Laura's POV

Game on? What was that supposed to mean? I felt my heart race extremely fast and fear washed over me as I gripped my chest tight, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat.

I gulped a lump down my throat as tears pricked from the corner of my eyes. I bit my lower lip to hold back my tears as I stared at the red-written words. I wanted to pick up the paper, but I was afraid of ruining the evidence, so I left everything just as it was.

I fetched my phone out of my pocket and tried to dial 911's number, but my phone slipped out of my sweaty palms. I watched my phone fall flat onto the hard floor, causing the screen to shatter. I was about to bend low to pick it up when I suddenly heard shuffling noises come from the stairs.

I snapped my head up to gaze at the direction of the stairs and I gasped loudly in shock as I saw a familiar shadow run up the stairs. It was the same mysterious lady dressed in the bridal dress. It suddenly clicked to me that there was only one way to discover whether I was hallucinating or not. I needed to find out who the mysterious lady was and why she had a veil covering her face.

I abandoned my phone and began to rush towards the staircase. I could hear her footsteps growing faster as I slowly approached her. I have to admit, she was fast. I caught her rushing into Alice's room. I followed her from behind, but I was too late to catch her. Before I could grab her, she jumped right through the window.

If I could not catch her, I knew the police could. I rushed back downstairs and dialed 911, explaining the entire situation to them. I contemplated whether or not, to call Kendrick or to call him. I ended up settling with the latter because I knew it would be harder if someone else told him.

Kendrick arrived on time before the police officers. He rushed into the house and I watched his face drop at the horrific sight of his mother. Kendrick slumped to the floor in defeat and choked out a bitter cry. "Mother."

"Kendrick, I am so sorry this had to happen," I said immediately, pulling him into my arms. I wanted to mention the mysterious bride to him, but I had a feeling that would only worsen his mood, so instead I gave my full statement to the police, then they could tell Kendrick about it, but I would not want to be the one to bring it up.

"Wh-o d-id this to m-y mo-ther?" Kendrick choked out a bitter cry. My hands reached for his shoulder, I squeezed them tight, and I began to mutter soothing words to him. We watched the police officers take Alice's lifeless body from the house. They told us to leave the house so they could perform further investigations.

I drove Kendrick back to the Alberto mansion and decided to spend time with him before leaving because I knew it would hurt him if he was left alone.

Kendrick and Alice were close to each other. Alice adored Kendrick and that was why I understood why she never really liked me. It was because she wanted nothing but the best for her son.

I just do not get why someone would have killed my mother and left such a note like that? "Why would anyone do such a heartless thing to her?" Kendrick said. He shook his head in curiosity. I sighed heavily and caressed his hair gently.

Some people just do the most heartless things without having a reason to back them up. "That is why psychopaths exist." I whispered softly into his ears, but Kendrick shook his head in disagreement at my response. "No, it seemed exactly like this person had a target, I mean the note said game on which probably meant that the person was only getting started." Kendrick said.

I sighed heavily, knowing fully well that Kendrick was right. That mysterious bride was only getting started, and I had a feeling that I was her target since she was only appearing to just me and no one else. It made me afraid, from appearing at my house with a knife, to stalking me and then going as far as killing Alice. All of that was beginning to look really serious.

"What are you thinking about?" Kendrick's soft voice interrupted my thoughts. I sighed heavily for the umpteenth time and shook my head in disagreement. "Nothing at all, just random thoughts," I muttered.

"Or wait a second, did you by any chance see anybody lurking around the house? Just a glimpse? "Anything at all or was it just you?" Kendrick threw questions at me as he sat upright in curiosity.

I wanted to mention the mysterious bride. I badly wanted to, but I was unsure of Kendrick's reaction. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a serious fight with him, especially in a time like this.

"No, it was just me." I lied with a straight face.

Kendrick groaned in frustration and went back to brooding.

A few days later, Kendrick's family invited both of us to a family dinner. All of his family members were present, including his brother, Bruno. Bruno and Kendrick never really got along well, but for today, they were not on each other's necks. Maybe because the discussion was on the preparations for Alice's burial.

While we were preparing for Alice's burial, there was something else I would like to discuss. "Something important," Francis Alberto, Kendrick's father, said in a serious tone.

We do not have the luxury of time for that. Investigations are around the corner. "I need to see Detective Brooks to discuss some important stuff," Kendrick said.

Detective Brooks was Kendrick's best friend and also the detective handling Alice's case.

"It is about the wedding," Francis said, casting a glance at me.

I sat upright, and I felt anxiety wash over me as Francis' face went blank.

