The Heart System Chapter 856

I took a few steps back until my back touched the wall, then rushed forward and kicked the door. It rattled from the impact but didn’t move. The noise immediately attracted the attention of several neighbors on the same floor, and a few of them peeked through their partially opened doors to see what was happening.

I didn’t have time to care about that, so I kicked the door again.

"Come on, come on."

The third kick finally did the trick. The lock gave way, and the door swung open. I immediately stepped inside and called Esme’s phone again. I heard it ringing near the window, where it was sitting on a wall charger beside the single couch.

I quickly grabbed it and unlocked the screen since I already knew her passcode. My eyes moved through the phone, looking for anything that could tell me where she had gone or what had happened to her, and that’s when I noticed an unfamiliar app called QuartCam.

I opened it, and the application took a few seconds to load. Once it opened, there was only one clickable category on the screen, and it was labeled with three Zs.

I hesitated for a moment before tapping it.

The screen changed, and I was suddenly looking at Esme’s empty living room.

I stared at the footage while my mind caught up with what I was seeing. It was a hidden camera, and considering where I had found it, Cora must have planted it while she was at Esme’s place.

"How could I have missed that?" I muttered while looking at the screen. "Fuck, Cora."

The camera gave Cora exactly what she needed. She could watch Esme from wherever she was and know when her sister left the apartment.

"So she knew when Esme would go out," I murmured, rubbing my forehead as the implications started sinking in. "She was keeping tabs on her the entire time."

"Evan?"

I turned toward the doorway and saw Cora standing just outside the apartment. She had her keys in one hand and several grocery bags in the other, and she looked genuinely surprised to find me standing inside her place.

For a second, I didn’t know what to make of it. Had she really just gone shopping? Considering what Mana had told me about her and what had happened in the previous timeline, I couldn’t simply dismiss the possibility that she was hiding something. Cora had killed me before, and Silk had apparently used a huge portion of her power to rewind time and bring me back. Unless Mana had been lying to me about all of it, I couldn’t afford to forget what Cora was capable of.

"Cora," I began, keeping my voice low as I walked toward her. "What... how... what happened?"

"What happened?" she repeated, looking from me to her broken door. "I just went shopping. Why is my door like this?"

"Esme?" I asked. "Where’s your sister?"

"I don’t know." She shrugged, but the confusion on her face quickly turned into concern. "Wait, she’s missing?"

"I saw the cameras you planted in her apartment, Cora." I stopped in front of her and held her gaze. "Tell me why you did that."

"She is my sister." Her tone changed as she tightened her grip on the grocery bags. "I have to take care of her. I need to keep my eyes on her."

"And that’s your twisted way of doing it?" I shook my head. "Are you lying to me, Cora?"

"Why would I lie?"

"Esme’s gone," I explained. "I can’t find her."

"What? And you’re looking for her here?"

"After I found the hidden camera?" I raised an eyebrow. "Gee, I wonder why."

"I was keeping tabs on her!" Cora dropped the grocery bags onto the floor, her voice becoming more defensive. "I would never hurt Esme."

"Then where is she?"

"I don’t know!"

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I quickly pulled it out. The message was from Jasmine, along with a photo.

It was Esme.

I opened the message and read the explanation underneath the picture. Apparently, Esme had gone to a tech shop because she needed a new charger for her phone. On the way there, she had been hit by a reckless driver and taken to the hospital. On the photo, she seemed to be fine, though. Just... annoyed. Not hurt.

I stared at the picture for a few seconds as the tension that had been building inside me finally started to ease.

So Cora hadn’t hurt her.

At least, not this time.

Still, that didn’t explain the hidden camera in Esme’s apartment. Cora had deliberately planted it there so she could monitor her sister, and that kind of behavior wasn’t acceptable. Even if Esme was safe in the hospital right now, I couldn’t ignore what Cora had been doing. If I let it continue, there was no guarantee that the next time something happened, Esme would be lucky enough to walk away from it.

"What happened?" Cora asked, trying to get a look at my phone. "Is that Esme? Who is it?"

"No one." I lowered the phone and met her eyes. "We’ll talk about this, Cora. About the hidden camera and everything else, alright? Just not right now."

"O-okay."

"I have to go." I stepped past her and headed toward the hallway.

"Please update me if you find Esme."

"Hmm."

I continued down the stairs and left the apartment building. Once I reached the parking lot, I got into my car, shut the door, and sat there for a moment with both hands resting on the steering wheel.

The whole situation had gone from terrifying to confusing in the span of a few minutes... I still hated the fact that I had immediately suspected Cora, but could I really blame myself after everything I knew now?

I started the engine and pulled my phone out again before calling Jasmine. She answered after a few rings.

"Jasmine," I greeted her. "Is Esme okay?"

"Yeah. The car has more damage than she does, if you ask me." She chuckled softly. "She’s as good as a horse, but you should come and check on her yourself."

I let out a breath and finally allowed myself to relax a little. "I will. I should probably bring her something, too."

"Yeah, a flower will do."

"A flower?"

"Yep."

Nah, she’d hate that. I had a better idea, though.

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