MARK'S FINAL MOVE
The detective office was quiet, only the soft rustling of papers and the occasional sigh breaking the silence.
Then, the door swung open.
Mark Alberton stepped in.
Rose, Darmian, and Madison looked up.
For the first time in a week, Mark was smiling.
But it wasn't a warm smile.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It was the smile of a man who had already won.
He strolled forward, his hands in his pockets, his expression relaxed.
"You know," Mark started, "I've been watching you all."
"Rose, drowning in sorrow. Darmian and Madison, trying to keep things together. The whole country believing that Grim Reaper won."
He chuckled.
"And now, it's time to end this story properly."
With a single motion, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at all three of them.
"This is checkmate."
Rose, Darmian, and Madison froze.
"Mark…?" Darmian muttered, confusion and anger mixing in his voice.
"You're… the Grim Reaper?" Madison's voice shook slightly.
Mark sighed, shaking his head. "Took you long enough. And here I thought you guys were sharp detectives."
Rose, still clutching Alexander's diary tightly, whispered, "Why?"
Mark grinned.
"Because it was fun."
He paced the room, his gun still pointed at them.
"I've been playing this game for years. A cop by day, a criminal by night. It was perfect."
He stopped, looking at Rose.
"The world needed chaos. And I was the one to deliver it."
Darmian clenched his fists. "So all those murders… all those crimes… it was you?"
Mark nodded.
"Every single one."
"The British Museum heist? That was me, sending a message."
"Birmingham's downfall? My doing."
"The bomb in Cambridge? Just a test run."
He laughed.
"And of course, I killed Alexander Bluestone myself."
Rose flinched. Madison's eyes darkened. Darmian's rage grew.
Mark tilted his head, smirking.
"You want to know how I did it?"
"Simple. I shot him. Point-blank. And then? He fell. Right from the rooftop."
His grin widened.
"The great detective, the so-called 'devil'—gone, just like that."
He sighed dramatically.
"Honestly, I thought he'd put up more of a fight. But even he couldn't escape death."
Madison growled. "You're a monster."
Mark laughed.
"A monster? No, no, no. I'm a genius. A survivor. A winner."
He raised his gun again.
"And now, I'm going to finish this."
"Once you're all gone, there will be no one left to hunt me down. The Grim Reaper will truly be unstoppable."
His laughter echoed through the office.
Cold. Merciless. Triumphant.
The end was here.
But then—
BANG!
The gates swung open.
And a shadow stepped in.
Mark's laughter died.
Madison and Darmian's eyes widened in disbelief.
And Rose—her heart stopped.
Because standing at the entrance, bathed in the dim office light—was him.
The man they all thought was dead.
The man who had fallen.
The man who had been mourned.
Alexander Bluestone.
He smirked, tilting his head slightly.
"My, my… you really thought the devil would be gone so easily, Mr. Alberton?"
TO BE CONTINUED…