Nowhere to Escape

My entire family mysteriously perished in one night, and I was taken to the police station as a suspect for questioning.

"Where were you on the night of August 12th, between eight and midnight?"

Perhaps out of consideration for a vulnerable woman, it was a policewoman who questioned me.

However, her tone was far from friendly. Her gaze, filled with contempt, suggested she had already judged me guilty.

The glaring lights and cramped interrogation room made my head spin. I licked my parched lips and I was thirsty.

After a lot of effort, I finally answered hoarsely, "I don't know."

1

With a loud bang, the policewoman slammed the table and stood up.

"Jayne Hussain! You better adjust your attitude!"

She glared at me, and the blinding light forced me to squint at her, which seemed to fuel her anger even more.

I couldn't blame her for being upset. Everyone in the Hussain family, from the old lady to the seven-month-old baby, died mysteriously and tragically.

I was the only survivor.

The interrogation had been going on for two hours, and as the police's only lead, all I had said was, "I don't know."

But I wasn't lying. I genuinely didn't know where I was at that time.

"Forget it. Her case is quite unusual. You take a break and let Linden Marrow handle it," suggested a young male officer, pulling her aside and glancing at my side.

I felt anxious and followed his gaze.

There was a surveillance camera.

Relieved, I relaxed and smiled slightly at it.

The policewoman looked at my odd behavior with disgust, seemingly suppressing her growing anger.

A middle-aged man suddenly entered, gently patting her shoulder.

She stepped back respectfully, making way for him.

"Hello, my name is Nicholas Fowler," the middle-aged man said, sipping his water and smiling at me.

I nodded and closed my eyes.

"You don't like the name Jayne, do you? Have you ever thought about changing your name?" Nicholas asked out of the blue.

But I had to admit that he made me want to talk.

"Louis," I croaked, my throat sore and my voice nasal.

"Louis Hussain, that's a good name," Nicholas remarked casually.

"No Hussain, just Louis," I retorted angrily, glaring at Nicholas despite the glaring light.

"Did the Hussain family treat you poorly?" Nicholas continued to smile, unfazed.

His eyes like a black hole, drawing me into his trap.

"Poorly? Ha-ha!"

I just wanted to sneer at this, and as I was laughing, my lungs began to ache and I started coughing halfway through my laugh.

I coughed so violently that my internal organs ached.

Noticing my predicament, Nicholas kindly had someone bring me a blanket and hot water.

"Do you want to know how they died?" After I recovered from my coughing for a while, I took the initiative to ask.

Hearing this, Nicholas's expression turned cold, his eyes like a hawk's, fixed on me.

I wasn't afraid. I dropped my earlier feigned dullness and smirked at him.

"They were killed by the ghosts they raised."

2

The deaths of the Hussain family were horrifying.

The person who reported the case was their neighbor Linette Blake.

She came to visit my grandma.

At that time, the Hussain family had been dead for a day.

It was said Linette was so terrified she couldn't speak coherently, muttering about vengeful ghosts.

My father had an eye brutally gouged out and his throat slit.

My mother's skull was smashed, cradling a baby whose neck had been broken in a fall.

My grandma, in poor health and wheelchair-bound, was found with a look of terror, crushed beneath her wheelchair.

This seemed like a revengeful vendetta.

However, after investigation, the police found that except for me, who could not be found, might have had the time to commit the crime, no one else had the conditions to commit the crime.

What was even more bizarre was that the trace identification department showed that there were only traces of four dead people in the house from beginning to end, and there was no fifth person at all.

Reconstructing the scene revealed my father inexplicably began beating his family, was blinded by my mother with a fork.

He was furious and picked up a hammer that he was using to repair a table and hit my mother with it. His seven-month-old son was killed in the fall.

My mother fled to the kitchen, where my father sat on her and beat her. In her resistance, she picked up a knife and slashed his neck, but her skull was also smashed and she died.

My grandma, hearing the commotion, saw her son and daughter-in-law's tragic deaths, had a heart attack, and was tripped by the food stains on the ground and fell under the wheelchair.

All evidence matched, with no signs of an outsider, as if it were a bizarre farce.

But criminal police captain Nicholas believed that there were no such coincidences in the world.

