The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 117

Garcia lifted her head and asked, “Was it Mrs. Austin who killed you?”

Ethan pinched his nose and replied in a wailing, ghostly voice, “Oh yes, I died such a tragic death! Poor me—can’t even rest in peace! And Grumpy Granny is still looking for someone to give her more grandkids. Guess what? You’re next… oooooooh…”

Garcia’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. It was just as she’d feared. She wanted to run, but her legs felt nailed to the floor, too heavy to move. Her lips quivered as she tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled, guttural sound.

The air in the room seemed to drop several degrees, filling every corner with a chilling sense of dread.

Outside the window, tree branches swayed in the wind, their shadows dancing on the wall like clawed monsters reaching for her.

A child’s sobbing grew more and more piercing, as if invisible hands were squeezing Garcia’s heart with every wail.

Her breathing became ragged and uneven, her heart pounding so violently it felt ready to burst from her chest. Eyes wide with terror, she searched the darkness for something—anything—that made sense, but there was only endless blackness and that dreadful crying.

“Stay away, stay away!” she shrieked as a pale figure drifted closer and closer. Finally, Garcia couldn’t take it anymore; she screamed, her voice sharp and desperate.

At that moment, a flash of lightning lit up the corner of the room, and for a split second, Ethan and Evan’s ghoulish costumes appeared in the glare. Garcia let out a bloodcurdling scream, “Ghosts! There are ghosts!”

The next instant, Garcia collapsed to the floor. Her eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and she fainted dead away from fright.

Ethan and Evan exchanged glances, instantly realizing they’d gone a bit too far this time.

Ethan turned off the creepy sound effects with the remote, muttering, “Wow, she really is a scaredy-cat. She passed out already?”

Evan adjusted the terrifying mask on his face, frowning in confusion. “Was it really that scary? I thought it was just okay.”

The moment she regained consciousness, she blurted out, “Ghosts! There are ghosts…”

Mrs. Austin, worried about Garcia’s fright, had come to check on her. After waiting a long while and even calling a doctor to give Garcia a sedative, she finally saw Garcia’s eyes flutter open. Relieved, she asked gently, “Garcia, are you alright?”

She reached out to feel Garcia’s forehead, checking for a fever.

But as soon as Garcia saw Mrs. Austin’s face, the terror in her eyes only grew.

Ethan’s haunting words echoed over and over in her mind, plunging her right back into panic.

Garcia shrank away, waving her hands frantically to keep Mrs. Austin at bay. She stammered, barely coherent, “Ma’am, please, don’t come any closer! I heard that boy say—you’re going to lock me up here to have a baby, and once it’s born you’ll kill me!”