VelvetHell. Garden of Rotten Orchids

Hans Schneider adjusted his glasses.

— What's your name?

The lips stretched into a smirk — not happy, not friendly. The kind that makes your spine crawl.

— Call me Nick.

Hans didn't look away.

— And how long have you been acting?

— Long enough.

In front of him sat not a thirteen-year-old with memory gaps. In front of him sat the one who filled those gaps.

Shadow in the Heart.

Chapter 3 is already here ↓

He reached for his phone. Old, cracked screen. The contact — "Mari." No photo, just a name.

Ring. Second. Third. On the fourth, she answered.

— Kaiser?

— Mari. — He exhaled into the phone and rubbed the bridge of his nose. — I think I've lost my fucking mind.

On the other end — rustling. She sat up in bed.

— Be specific, Kaiser. You've always been crazy. What now?

— I talked to my mother. And I don't remember what I said. At all. Like I wasn't even there.

Shadow in the Heart.

Chapter 3 is already here ↓

She broke. Like someone had pulled the pin on a grenade and forgot to warn her.

— Do you even understand what happened?! Where you were? What you did?!

Eric listened. Didn't interrupt. Kept eating, staring at his plate with a strange, unsettling focus.

When the stream ran dry, silence filled the room. Wrung out. Dead.

He put down his fork. His gaze — attentive, direct.

— Done? Feel better?

Shadow in the Heart.

Chapter 3 is already here ↓

The water ran hot. Almost boiling. Steam slowly filled the space, settling on the mirror and tiles. He thrust his hands under the stream. The skin burned red, but he didn't pull away.

He scrubbed his knuckles with soap — plain, harsh alkaline — until the skin reddened and started to sting.

The dark lines under his nails, the dried blood, reluctantly gave way. He cleaned them methodically, like a surgeon before an operation.

Shadow in the Heart.

Chapter 3 is already here ↓

She looked at him as if trying to find the other Eric in his face. She didn't find him.

— What have you done?.. Tell me. What did you do?

— I don't remember. In pieces. There's nothing else there.

A pause lay between them like a dense layer. In her eyes, fear gave way to dull realization. She no longer recognized him.

Shadow in the Heart.

Chapter 2 is already here ↓