The police decided to find the last two people on the Hussain family's registry for clues.

However, their daughter seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Fortunately, they found their son, Averie Hussain, who was at school.

Averie's grades were average, and his parents had paid for him to attend a private boarding school.

According to his classmates, Averie was sleeping on the table in the last class.

However, within five minutes, when the police explained the situation and were about to come to look for him, Averie had already jumped down from the building.

Nicholas only saw a falling figure through the window.

Surveillance showed Averie alone, walking to an empty music room on the fifth floor, smiling eerily at the camera before jumping without hesitation.

Such a case should have been kept under wraps, but in a place like Juniper Hollow, news of the Hussain family spread quickly.

Averie's school was abuzz with rumors, and the school, pressured by public opinion, suspended classes for half a day, confining students to their dorms.

The pressure on the police to solve the case was immense, and Averie's sudden death left no clues.

Just when the clues were completely broken, I appeared in the sealed building out of thin air, bypassing all surveillance cameras and on-duty police officers like a ghost.

Everyone thought it was haunted.

3

"Nonsense! There's no such thing as ghosts! How did you manage to appear at the scene?" the policewoman couldn't help but scold me.

Rumors of haunting had spread within the police, and my words only fueled her fear and anger, leaving her to vent her frustration on me.

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do," I replied coldly, my expression indifferent.

"You!" The policewoman was furious.

A young and highly educated policeman might look down on a girl like me who grew up in the village.

Someone like me should be trembling, seeking police protection, or better yet, cracking under pressure and revealing myself as the culprit.

In fact, she had been fooled by the so-called ghost stories again and again. She was so scared but too proud to admit it, and her face turned red with anger.

"Mind your discipline!" Nicholas reprimanded sternly, his face serious.

The policewoman deflated and drank a sip of water angrily.

"Louis, tell us how the Hussain family was supposedly cursed by ghosts," Nicholas turned to me, his voice gentle again.

"In his early years, Felix Hussain raised a ghost in order to make money." I looked at Nicholas, took a sip of water and spoke slowly.

Felix was my father, a man who wasted his youth in idleness.

At twenty-nine, after my grandfather's death, he was forced to work on the border, engaging in drug smuggling to make a living.

He met a hunched human trafficker there.

Felix was unattractive and penniless, unlikely to find a wife.

But he spent all his savings to buy my mother from the trafficker, captivated by her beauty.

The trafficker, pleased with the money, shared a secret to wealth with my father.

Half a year later, my father continued to stay there to work and save money, and he got another golden ghost from the human trafficker.

The golden ghost was made from a baby who died suddenly.

My father returned to the village with my mother after acquiring the golden ghost, and less than half a year later, I was born.

From that moment, the Hussain family suddenly became wealthy, transforming into the most prosperous household in that impoverished village.

Yet, my father refused to move away, insisting on renovating the old house into a modern building and even collaborating with the government to pave a small section of road.

Outsiders, unaware of the true circumstances, stopped calling him a layabout and instead praised him for his loyalty to his roots.

But the truth was that while the golden ghost possessed immense power, everything came at a cost.

The trafficker had warned my father that once the golden ghost was enshrined, it couldn't be relocated.

Moreover, after they got rich by raising the golden ghost, the luck of the Hussain family's descendants became bad. They had to do good deeds all the time and were not allowed to kill unless they offered sacrifices to the golden ghost.

Otherwise, not only the fortune of the descendants, but also everyone in the Hussain family would be harmed.

The offerings to the golden ghost were sinister. On the fifteenth of every month, a livestock had to be sacrificed, and during the three significant spiritual observances, a bowl of human blood was required.

When the golden ghost was eighteen years old, a virgin bride would be presented to him.

If my mother hadn't been pregnant with me before the golden ghost was brought home, Felix wouldn't even have had a daughter.

Felix was discontent without a son, and he began to find me increasingly displeasing, extending his disdain to my mother, often resorting to violence.

My grandmother also disliked me and wanted to drown me at birth, but refrained due to the prohibition against killing because of the golden ghost.

Gradually, my mother grew to resent me too, letting me cry from hunger, as if my death would allow her to bear a son.

Ironically, it was Felix who saved my life.

One day, he came home excitedly, claiming to have found a way to have a son, and eagerly told my mother to feed me well.