"I want you both to call off the wedding”

Laura's POV

I felt my heart freeze the moment Francis made mention of calling off I and Kendrick's wedding. It was too much of a sudden decision and I felt like I had been punched in the guts. Tears pricked from the corner of my eyes and I clenched my fist tight as I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

"No." I suddenly heard Kendrick say. I turned to my right to gaze at him and gasped in shock at his bold way of rejecting his father's offer.

"Listen to me Kendrick! You should not be quick to give me a response. I know exactly why I have asked you to call off the wedding, it is just for the meantime. What I mean is that the wedding should be placed on a hold while we make preparations towards your mother's burial." Francis explained.

Now, he just had a valid point. It would be such a hassle to plan both a wedding and a burial.

"My wedding with Laura will be held regardless. The burial will also be planned well. I do not see why the burial should be a barrier to stopping my wedding. Not even mum would want that." Kendrick said in a serious tone. His face was expressionless and I had a big feeling he was trying so hard to hold himself from breaking down into tears. Kendrick loved to act weak but deep down inside of him, he was just a weak baby when it came to anything that had to do with his mother.

"Stop acting selfish Kendrick. This has nothing to do with just you. Can you not be considerate for once and sacrifice something for the whole family?" Bruno, Kendrick's brother snapped at him. He rose to his feet and walked out of the room with an angry look on his face. I had a feeling his anger was more than just about calling off the wedding.

"Look, I do not care about whatever it is that you guys have planned. I and Laura will get married no matter what." With that, Kendrick rose to his feet and dashed out of the house as well.

I nodded my head in agreement. "I am sorry father but the wedding has to be held." I apologized. I rose to my feet and began to walk out of the house. I got into the large compound where Kendrick's car was parked, he was sitting comfortably with his head bent low. I felt pity for him as I slowly approached him.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab me by the wrist and pulled me backward. I turned around to gaze at the culprit, it was Bruno. He sighed heavily and arched a brow at me. "Can I talk to you for a brief moment?" He asked.

I nodded my head in agreement and followed Bruno to the small garden at the back of the house.

"Look Bruno..." I started because I had a hint he wanted to talk about calling the wedding and that was the last thing I wanted. Calling off the wedding felt like I was losing, I just could not explain why I felt that way.

"I know you want us to call off the wedding for the sake of your mother." I continued but Bruno interrupted me immediately. "No Laura, this has nothing to do with the wedding or anything of such. I have something much more important to discuss with you." Bruno said with a serious look on his face.

If it was not about the wedding then what could it possibly be about?

"Sure, go ahead and tell me about it. What is going on?" I asked, my brows furrowed at Bruno in curiosity. I noticed how his entire body fidgeted, his eyes kept darting towards different directions as if he was afraid.

"Bruno, are you okay?" I had to ask.

"I can not talk about it here Laura. Let's meet at the coffee shop a few walks away from our house. Meet me there by five and we can discuss everything." Bruno ranted.

I knew Kendrick would be mad if he heard that Bruno was inviting me out without his knowledge. "Bruno, I-I..." I tried to explain to him but he cut me off in a haste.."It is something important Laura, see you there by five." Without waiting for my response, Bruno scurried back into the house.

My curiosity got the best of me. Once it was five, I headed straight to the coffee shop to hear what Bruno had to say but surprisingly for me, two hours had passed and Bruno had not yet arrived. I was getting impatient and I had called his number several times but it kept going to voicemail.

Just as I was about to leave angrily, I got a call from Kendrick.

"Uhm hey Laura, where are you right now? I am currently freaking out! I am at the hospital! I got a call that Bruno got involved in a serious car accident." Kendrick blurted out.

My phone slipped out of my palms for a brief moment as I slowly began to process everything. Bruno? Accident? It was almost like someone was trying to stop him from telling me something important.

Without wasting any more time, I asked Kendrick to text me the address of the hospital and I boarded a taxi there right away..

I arrived at the hospital and met Bruno lying helplessly on one of the hospital stretchers while the doctors around tried to search for a free room. I stood beside Kendrick and squeezed his hands tight as we both stared at Bruno, his entire body was covered in wounds and it looked like he was bleeding everywhere.

I felt my heart shatter in pieces as Bruno slowly began to mumble faint words.

"Do not worry Bruno, you will be fine." Kendrick said in a reassuring tone.

"S-he...sh-e..." Bruno stuttered.

"Who?" I raised a brow at Bruno.

I watched him gasp for breath.

"I-I sa-w a-a bri-de an-d I-I tri-ed no-t to hi-t he-r.."

Those were Bruno's last words before I watched him shut his eyes close and accept defeat.

