Silent Noise

Chapter 23: Eyes of Deceit

The hum buzzed in my chest, a restless song that hadn't quieted since Mom left for Edenville.

A week, she'd said. Just a week, baby. Nothing dramatic. I just need to breathe.

Now she was coming back early. Too early.

I dialed Denis before I could talk myself out of it. The line clicked, and I didn't wait for pleasantries.

"What's going on?" I asked, sharp. "Why is she back?"

Denis's voice slid through the line, calm. Too calm. "Nothing suspicious, Ella. She's fine. Said she just missed home. Cut the trip short."

"Cut the trip short?" I echoed, pacing the room like a caged animal. "She's never even taken one before. And now she's back early?"

There was a pause—just a beat, just enough to stir the storm inside me. Then Denis chuckled. "Relax."

That one word made my skin crawl.

Relax?

I hung up without replying.

The hum pulsed harder now, rising behind my ears like static, like rage. Denis had been acting off lately. Smiling too easily. Skipping details. Maybe he thought I wouldn't notice. Maybe he forgot who I am.

Or maybe he wasn't lying. Maybe he was just scared.

By 4 p.m., Mom was landing at Norwegick's hollow little airport. I wasn't there to greet her. The Female King had other business. I'd spent the day behind a screen, rerouting embezzled government funds from corrupt accounts into anonymous donations—hospitals, women's shelters, school rebuilds. Quiet justice. The kind you didn't see on news headlines.

Let them wonder why the orphanage got an overnight million-dollar miracle. Let them beg for answers.

At 5 p.m. sharp, I unlocked our apartment door.

She was there.

Her suitcase stood by the wall, tidy, untouched by chaos. She stood beside it, back straight, smile wide. Her skin had caught the sun. Her dress was a soft wine-red—tailored, elegant. Her hair was slicked back, earrings small but sharp. It was Edenville style. Not Norwegick. Not Mom.

Not my Mom.

She looked... new. Like someone who had stepped into a better version of herself and didn't want to come back.

I closed the door behind me. "You're early."

"I missed you," she said brightly. Her voice was soft, melodic even—but there was something in it. A melody too perfect. "And Edenville was exhausting."

Exhausting? I narrowed my eyes. "You said it was a vacation."

"It was," she replied quickly, too quickly. "You know me. Too much luxury and I get twitchy."

I didn't answer. I stepped closer, studying her face like a detective scans a crime scene.

"Welcome home, Mom," I finally said. My voice was flat. The kind of flat that hides a thousand blades beneath it. "How was your trip?"

She smiled, bright enough to burn. "Wonderful, Ella. Just a break, like I said. Edenville's… vibrant."

Vibrant? The hum spiked, loud in my ribs. The word tasted poisoned. Edenville wasn't vibrant. It was rotting behind glass. A spider's web dressed as a chandelier. And now she was wearing its colors.

"What did you do there?" I asked, stepping even closer. "Really?"

She blinked. Just once. A tiny flicker in her performance. "I told you—I just relaxed. Saw some gardens, had good food. Walked a lot. You worry too much."

That line again. You worry too much.

No, I know too much.

I saw it then—a twitch at the corner of her mouth, a shadow in her gaze. Something she wasn't saying. Something thick and heavy that clung to her skin like Edenville perfume.

The hum roared, wild now. Warning me. Pushing me to act. To ask more. To demand. To accuse.

But I didn't.

Instead, I turned away, fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. I stared at the table where Dad's knife rested, quiet and loyal. I had just finished my mission—sent the money, wiped the traces. And now this?

"Good to have you back," I muttered.

A lie.

Because whatever she brought back with her—it wasn't peace.

As she moved to unpack, I watched from the corner of my eye. Her movements were graceful, unfamiliar. She hummed a tune—one I'd never heard her sing before. And she smiled to herself.

That smile shook me more than any scream.

This wasn't the end. It was a beginning. A spark lighting dry leaves.

Edenville had changed her. I didn't know how, not yet. But I would find out.

If Mystery M had whispered in her ear...

If Denis had lied to protect her—or himself...

If Edenville had reached through her and planted a seed...

Then I would rip it out at the root.

I wasn't the little girl hiding under blankets anymore. I was the blade in the dark. I was the storm they feared. I was the truth they buried and the fire that followed.

The hum in my chest steadied. Clear. Focused.

Be strong, my Female King.