I was just two years old then, calling out "mama" and "papa" with giggles after being fed.

Felix, with a big smile on his face, carried me to the room where the golden ghost was enshrined, then smiled and cut my wrist to make me bleed.

The golden ghost was poured with my blood and absorbed it immediately, becoming even more golden. He bared his fangs, as if he wanted to eat me.

The pain from the cut was so intense that I nearly fainted from crying, but Felix was delighted, saying this would bring him a son.

From then on, until Averie was born, they would use my blood on the 15th of every month.

The ordeal was so traumatic that even as I grew older, I dared not eat too much, fearing being taken to bleed again.

4

"So, you hated your parents and killed them?" Nicholas' sharp gaze pierced me like a blade.

I closed my mouth, glanced to my side for encouragement, and spoke again.

"Nicholas, do you have any evidence? You've seen their deaths. They can't be explained by science, can they?" I retorted.

"Jayne, I only believe in leniency for those who confess," Nicholas avoided the main point.

"Alright, I don't hate Averie," I sighed, turning my head again to look at the spot beside me.

It was better to say that it was a good thing that Averie was born so that I could survive.

I was three years old then, already able to speak.

Looking at the cute Averie, my naive heart was grateful to him.

They said Averie was the golden ghost's avatar, blessed with fortune and luck, our family's treasure.

With him, I no longer had to feed the golden ghost with my blood.

Perhaps because I had brought my father a son, my life improved slightly.

It was just that the best food went to my brother first, the fun toys were for him, and if he cried, it was always my fault.

To me, that wasn't bullying.

I still felt that Averie was born to save me. It was he who saved me from the pain of having blood drawn once a month.

Felix's knife had cut too deep, leaving scars on my arm that ached every fifteenth of the month.

Each time it hurt, I relied more on little Averie.

Averie, spoiled and unreasonable, treated me, his sister two years older, as his servant.

I occasionally felt wrong, but I was still willing to follow him and beg for mercy.

After all, from another perspective, what Averie didn't want could be mine.

When Averie got tired of the imported chocolates my father brought back, he would give me two.

My father bought the toys for Averie, and he allowed me to play with him when he was bored.

Only at these times would my mother refrain from calling me a useless girl.

Due to my age, I grew taller than Averie, needing a few new clothes each year.

Yet, even if I wore a single outfit from June to October, my mother still considered me a financial drain.

Although the Hussain family wasn't poor, only what Averie discarded and gave to me wasn't considered a waste.

Until Averie was about to start elementary school.

Felix, though insisting on living in the village, wanted Averie to attend a prestigious elementary school, the kind where the uniforms were formal.

When Averie left for a week, I lived in fear at home.

Afraid of being taken to feed the golden ghost again, I worked hard on housework and spent the rest of the time huddled under the bed in my room, not daring to go out.

But in truth, no one cared about me. They didn't speak a word to me, as if I didn't exist.

Until Averie demanded that I accompany him.

Only then did Felix remember I hadn't started school, and after a few phone calls, he enrolled me in Averie's school.

For the first time in my life, I wore such a beautiful dress, and even though my mother rolled her eyes and called me a useless girl, I was happy.

After that, I was always in the same class as Averie, going to school with him, and being his shadow.

I was truly grateful to Averie.

5

"What does this have to do with the case?" The young male officer taking notes beside me seemed to think I was dodging the questions, and he couldn't help but mutter.

I glanced at him and then closed my mouth, refraining from speaking further. I had been hungry for a long time, and my stomach ached.

The policewoman, upon hearing this, surprisingly softened her expression and pulled a piece of chocolate from her pocket.

"Here, have some chocolate. Take a break, it's almost lunchtime here, and I'll make sure you get a lunch box too." she said with a sigh, giving me a sympathetic look.

Nicholas noticed I wasn't in good shape and suggested I rest as well.

"Thank you," I replied, chewing the chocolate and swallowing it with some water.

As I chewed, I instinctively glanced to my side again.

"I was about to ask, why do you keep looking over there?" The policewoman followed my gaze, scanning the area with curiosity.

I tensed up, cold sweat instantly soaking my back.

