This document is Chapter 33 of Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton, titled “The Manipulator,” in which Addie watches a news broadcast revealing the torture and murder of four government officials — including Mark Seinburg — carried out by Zade and a psychotic girl from Satan’s Affair. Overwhelmed by fear and the realization that Zade’s high-profile killings could put her life in danger, Addie resolves to end things with him for good, but before she can call the police, Zade appears inside her house and confronts her. A tense, physically charged confrontation unfolds as Addie tries to resist him — stomping on his foot, kneeing him, and fleeing barefoot into the rainy woods — but Zade catches her every time. Pinning her to the ground, he challenges her moral objections by revealing that the murdered men were pedophiles who had already targeted her for kidnapping at Satan’s Affair, and that she remains in danger from the Society regardless of his involvement. Addie’s resolve crumbles as she recognizes that Zade has been protecting her all along, and the chapter ends with their confrontation shifting from a battle of wills into an intensely passionate encounter in the rain, with Zade daring her to prove she doesn’t need him.
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Chapter 33
The Manipulator
he light from the T.V. blares across the dark room as the news
reporter’s voice rings out.
“…The murders of the four government officials are sll under
invesgaon. The autopsy reports have been released to the public,
revealing extreme torture before the men had died.”
A mugshot of a girl is pictured on the screen. She’s a prey girl, with
plain brown hair and brown eyes. The unseling part is the look in her
eyes. A single glance is all it takes to know that she’s clearly unstable.
She was the broken doll I saw eang at the fair.
And she was in Annie’s Playhouse that night. Hiding in the walls and
watching every guest that came through. At one point, she looked at me
and probably made a decision on whether she was going to kill me or not.
I shudder, knowing how close I could’ve come to death that night.
Snatching up the remote, I click off the T.V., shaking as I throw the
remote back on the couch.
The asshole fucked me and then went and murdered a bunch of men
with a psychoc chick.
Mark fucking Seinburg is one of the men, along with three other
government officials I had met while standing in line for Annie’s Playhouse.
He had said he had business to take care of with a psycho chick, and for
some reason, him going off to murder people was the last thing I had
expected.
Stupid. That’s what he does, Addie. Murder people.
The fear and anxiety are overwhelming. I knew he killed people. Arch's
hands showing up on my doorstep was proof of that. His enre family
being wiped out…
I knew he was a murderer. He admied it. But somehow, seeing his
heinous crimes broadcasted on live television is eye-opening. He murdered
four government policians.
This isn’t just a boy playing dress-up with a mob boss’s suit and handgun.
Arch was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But this… this is big.
Did Mark deserve it? Absolutely. But I was at his house. I was someone
on his radar. And now that he’s dead, what if they come for me?
Shit. You really are an idiot, Addie.
I rest my elbows on my knees and slump my head into my hands. My
thoughts are spiraling out of control.
Who cares if it happened to be the most mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had
in my life? And probably will ever have. The dude is just as crazy as the girl
on screen.
He’s killed before, and he’s obviously going to do it again, and what if he
tries to take out the goddamn President next? Or someone else with
connecons to some very unhinged people?
I just don’t think I’m okay with that. I look up at the screen again, a news
reporter standing in front of flashing siren lights at Satan's Affair.
I’m just not okay with this. With the fear that some terrifying people are
going to come aer me because Zade keeps killing off high-profile people.
He’s a goddamn serial killer.
I need to end things with him. For good.
It doesn’t maer what he makes me feel. He’s going to put my life in
danger, over and over. And how does someone just… be okay with that?
I’m rocking in Gigi's old chair when a flash of movement outside my
window catches my eye. My heart skips several beats when I find my
shadow standing on the other side, several feet away with that damn red
cherry blaring in the night.
Fuck. He’s here.
He’s not going to listen to reason when I tell him to leave me alone. He
never did before, it won't be any different now. I need to figure out how
the hell to get him away from me permanently. Maybe I'll look into that
bodyguard Daya spoke about before.
But right now, the only thing I can do is call the police. They'll be here
quick if I lie and say I'm in serious danger, and in the meanme, I'll try to
convince him to leave.
Adrenaline and a heady mix of fear trickles into my bloodstream as I
scramble up and away from the window and look for my phone.
Looking around francally, I tear apart the living room in search of my
phone. My heart is pounding, the sound resonang in my ears as my
breath draws short and choppy.
It takes several minutes before I finally find my phone lodged beneath a
couch cushion. When I straighten and glance out the window, I finally do
freeze.
He’s gone.
Oh my fuck, where did he go?
Hands trembling, I dial in the numbers. 9-1-. I feel his presence press
into my back a moment before he plucks the phone from my hand. My
breath hitches as he clears the numbers, and the phone disappears from
view.
His breath ckles my ear as he leans in. “Were you about to call the
police on me?” he tsks. “And here I thought we were past this.”
My breath stuers. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Zade. I-I don’t
want you.”
His quiet breathing is swallowed by the news reporter droning on in the
background.
Finally, he says, “When did you become such a liar?”
Closing my eyes, I take a steadying breath. And then I li my leg and
stomp on his foot as hard as I can. He grunts, but before I can make a run
for it, his arms encircle my waist and trap me against him.
“That’s very naughty, lile mouse. And you know what happens when
you’re naughty?” A heartbeat passes before he finally growls into my ear,
“You get fucking eaten.”
Fire licks at my insides, igning my enre being from the inside out. His
words cause an elicit hunger to claw its way down from my throat, through
my stomach, and straight to the sensive spot between my legs.
But I will not give in so easily. I will not let this man connue to get inside
my head—my body.
“I’m not your fucking prey.”
“Then why do you let me consume you?” he whispers before encircling
his hand around my throat and squeezing ght. Stubble pierces my skin as
his cheek rubs down the side of my own before his mouth descends on my
neck. A sharp nip pulls a gasp from my lips.
