Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace (Dexter) novel Chapter 259

"Dexter, she's not Phoebe..."

The last fragments of consciousness hung on Melody's tearful declaration that I wasn't Phoebe.

"Phoebe is dead."

I knew she was scared, panicking.

But why the panic? She was so confident before, so sure Dexter would marry her. Now, why the tears?

...

When I woke up again, everything was stark white. I found myself in a strangely familiar yet foreign place.

It was the Fitzgerald family mansion, the bedroom I had lived in for many years.

My vision was a bit numb. I tried to move my arm, but my body wasn't quite under my control.

"Miss Phoebe..." a familiar voice called out my name.

"Miss, dinner's ready," said Wendy, the housekeeper, calling out to me.

I sat up with a headache, looking down at the clothes I was wearing, feeling a bit out of it.

These pajamas... they were a gift from Hailey.

"Miss, the young master is back," Wendy said with a smile from outside the door.

Everything was so familiar yet so strange.

"That murderer is still at large, Dexter. You have to protect Melody."

"These are dangerous times. That murderer is so vicious, took so many lives, and is still on the loose."

Downstairs, Hank and the others were discussing the murderer, a scene that felt eerily familiar.

Melody sat on the sofa, still in her white sundress, gentle as a stream. She was the first to notice me, her eyes shifting uneasily.

I instinctively recoiled, not understanding why I trembled at the sight of them.

Though my body shook, I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't fear I was feeling.

A thought flashed through my mind - they all deserved to die.

I startled myself with the thought, numbly backing away, breathing fast and heavy.

"Phoebe?" Dexter came upstairs, looking at me anxiously. "Don't be afraid. They're just here for a get-together; join us for dinner."

Dexter's voice was unusually gentle, far from the one I remembered.