I didn't get much sleep that night; not after everything that happened. I couldn't possibly sleep with all the information that swam around in my head. Zoey, who I believed dead was alive and well. So well in fact that she snuck her way into the security room to warn me. Her warning weighed heavily on my mind, perhaps even fueling my insomnia.

The partnership of Melanie and Nicholas wasn't something I ever imagined. They were polar opposites. But, despite that, it was rather ingenious.

If they'd been working together since the beginning, then several pieces fit into place. Melanie spared no expense to make herself public enemy number one, keeping everyone's attention on her. Meanwhile, Nicholas kept to himself and worked his magic from the shadows; taking us out one by one.

The bastard was going to pay, that I swore. From the very beginning, Nicholas pulled our strings like we were fucking puppets. All those fake smiles and words of encouragement. It meant nothing to him.

The fire within me roared the more I thought about it.

All that time I spent in Serendipity, interacting and engaging with the other players; how could I not see Nicholas' true nature? It made sense that Zoey spotted it when I considered her profession and cybernetics.

No matter what, I planned to end everything.

I got out of bed and freshened up before I headed to Henrika's room. She was the first person I had to warn about the situation. Luckily, Klara was there as well, which saved me a lot of time explaining.

"Didn't expect you to be here this early," I commented.

"I spent most of the night looking over the letters," Klara removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. The bags under her eyes probably equaled up to mine. "Henrika forced me to stay here overnight,"

"I never had a sleepover before," Henrika happily commented as she fixed up her hair. 

"Nice to know you're taking this seriously," Klara walked over to the desk where the gathered letters resided. "I've got some good news about the letters. I found out who the forger is--"

"It's Nicholas," I interrupted. The women stopped what they were doing and looked at me, their eyes laser focus. "Am I right?"

"You are," Klara nodded and put her glasses back on. "But, how did you come to that conclusion?"

Suspicion practically leaked from their bodies the longer they stared at me. I held nothing back and told them everything that happened to me the other night. However, I didn't use my words. 

Instead, I wrote down the essential details on sheets of paper and showed it to them. Hours passed since my conversation with Zoey. There was no telling if she was still in the security room or not. I didn't want to blow her entire operation unintentionally.

When I finished, silence overwhelmed the room. 

"Well...there's a lot to unpack here," Henrika broke the silence and took a seat on the bed.

"That's an understatement," Klara added. "If what you say is true, then we've been at a disadvantage the whole time."

"Are you doubting me?" I questioned her. 

"I have every right to," She countered.

"Don't take it personally, Ambrose. It's a lot to take in on such short notice," Henrika came to Klara's defense. "I mean with Nicholas and the other thing..."

"Regardless if you believe me about the other things, the fact remains that Melanie and Nicholas are the enemies."

Henrika and Klara exchanged glances. I don't know what went through their minds,  but a simultaneous nod of their heads assured me that we were on the same page.

"Okay, how should we deal with this?" Henrika wondered.

"Confront them," answered Klara, "Let them know that we're onto their charade."

 "I like that plan," I agreed with her. That was the majority of my plan down to the letter.

"Sure, I'm fine with confrontation. But, what will that solve in the end?" Henrika asked. "We'll still be trapped here until...you know what? Follow me,"

The woman got up and led us out of the room. We followed her to the next location, the women's restroom. While uncomfortable, I figured out her plan the moment I got dragged inside. 

There weren't any cameras in the restrooms. Everyone confirmed that back when we found Elena's corpse. Vivid images of the trails of blood rushed back into my head all at once. 

"Why are we in the women's restroom?" I complained.

"Because there aren't any cameras here," Henrika answered. "Now we can talk freely."

"Yeah, I got that. But, why the women's restroom?" 

"What? You're not feeling uncomfortable here, are you?"

"A little,"

"Grow up. Besides, it's a lot cleaner in here than it is in the men's restroom." Henrika spoke with high confidence as if she'd taken a stroll in there before.

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"You say that, yet I'm sure no one's died in the men's restroom here." I countered. A touchy subject. One that angered me to bring up. No one had wholly healed from Elena's murder in the restroom.

"Can we move on?" Klara demanded.

"Right, as I was saying earlier, even if we confront Nicholas and Melanie about their partnership, nothing changes. We'll still be trapped here until Zoey, and her team comes to extract us."

"There's also the problem that they might fail, which could get us all killed. And in the event the team succeeds, the chances of us getting our money are practically zero."

Silence overwhelmed the room again. That possibility, I didn't even consider it. Zoey worked for the government. It was her mission to infiltrate and take down the organization that hosted the games. We became willing participants in the illegal event.

Therefore, there lied the possibility that we'd find ourselves in jail cells — the mere thought of all my efforts going to waste caused an enormous amount of rage to swell inside me. I didn't come all the way to Serendipity to leave with nothing and rot away in prison for God knew how long.

It wouldn't go down like that. I wouldn't allow it.

Henrika wanted to buy time until the evacuation team came to rescue us. Well, I wanted to make sure I had my money before that happened.

"Then let's end the games today," I suddenly announced. Their eyes of confusion and curiosity focused on me when I continued, "We confront them and make the biggest gamble, an all in duel that'll end everything."

Perhaps the craziest idea, but the most efficient that I could muster at the time. If we ended the game ahead of schedule and escaped Serendipity before Zoey's team arrived, then perhaps we'd all leave with our money and move on with our lives. That was the hope.

"What do you mean by all in?" Henrika questioned me. Her tone was full of concern. I couldn't blame her. The more time I had to think about it, the more idiotic the plan sounded to me. But, it was the best option.

