Ci-n POV ✿❀✿❀
mansion looked way less scary in daylight.
Still creepy though.
I stepped over the tape, glancing around like something was gonna jump out at me.
"Try not to touch anything," Angelo said behind us.
"No promises," I muttered.
Jay shot me a look.
I grinned.
"Relax, I'm joking."
…Mostly.
Eman walked past me like he was already ten steps ahead, scanning everything like some detective in a movie.
Show off.
I crouched near the entrance, squinting at the floor.
"Okay but like… what are we even looking for?" I asked.
"Anything we missed," Jay said.
"Wow. Very specific."
She ignored me.
Rude.
I leaned closer to the ground, brushing a bit of dust aside.
"…Wait."
I paused.
Something was there.
"Uh— guys?"
No one responded.
Typical.
"GUYS."
Footsteps.
Jay walked over. "What?"
I pointed at the floor.
"There's a mark here."
They all leaned in.
It wasn't super clear, but you could kinda see it.
Like a footprint.
Eman crossed his arms.
"That wasn't in the first report."
"Yeah, well," I said, taking out my phone, "maybe we just missed it. Which is kinda embarrassing, by the way."
Jay ignored that too. Again. Wow.
I snapped a quick picture.
The print looked like it was heading toward the exit.
Like someone left in a hurry.
Or didn't want to stay.
"Can you match it?" Angelo asked.
"Maybe," I said. "Give me a sec."
I stood up, already pulling up previous photos and reports.
Scrolling. Zooming in.
Comparing.
Then—
"…Wait."
Jay looked up. "What?"
I turned my phone toward them.
"This pattern…"
I zoomed in more.
"It matches the shoes Yuri was wearing that night."
Silence.
Eman frowned slightly.
"You're sure?"
"Pretty sure," I said. "Like… 90% sure. Which is a lot for me."
Jay stared at the footprint again.
"Yuri…"
I straightened up.
"Yeah. Yuri."
I glanced at Eman.
He didn't look convinced.
Emans POV ꧁☆꧂
Ci-N talked too much.
But he wasn't wrong often.
I stepped closer to the footprint, studying it again.
The pattern did look similar.
Close enough to raise suspicion.
But something about it felt… easy.
Too easy.
"Show me again," I said.
Ci-N handed me his phone.
I compared the images carefully.
Same general shape.
Same pattern.
But—
I looked back at the actual mark on the floor.
Then at the photo.
Then back again.
"…It's not exact," I said.
Ci-N blinked. "What?"
Jay looked at me. "What do you mean?"
I pointed at the edge of the footprint.
"The pattern lines don't fully match."
Ci-N leaned in.
"…Oh."
Angelo stepped closer.
"So it's not Yuri's?"
"I didn't say that," I replied.
I handed the phone back.
"I'm saying it's similar."
Jay frowned.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning someone could be wearing the same brand," I said.
Or—
I didn't say the rest out loud.
Someone could want it to look like Yuri.
Ci-N scratched his head.
"So either it's him… or someone wants us to think it's him."
"Exactly."
Jay looked back at the footprint.
Then toward the entrance.
Then back again.
Her expression tightened slightly.
"We're missing something," she said.
I nodded.
We were.
I just didn't know what yet.