her, anyone could tell she was furious. Not just angry, but deeply, dangerously pissed. She had this dark look on her face as she headed straight for her room. He came back downstairs, figuring she was probably going to skip dinner. He didn't mind. He'd already gotten what he wanted.
He wasn't worried about Victoria coming to check his room or anything else. He'd made sure to wipe all the evidence. The hoodie he'd thrown away, and as for the money, it was hidden in the house, but no matter how much she looked, she'd never find it. This had been his house before Victoria married into the family, so he knew all the hiding spots for something the size of a briefcase. If it was Emily, she might be a bit of a problem because it felt like she was naturally gifted at finding things. But that wouldn't be an issue since she wasn't around and didn't even seem like she was coming back today. That gave him breathing space.
Victoria had probably locked herself in her room by now. He looked toward Emma's door and figured he should at least ask if she was okay before going to write out his sin. He still had time, after all.
He walked over and knocked softly. "Emma? You okay in there?"
"I'm fine," came her muffled voice through the door. "Just leave me alone, please."
Her voice sounded off. Strained, maybe like she'd been crying. But he didn't think much of it. Everyone had their problems, and tonight he had more important things to focus on. He made his way back to his room and closed the door behind him.
As soon as he got inside, he made his way to his wardrobe. He'd hidden the Book of Sins back under there before he left to get the money earlier. He brought it out. It still looked the same, with no changes on it. He was more interested in the rewards he would get than anything else, so he opened it.
He took the quill from inside, and immediately it wrapped around his finger, stabbing straight into the skin on the top. He still couldn't get over the fact that it needed blood to work as ink, but he didn't dwell on it. He wrote in the book everything he did today. He wanted to see what grade the book would give his sin and what rewards would follow.
After writing everything down, he waited. Not even thirty seconds later, words started appearing on the page. He suddenly felt dizzy. He was now certain the book used his blood to show the writing, even when he didn't write it himself.