"Exactly as it sounds," I raised my arm and lifted my sleeve, showing them my game bracelet. "I'll challenge Nicholas to a game with all of our points on the line. Once I win--"

"Stop," Klara commanded. A fierce glint appeared in her eyes as she confronted me about the plan. "This is suicidal, and you know it."

"It's the best option we've got,"

"No, it isn't," Henrika came to Klara's defense. "Your plan's full of desperation. If you want to gamble with your life, keep us out of it."

"Don't you want the money anymore?" I asked. She wasn't wrong about my desperation, but I didn't see any other way to leave Serendipity with the money. 

"Not really," Henrika shook her head. "I'd rather survive and escape than risk my life for money. I've learned my lesson. It seems that you haven't."

"I'm fine with either outcome as long as I live. But, I won't let you use my life as a bargaining chip for your selfish ambitions." Klara pointed at me. "You want to challenge Nicholas? Go ahead. But, offer your own life,"

"Then that's what I'll do," I accepted their terms without hesitation. Henrika's eyes widened for a moment, while Klara's narrowed. "I haven't forgotten why I came here in the first place. All we've been through, it can't end like this. Those fuckers toyed with us from the very beginning and got good people killed."

I promised the old man I'd get the money to save the bar. It was within my grasp that much I could tell. I wouldn't let it escape when it was so close.

"That's just an excuse," Klara called me out. Nothing got past that woman and her sharp sense of intuition. "Sure, you're rattled about the deaths. But, in the end, it's all about the money."

Looks of pure disappointment locked onto me. But, I didn't care. None of them understood how I felt. They thought I enjoyed doing the things I did? Not by a longshot. 

I never aspired to be someone driven by their need for money. But, life never worked the way most people wanted. Those were the cards dealt to me. I merely played them any way I could.

"So what if it is? It doesn't change that Melanie and Nicholas need to go down. And if you're not with me, then stay out of my way." I turned my back to them and left the room without another word. I had nothing else to say to them. Nothing I'd say would convince them to take my side on the matter.

I was alone again. That's how it was when I came into Serendipity, and I didn't mind if it all ended that way. 

I wandered around Serendipity until I found the object of my wrath. Nicholas and Salomon sat comfortably at one of the tables in the mess hall. I approached the couple and grabbed Nicholas by the collar of his shirt. Without warning, I pinned him to the wall.

"Ambrose?! What is the meaning of this?!" Nicholas exclaimed. Even with the shades concealing his eyes, I could tell the bastard wasn't frightened at all. How could I not see the fucker for who he was the entire time?

"What's going on?" Salomon got up from the table and put his hand on my shoulder. When I felt him add some force to his grip, I snapped at him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I shouted. The moment he backed off, I looked back at Nicholas. "You mother fucker, this whole time, you've been playing us like fucking fiddles!"

"What are you talking about? I do not understand," Nicholas said, feigning ignorance. 

"Don't play damn with me! Frederick, Elena, Iris, Wyatt, and Darius, you got them all killed! You had a hand in their deaths!"

"That's a bold accusation," Salomon called me out. It made me wonder if he was in on the whole thing as well. It was hard to tell. The old man did not move to stop me.

"It's the truth! Nicholas here is a hypnotherapist! He's been manipulating us from the shadows, killing us off one by one!"

"That is ridiculous," Nicholas objected to my accusation. "I would never do such a thing! I had nothing against the people that died!"

"That's why it must've been so easy for you to kill them, especially since you teamed up with Melanie to help you." I decided to plant a seed of doubt in the man's mind. Sure, I had more than enough evidence to prove his guilty conscience, but I couldn't show it since it would reveal Zoey in the process. I had to gamble everything on that single, half-baked plan of mine. "I confronted her in the infirmary after our game. Tortured her until she spilled the beans about your partnership."

"W-What are you...this is nonsense. I never--"

"If it's nonsense, then how do I know that you and Melanie met in your room after you hypnotized Darius? Or that you hypnotized Wyatt into slitting Iris' wrist? Or that you stole sedatives from your game with Wyatt and used those to drug Zoey? Or that you're supposed to be dead, death row inmate, Nicholas Damon?" I continued to bombard him with questions. The moment I stopped, all was silent.

That was until Nicholas chuckled. He relaxed his body; his laughter turned wild. My irritation reached its limit. I raised my fist and punched the wall inches from his face.

Nicholas didn't flinch. He removed his shades, revealing his sharp, green eyes. 

"Well, I guess there is no point in hiding it anymore, is there?" The bastard tossed his shades aside. "People always told me that my eyes always gave away my intentions. I thought it was rubbish at first, but then I felt inclined to believe them. So, tell me, Ambrose, how did you come across all that information?"

"You're not going to deny my accusations? Come up with some excuse like before?" I asked. I expected him to try and talk his way out of the situation.

"No point," Nicholas shook his head and smiled. It was one deprived of any guilt or remorse. "Even though I doubt you could physically prove your accusations, the fact that they hit too close to home truly intrigues me. You know far too much than you should."

"Yeah, you could say that."

"What have you done?" Salomon dropped his cigar on the ground and crushed it underneath his foot. He grinded it into the floor and glared at Nicholas.

"Salomon, old friend, you and Ambrose might as well take a seat. I feel like we may be here for a while," Nicholas walked back over to his table and pulled up a chair, gesturing for us to do the same. The calmness of his voice and the arrogance of his movements only proved to incite me even more. "You want answers? Very well, I shall happily oblige until I lose interest."