Contents
Chapter Forty-Five
Overview
Holland and Adam hide in a coffin as Gabe arrives on Stage 10 with a tour guide and unlocks the chained book using a working key. After opening it, Gabe leaves without taking anything. Holland and Adam discover the book is a prop with blank pages and only a mundane item hidden inside, revealing the Alchemical Heart isn’t there.
Summary
Holland and Adam conceal themselves inside a coffin on Knife & Cross Stage 10 as Gabe enters with a studio tour guide. Adam holds Holland still, silently promising protection, while Gabe approaches the chained book that had resisted Holland’s key earlier.
Gabe chats up the guide, then tests the book. When he touches the chains, they glow red. He produces a key and slides it into the lock without resistance. As lights flicker, Holland’s phone rings in her purse, briefly drawing suspicion, but Gabe refocuses on the book as the chains fall away.
Gabe opens the book and stares, unmoved. Instead of seizing anything, he simply says “Huh,” and walks off with his hands in his pockets, leaving the guide confused. Adam restrains Holland until Gabe is gone.
Holland and Adam emerge to inspect the open volume. They find it is a fake prop: blank pages with a cutout in the center hiding only an ordinary object. The Alchemical Heart is not here, and Gabe’s working key and swift departure suggest he either expected this decoy or learned nothing useful from it.
Who Appears
- HollandProtagonist; hides in a coffin with Adam, witnesses Gabe unlock the chained book, discovers it is a fake.
- AdamAlly protecting Holland; stays hidden, observes Gabe, and helps confirm the book is only a prop.
- GabeAntagonist; arrives with a tour guide, uses a working key to remove Bank chains, opens the book, leaves empty-handed.
- Tour guideVX3 studio guide accompanying Gabe; offers chatter, watches him open the chained book, confused by the outcome.