I'm not the only one in my reflection.

Part thirty

But Oliver's niece seemed to have completely forgotten about spiders, cobwebs, and dirt in general. She was too focused on the display cases in front of the stage.

Gripping the lapels of Carpenter's jacket with her fingers, the girl approached a display case that she could see belonged to her father.

Katherine saw her father's blood-stained knife and small stacks of handwritten papers. Her mouth fell open, and her throat tightened when she saw a time-worn piece of paper lying aside from the rest of the items. On the paper, although not in great detail, was a sketch of Leslie Macher. And she wasn't alone. In her arms, she was cradling a baby wrapped in a baby blanket like a cocoon.

The dark-haired woman reached out to touch the glass, but pulled her hand back as she took a closer look at the two pieces of paper that were lying next to Roman's drawing. These were torn pages from Gale's latest book.

On the first page, which was to the left of the drawing, there was text describing Katherine Murphy as a character in the book.

The second page was dedicated to her conversation with Leslie, where she confessed that Bridger was her father and that he had always wanted a child, a daughter. She began to suspect that this display case was primarily intended as a gathering place for items related to the Ghostface of 2000, but it had become a display case for her strange...

Family.

Leslie had mentioned that Roman had dreamed of having a daughter. However, he never found out about her pregnancy until his death.

— Did you notice something special? — Gale joined the two girls. — They collected everything they could find related to your father, even his knife, but not his voice changer. Of course, in 2000, he made us nervous by manipulating different voices.

— Sidney told me, yes, I remember. Roman, it was probably him, even called Sidney once and started talking to her in Stu's voice. The question is, where did Stu's voice come from, considering that he was already dead at that point.

— This question will remain unanswered. — The woman spoke and hurried to the side of another display case, towards Tara and Chad.

— Can I hug you? — The older girl asked the younger one in a whining voice, resting her chin on her shoulder.

— We need to talk, get away from everyone. But yes, you can hug me. — Macher replied with a chuckle, turning to face her beloved. She gently took her by the hand and led her away, into the shadows, away
from the rest of the people.

— I want to say right away. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I said it like I didn't trust you. You're one of the few people I completely trust, I promise.

— You should also forgive me. You know, for acting like a stupid superhero and basically sacrificing myself by surviving in the end. — The former redhead muttered, wrapping her arms around Samantha's waist and pulling her close. She purred as the taller girl wrapped her arms around her shoulders and snuggled up to her.

Leaning forward, Sam rested her forehead against the brunette's and took a deep breath, finally feeling her beloved girl in her arms again.

When Billy's daughter attempted to kiss her, Roman's daughter chuckled and pulled away, pressing the tip of her index finger against the beloved's nose, moving her face away.

— I think I have alcohol breath, despite the gum I had.

— But I want to kiss you.

Stu's niece quickly kissed Carpenter on the cheek and grinned when she saw her pouting lips.

— I'm sorry, I'll rinse my mouth and then I'll kiss you, how's that?

— That sounds perfect. — Samantha smiled and hugged Katherine again, this time placing her hands on the older girl's lower back. In response, Katherine tried to hug Samantha as tightly as she could. She wrapped her left arm around the older girl's back and kept it on her side, while her right arm was bent at the elbow and placed on Samantha's left shoulder, also wrapped around her back.

From the outside, it probably looked like a grab. But no, it was just a tight embrace between two people in love.

— Oh, right, Detective Bailey didn't have a chance to tell you yet, but he told us. Remember when your uncle said his neighbor was murdered? They found something that belongs to you at the scene. The pendant that Amber gave you. How long has it been since you checked to see if the pendant was still there?

— The pendant? I haven't checked it for a while, I didn't need to. — Macher replied, pulling away from Sam to get a better look at her expression and eyes.

— Ghostface tried to frame me by stealing my driver's license and leaving it at the scene of Greg and Jason's murder, then he killed my former therapist and stole my case. And now he's targeting you. — Carpenter said, pulling her lover closer.