Chapter Two : What My Madness Really Looks Like.
"You're crazy," the man hissed, spitting the words like venom.
Lia's head tilted slightly. As she laughed.
Her laugh was not the kind of laugh that comes from amusement, but the kind that leaks out when something inside has finally snapped. It was wild, hollow, and haunting. Her laughter bounced off the walls and coiled around his spine like a serpent.
And immediately he took a step back. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Lia's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Do you have a death wish?"
Saying that suddenly there was an instant shift.
He felt it, raw killing intent, pressing on his chest like a weight. Her presence exploded into the room, no longer held back by medication or soft restraints. He had forgotten, no! he had underestimated her.
His body froze, breath caught in his throat. His instincts screamed run, but his legs betrayed him.
"Lia..Lia…" he stammered, his voice barely a whisper now. Panic was setting in.
"Say one more word," she said slowly, her voice low and venom-laced, "and I assure you, you'll take a one-way trip to Hades."
Saying that she stood, with no warning, no hesitation. She moved.
Like a shadow unchained, she closed the space between them in seconds. Each step cracked like thunder in his mind. Her bare feet barely made a sound, but to him, they echoed like drums of war.
Her eyes locked onto his as she loomed over him, shoulders square, her aura was suffocating. He stumbled backward until his back hit the cold wall, nowhere left to go.
Then she smiled, it looked so soft, innocent but dangerous.
"You're feeling bold today," she whispered. "Calling me by my name like that."
Before he could react, her hand shot out clenching his jaw with iron fingers.
"I'll let you keep your teeth this time," she muttered, leaning in so close he could feel her breath. "But only because I'm in a good mood."
And then, just as fast,she let go, stepping back with eerie grace.
"But test me again…" she added, her gaze never wavering, "and they won't even find bones to bury. I'll show you what my madness really looks like."
The silence after her threat hung in the air like smoke.
The man slumped against the wall, clutching his chest as he coughed for air, his pride shattered.
Lia turned away from him like he no longer existed.
She walked back to the bed, slow and deliberate, and sat down legs crossed, fingers interlocked, eyes once again fixed on the ceiling.
But this time, her mind was racing.
They thought she was losing her humanity.
They were wrong.
She was refining it, burning it down to the part that knew no fear, no mercy, no ties.
Even Liam, her blood, meant little now. He had done nothing. He had watched. And the world had let her rot while her twin was murdered like a stray dog in an alley.
Let them think the drugs were working.
Let them believe the cameras were enough.
Lia had learned the routines when the guards changed shifts, which nurse was lazy, which one was scared of her. She'd studied the weak points in the walls, the gaps in the schedules, and the flicker in the hallway light that always blinked at exactly 2:14 a.m.
She smiled to herself.
Escape wasn't just possible. It was inevitable.
But she wouldn't leave like a thief in the night. No. That wasn't her style.
She'd leave a message written in fear, in blood, in silence.
A final reminder:
You don't lock up storms and expect peace.
Just then, a voice buzzed through the intercom above her head.
"Lia Druleo. Medication time."
She stood up, smoothed the creases from her gown, and approached the door with a docile expression. But behind her eyes, the devil was already walking barefoot through the corridors.
Tonight, she would swallow the pills.
Tomorrow, she would swallow the system.
As the door clicked open, the nurse stepped in with the evening meds in a small paper cup.
She paused the moment her eyes met the man slumped near the wall.
Her brow creased. "Everything alright in here?"
Lia turned to her with the sweetest smile her lips could fake.
"Of course. My uncle just got emotional," she said smoothly, walking over to help the man to his feet. "It's hard seeing family in a place like this."
The man stiffened but caught on quickly. "Y-Yeah. It's… been years. My niece" he cleared his throat, "...she looks so much like her mother. I lost my composure for a moment."
The nurse didn't smile.
She stood still, arms crossed, watching the two of them with sharp, trained eyes. Lia could practically hear the questions spinning behind that professional silence.
The nurse had worked in the asylum for eleven years.
She had seen madness, grief, manipulation and masks.
And right now, Lia was wearing a mask so perfect, it had to be fake.
"I wasn't aware Miss Druleo had family that visited," the nurse said flatly.
Lia turned her head just slightly. Enough to suggest a hint of offense.
"He just got clearance last week. Paperwork's in the system. You can check with Dr. Levin."
The nurse nodded slowly. "I will."
She walked over to the tray by the wall, dropped the cup of pills and the water onto it with a clink, and turned to leave. But just before stepping out, she stopped at the door.
"Family doesn't always mean trust," she said quietly, not turning around.
Then she walked out.
Lia's smile dropped the second the door closed. The man wiped sweat from his brow, and whispered, "She suspects something."
Lia picked up the pills, turned them in her palm, and replied coldly, "Let her."
She threw the pills into her mouth but didn't swallow.
She'd learned the trick of hiding them under her tongue long ago.
After all, the first step to escaping wasn't running.
It was waking up.
And now, her mind was sharper than ever.
To Be Continued...