"Nothing," I stammered, my lips trembling. I lowered my eyes to the table, but couldn't help sneaking glances from the corner of my eye, afraid they would notice Makenna Harris standing there.

Yes, they had captured not only me but also Makenna, who had been by my side all along.

Fortunately, the policewoman just gave me a strange look and said nothing.

The others couldn't see Makenna.

Although I had known this for a while, I still breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, you don't believe in ghosts, so you can't see my Makenna." I thought.

Makenna floated in mid-air. When he saw me looking at him, he smiled.

Makenna was handsome, he didn't look like a ghost, but more like a handsome guy from another world.

His eyes were like a fox's, with a red tear mole at the corner of his left eye. Every time he smiled, it was as if countless flowers were blooming.

To me, Makenna was real, and I was always afraid the officers might see him too.

I had found Makenna over a year ago.

At that time, I had done something that displeased Felix, and he beat me up before throwing me out the back door.

That was where I first encountered Makenna.

He was curled up alone beneath the wall of my house. Fearing Felix might take his anger out on him, I quickly signaled for him to leave.

"You little brat, are you defying me with those eyes?"

Felix acted as if Makenna wasn't even there, grabbing my head and slamming it against the outer wall.

I saw Makenna reach out to shield me, but I passed right through him, my forehead hitting the wall directly.

Blood and flesh splattered, and I nearly fainted, with only one thought in my mind. Was he a ghost?

Felix couldn't kill me, so he spat at me and stormed back inside, cursing.

Felix rushed back into the house, still furious.

I heard Felix slap Averie twice for the first time in his life. The slaps were so loud, so deafening.

My mother, who had rushed over, closed the door without even glancing at me, focusing solely on shutting it.

The sounds from inside the house faded, leaving only the buzzing in my head.

"I'm sorry," Makenna said to me.

"Why?" I lay on the ground, watching him move a few steps to squat beside me.

How could he, a ghost, be the one to apologize?

"I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry," Makenna's face was filled with sadness.

I was weak all over, blood blurring my vision.

Makenna tried to wipe away the blood, his fingers brushing over it, but he couldn't clean it.

"You're so beautiful, could you smile for me?" I asked, looking at him through a haze of red.

Makenna did smile at me, and he looked handsome when he smiled.

"My name is Makenna. From now on, whenever you call my name, I'll appear," he said.

His name sounded nice.

"Louis, I'll protect you," he added.

Makenna and Louis.

I wanted to say something then, but no words came out.

Fortunately, Makenna did stay with me, just like now.

After receiving the lunch box, I sat in the police station's meeting room, eating slowly, with Makenna standing beside me.

Nicholas didn't rush me, and no one else dared to either.

But halfway through my meal, Nicholas received a phone call, and his expression gradually darkened. He glanced at me before leaving.

The other officers followed Nicholas out, leaving only one officer I hadn't met before to watch over me.

He seemed uninterested in me, simply telling me to stay put before locking the meeting room door and leaving.

"Be good, Louis. Just hang in there a little longer," Makenna said, reaching out to ruffle my hair.

Even though he couldn't touch me, he still liked to ruffle my hair, as if it could somehow give me strength.

"Makenna, will you always be with me?" I put down my fork and tried to embrace him.

I couldn't feel his body, but I wanted so much to hug him.

I was afraid he might leave one day.

"As long as you want, I'll always be by your side," Makenna gently caressed my brow and eyes.

I followed his movements and rubbed my face as if Makenna was really touching me.

6

After finishing the call, Nicholas led a team to the Hussain family's mansion.

The Hussain family had amassed wealth over the years, and their mansion, with its vintage charm, seemed like a relic from the past century.

"Where's the suspicious spot?" Nicholas looked at the police from the Trace Inspection Department.

The officer explained, "Well, our second search focused on Jayne's movements. It starts from this basement."

"We found that the height and design of this basement are unreasonable, suggesting there might be another space," another officer added.

"Do you smell sandalwood?" Nicholas suddenly asked.

The other officers exchanged puzzled looks and shook their heads.

Nicholas frowned, poured some magnetic powder onto a piece of paper, and lay down on the wooden floor, inching the paper along.

Finally, the magnetic powder was stirred by the wind.

"It's right here. The space should be quite large," Nicholas said, standing up and dusting himself off.