Richard was the first to speak up. "So tell us why she has killed them?" he asked, his tone eager for answers.

Emily's expression was serious as she said "Because she is suffering from a multi-personality disorder,"

The news hit everyone like a ton of bricks. Alex, however, wasn't surprised. He had suspected that Jules was dealing with a multi-personality disorder, and now Emily's disclosure confirmed it.

Emily continued, "Jules didn't kill her husband or Mr. Jones. It was her other personality that did it. When she wakes up from her unconscious state, she will have no recollection of what she did. She must have suffered a severe trauma that caused her to develop this disorder. Recently, Jules may have forgotten to take her medicine to control her condition or she may have assumed that she had recovered from her disorder."

Stephen's mind raced and he said. "A night before Mr. Jones died, I overheard a conversation between Jules and my father," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "My father was yelling at Jules, asking her why she had stopped taking her medicine."

Emily nodded in agreement. "There you have it. Jules stopped taking her medicine, which helped her control her disorder. And there's something else I've noticed too. Mr Jones died at night, as did Harry. Lily and Stephen were attacked at night too. It seems that her trauma is somehow related to darkness. Her second personality must get activated when all the lights are off."

Alex chimed in, nodding his head in agreement. "You're right. I noticed that too. It's strange how everyone got attacked or killed at night."

George and Emma both nodded in agreement. Everyone fell into a pensive silence, each of them lost in their thoughts.

"During the day we discovered the lifeless body of Mr Jones, there was a sudden power outage. In the darkness, George was attacked by an unknown person. I think Jules' second personality must have been activated during the power outage, causing her to attack George. Before she could say further, Stephen interrupted her abruptly.

"I saw her attacking George and my dad quickly grabbed her and took her to the backyard of the motel," Stephen said with wide eyes.

"What did he do with the knife?" Emily asked, leaning in.

"He took it from her and dropped it on the ground," Stephen replied.

"What happened next?" Richard interjected, his curiosity piqued.

"When the power came back, he rushed into the hall with Jules," Stephen explained.

"But did they see you?" Emily questioned.

"No, I was hidden from them," Stephen admitted.

"Then what did you do?" Richard pressed.

"After few minutes later, I...I took the knife from the ground and stepped into the hall," Stephen said, his voice trembling.

"And then you fell unconscious on the floor with a knife," Emily said. Stephen nodded.

"So, you saw everything but your dad told you to keep quiet about it?" Mike clarified.

Stephen again nodded, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Did you know who took the knife from there?" Richard asked.

"No, I don't know," Stephen replied.

"I think Harry must be aware of Jules's condition. Before coming into this motel, he must have thought that Jules was taking medicine but Jules hadn't taken her medicine. He even had seen her when she came into the room after murdering Mr Jones. That's why he wants to take his wife and child back to his house after everyone knows about the death of Mr Jones," Emily Explained.

"You are right. Because of the bad weather they can't able to leave this place. Then another night, Jules must have woken again at midnight and as she was about to kill someone, Harry must have stopped," Alex said.

Then Emily glanced towards Stephen and asked: "Did your father take you and your stepmom back to your house on the night your father killed?"

I think Harry must have been aware of Jules's medical condition before they arrived at the motel. He must have assumed that Jules was taking her medicine, but in reality, she wasn't. Harry even had seen Jules when she entered the room after murdering Mr Jones. That's why Harry wanted to take his wife and child back to their home after everyone found out about Mr Jones's death," Emily explained her theory.

"You are right. Due to the severe weather conditions, Harry and his family couldn't leave the motel. Then another night, Jules must have woken up again at midnight and was about to kill someone when Harry intervened and stopped her," Alex shared his theory.

Stephen's face went pale and he replied in a trembling voice, "Yeah..h He was taking us back to our house that night, but when he took us out of the motel, Jules took a knife out of her handbag and stabbed my father while placing her hand on his mouth." After killing my father, she threatened me that if I told anyone, she would kill me too,"

Emma approached Stephen and offered a comforting hug. The atmosphere in the room filled with sadness as everyone felt for Stephen's situation. At that moment, George turned his attention to Richard and asked a question that was on everyone's mind, "I hope Lily is doing better now. Can you give us an update on her condition?"

"The doctor says that she will recover in three weeks and she is doing much better now," Richard replied.

As soon as the news broke, a wave of relief washed over the group. The tense atmosphere in the room dissipated, and people started to relax. Suddenly, the sound of fast footsteps echoed through the hallway, and everyone turned to see Mike hurrying towards them. His expression was serious, and it was clear that he had urgent news to share about Jules.

"Excuse me, sir," Mike said, approaching Richard with hesitation. "I have received some crucial information about Jules."

Richard stood up from his seat, turning to face Mike with a furrowed brow. "What have you found out?" he asked, his tone serious.

Mike took a deep breath before continuing. "It turns out that Jules had been kidnapped when she was only eighteen years old," he began. "She wasn't the only victim of a psychopath by the name of Edward. Three other girls had also fallen prey to him. Edward had kept all the girls in a dark room, but Jules had planned to escape with all of them. Unfortunately, they were caught and Edward ended up killing all of the girls with a knife, except for Jules who managed to escape. But ever since that day, Jules's behaviour has become increasingly erratic and unstable. Then her parents take her to a psychologist and discover that she is suffering from multiple personality disorder.

As Mike spoke, a sudden realization dawned on Emily. "Wait a minute," she interjected. "Does this mean that Jules's second personality is Edward?"

                                                    ✵✵✵

Following the unravelling of all the mysteries, Jules was escorted to a mental health facility where she remained until she regained her wellness. Meanwhile, Stephen was sent to stay with his grandparents. As the snowstorm subsided, George and Emma made arrangements to leave in their respective cars. Thanks to the receptionist's efforts, their cars were repaired promptly.

However, Emily and Alex found themselves in trouble as they were unsure of the whereabouts of their characters' homes.

"Thank God we haven't been killed by the killer!" exclaimed George.

"Yeah," Emily replied, sitting on the couch with her luggage.

Everyone else was also ready to go to their destination, but Emily and Alex were still clueless about where they were headed.

Emily leaned towards Alex and whispered into her ear, "I have read this novel, but they didn't mention where Evelyn and Alex live. So where are we going?" Alex whispered back, "I don't know either."

Emily turned towards George and Emma, expecting to see them right where they were before. However, to her surprise, the seats were empty, and there was no sign of her friends. She felt a sense of confusion creeping in as she wondered how they could have disappeared so suddenly.

Looking around, Alex noticed the same thing - George and Emma were nowhere to be seen. Emily couldn't help but exclaim out loud, "Noah, George, and Emma suddenly vanished!"

The two of them scanned the hall for any sign of their friends or any other person. But it was eerily quiet, and the emptiness of the hall seemed to echo the sound of their footsteps. It was then that they realized that everyone, including the receptionist and the staff, had disappeared. Emily and Alex were the only ones left in the hall.

All of a sudden, they were startled by a chilling maniacal laughter that reverberated throughout the entire hall. Following that, a deep and menacing voice spoke up, saying "There's no escape from me, and no one will be able to rescue you both from me,"

Alex and Emily stood frozen in terror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably as they surveyed the room. They were convinced that everything was over and that they were doomed to face the consequences of their actions.

Little did they know, that Damon's shadow-cast game had only just begun.

To Be Continued...

Can Alex and Emily successfully able to escape from the sinister game set by Damon Shadowcast? What will be their fate in the end?

Now only the last chapter is left to complete this novel! Yay!

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Have a wonderful day ;)