Claimed By My Stepbrother novel Chapter 105

Camila POV

A loud thud ripped through the silence, jerking me awake.

I groaned, squinting as the world slowly came back into focus. The room was dark now–inky black with just the faintest silvery glow bleeding in through the curtains. My head felt foggy, like I’d been asleep for days instead of hours. I blinked a few times and sat up, disoriented. How long had I been out?

There was a second sound. A sharp, wet kind of sound. Almost like something slapping against the floor.

Then I heard a scream–High–pitched. Raw. Pained–coming from downstairs.

Adrenaline shot through me like a needle to the heart. My whole body went stiff, breath caught in my throat. I stared at the door like it might open on its own and answer every question already spiraling through my brain.

What the hell was that? Was Ethan okay? Was that even Ethan?!

And why the hell was it so quiet now?

My heart thumped wildly in my chest, each beat louder than the last. The only thing I could think of–despite how crazy it sounded–was the agency. Were they here?

I crept out of bed, feet finding the floor like it was made of glass. Slowly, slowly, I padded over to the door, careful not to make a sound. My fingers wrapped around the doorknob and turned it, inch by inch, until it clicked open. The hallway was dark too. The light from my room barely stretched past the threshold.

Where the hell was Ethan?

I peeked my head out, listening.

Nothing.

There was no sound of footsteps, whispers. There was no signs of life at all.

I swallowed hard and stepped out, hoodie sleeves hanging past my fingers, feet bare and freezing against the wooden floor. Every board creaked under me like it was screaming my presence to the entire damn house.

The staircase loomed ahead, that silvery moonlight seeping in through the massive stained glass windows near the landing. It painted everything in this eerie, dreamlike glow.

My feet descended slowly, each step slower than the last. The air smelled… off. Like copper and something else. Something purgent.

Then, right as I hit the bottom step, I felt it.

Squish.

I jerked to a stop. My toes curled, already sensing something wet beneath them. I froze.

The floor felt… slick.

My breath hitched as I reached down, fingers trembling as they brushed the floor. Wet, sticky, and warm.

I brought my fingers up close to my face. It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but the smell hit me first–sharp, metallic, nauseating.

1/3

Chapter 105

Blood.

The moonlight caught the smear across my fingers, and yep–there was no mistaking it.

Freaking blood.

I stumbled back, heart pounding out of my chest, and that’s when the lights flickered.

Then blinked back on.

And that’s when I saw it.

Bodies.

Everywhere.

Twisted. Broken, Limbs in places limbs shouldn’t be. Blood coated the walls, pooling on the floor like paint spilled from a goddamn bucket. There was a woman’s head–just her head–staring at me from the kitchen counter, mouth frozen mid–scream, hair matted with blood and something I didn’t even want to name.

A man’s torso was slumped against the far wall, his lower half completely gone. His insides were spilled out like someone had scooped them with a shovel.

Another body lay near the piano, ribs jutting out like broken glass, one arm stretched toward the door like they’d tried to crawl away and

failed.

I SCREAMED.

It tore from my throat before I even realized it was me. A raw, guttural scream that made my lungs burn. I stumbled backward, slipping in the blood and catching myself on the stair railing, fingers smearing red across the polished wood.

“What the hell,” I gasped. “Oh my God–what the fuck-“`

My entire body trembled as I backed toward the hallway, trying to breathe, trying not to vomit. My brain couldn’t even process it all. How many bodies? Five? Ten? More? Who the hell were they?

They weren’t familiar. No one I recognized. Were they from the agency? Were they intruders? And more importantly–where the hell was Ethan?

And then I saw the door.

The front door was wide open.

Wind howled through it, blowing leaves and dirt across the bloodstained floor. The night outside looked like something out of a horror movie–clouds dragging low across the moon, trees swaying like they knew something I didn’t.

I pressed my back against the wall, panting, shaking, trying to think straight. But it was impossible. My mind just kept flashi. images of those bodies, of the blood soaking into my clothes, of the gaping wounds and twisted limbs and that one pair of eyes still open, staring blankly at nothing.

Where was Ethan?

Was he okay?

Or had he… done this?

A new shiver raced down my spine, a whole different kind of fear settling in my chest.

Chapter 105

Because what if this wasn’t an attack?

What if it was something else?

What if he did this?

I clutched the wall tighter, sliding down to the floor, knees tucked to my chest. My breath shook with every exhale. Tears stung my eyes, but I couldn’t even cry. I was too numb. Too horrified. Too fucking confused.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps.

Slow. Heavy, Coming from outside.

I held my breath, eyes wide, body frozen.

And just like that… the front door began to creak closed on its own.

Click.

Silence.

But whoever–or whatever–was out there…

Was now inside.

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Blood.

The moonlight caught the smear across my fingers, and yep–there was no mistaking it.

Freaking blood.

I stumbled back, heart pounding out of my chest, and that’s when the lights flickered.

Then blinked back on.

And that’s when I saw it.

Bodies.

Everywhere.

Twisted. Broken, Limbs in places limbs shouldn’t be. Blood coated the walls, pooling on the floor like paint spilled from a goddamn bucket. There was a woman’s head–just her head–staring at me from the kitchen counter, mouth frozen mid–scream, hair matted with blood and something I didn’t even want to name.

A man’s torso was slumped against the far wall, his lower half completely gone. His insides were spilled out like someone had scooped them with a shovel.

Another body lay near the piano, ribs jutting out like broken glass, one arm stretched toward the door like they’d tried to crawl away and

failed.

I SCREAMED.

It tore from my throat before I even realized it was me. A raw, guttural scream that made my lungs burn. I stumbled backward, slipping in the blood and catching myself on the stair railing, fingers smearing red across the polished wood.

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