“He saw the mysterious Bride?!”

Kendrick's POV

I watched my brother struggle to catch his breath right before passing out. His words were strange yet familiar. That was because Laura had said almost the exact same thing, I sneaked a glance at her and surprisingly she already had her eyes fixated on me.

I had a feeling we were on the same page, but we struggled putting our thoughts into words. I cleared my throat and just as I was about to break the tense atmosphere, the doctor rushed towards us with a serious look plastered on his face.

"We have found a free room upstairs." The doctor said to some of the nurses. They pulled the stretcher away from me and towards the stairs. I released a heavy sigh of frustration as the doctor turned to gaze at me with a small smile. "He will be fine, his results will be communicated to you soon."

I rose to my feet and slowly began to walk towards the lobby. I needed to clear my head first, everything was happening so fast right now. First my mother, and now Bruno, I rubbed my forehead in frustration as I thought of who the next culprit would be. Laura?

I turned to gaze at Laura, she sat beside me in the lobby and her hands reached for mine to squeeze it tight. "Bruno will be fine." She slowly whispered but I knew deep down, she was afraid. I could sense fear in her tone.

"Who is this mysterious bride?" I asked with a raised brow. It sounded stupid at first when Laura had mentioned it to me but now that Bruno had also mentioned it, I was beginning to feel like the stupid one for not believing Laura in the first place. Maybe if I had, just maybe if I had then none of this would have happened to my mother and Bruno.

"Kendrick..." Laura started in a soft tone. I shook my head at her, dismissing whatever kind of words she wanted to say to me. That was the last thing I needed right now. What I needed was action, I was going to take action and catch the mysterious bride myself.

"Tell me Laura, I need to know. What does she look like? What does she hold? Has she ever stated her motives?" I threw questions at Laura, hoping she would have the answer to all.

"She wears a bridal dress and has a veil to cover what she looks like. She holds a knife with her but she has never said a single word to me so no Kendrick, I do not know her motives." Laura explained.

I sighed in exhaustion. I just found it extremely hard to comprehend why this so-called mysterious bride would make my loved ones her target. Who could she possibly be and what could she possibly want?

"I have to find her." I said with a newfound determination. I heard Laura sigh heavily and she nodded her head in agreement at me. "We will find her but I need to talk to you about something else." She said,

I adjusted my posture on the chair and gazed at her with curiosity. Perhaps she had a clue about the mysterious bride's whereabouts? Had something suddenly clicked to her? "What is it? Talk to me Laura." I urged her.

Laura shook her head in disagreement. "No Kendrick, it has absolutely nothing to do with the mysterious bride." Laura said. I felt disappointment wash over me. What was so important to her right now? We had a psychotic bride on the loose and she was concerned about something other than that?

"Look, can we talk about it later then? I need to focus on catching that bride." I said through gritted teeth. I rose to my feet, about to make a phone call to someone when Laura suddenly said. "Our wedding." She blurted out.

I muttered a cuss under my breath as I gazed at Laura. Damn it! I had forgotten basically everything that had to do with our wedding. I felt guilty, I was unsure of how to apologize to her.

"Let us place it on a hold." Laura said. My eyes widened in surprise at her decision. I mean deep down, I knew it was the right decision but it still felt unfair that our wedding would be placed on a hold, just because of some psychotic bride.

"Laura, are you angry at me?" I paused to run a hand through my hair in frustration. "Look, we can reason things differently. We can set out budgets right, there is still time for us to have a proper planning of it." I said in a haste.

Laura shook her head in disagreement, l caught a drop of tears falling from her eyes and it made me feel even worse.

"No, I think it is best we focus more on the mysterious bride. After all of this, we can possibly discuss our wedding plans." Laura said.

I sighed in defeat, she had made up her mind already and there was no persuasion from me that could possibly stop her from going with her mind.

I nodded my head slowly. "Are you okay with that?" Of course, I knew she was not okay but I still needed to ask because that was the right thing to do. Laura forced a smile on her face and nodded her head in agreement. "I will be fine." She said in a low tone, barely above a whisper.

I excused myself to a corner and I released a heavy sigh. Everything going on right now was so unbearable for me. It was slowly driving me insane, it felt like I was losing everything slowly.

Without wasting any more time, I dialed Detective Brooks' number and he answered on the first ring.

"What's up man? I heard about Bruno. Are you good?" Detective Brooks asked.

I sighed heavily and rubbed my forehead in frustration. "Brooks, I need your help."

"You know I would always gladly be of help." Detective Brooks said.

"I want to catch the mysterious bride.”