Chapter 5 The Blonde Woman

The note stayed in my hand as I sat frozen on my bed.

"Stop looking. Or you'll end up like her."

The words echoed in my mind like thunder in a cave. My fingers shook. The paper smelled of cigarettes and something else maybe perfume. Sweet but sickening.

Someone knew I had Evelyn's diary. Someone had been in the house.

The sun wasn't up yet. The house was dark and quiet. But I wasn't alone. Not anymore.

I made myself move. I put the note in the back of the diary and hid both under my mattress. Then I got dressed, pulled my hoodie on, and walked quietly out of my room. I didn't want Caleb to hear me. I didn't want him to ask where I was going.

Because I didn't know what I'd say.

Outside, the morning air was cold. Fog hung low over the yard. The trees looked like watching shadows in the gray light. My car sat in the driveway, wet with dew.

I drove to town with my heart beating fast. Every car that passed made me jump. Every turn in the road felt like a trap.

I didn't stop until I got to the public library. It was small and old, with bricks the color of dried blood. I parked and waited in the car until the librarian opened the doors.

I was the first one in.

Inside, the library was warm and quiet. It smelled like paper and old wood. I walked to the far corner where the public computers were. No one was around.

Taking a deep breath, I sat down and plugged in the USB.

It took a moment to load.

Then, many folders appeared. They had dates. Some from two years ago. I clicked one.

Videos.

Lots of them.

I opened the first one.

It was Evelyn. Sitting on their bed, crying. Her voice shaking, whispering to the camera.

"I'm scared. I think he's watching me. I found a hidden camera in the bathroom. I don't know what to do. I can't trust anyone."

My throat felt tight.

She had been recording herself. Leaving proof. Just in case.

The next video was darker. Bad lighting. She was outside, whispering again.

"He hit the dog. Just because it barked. He said if I ever left, he'd burn everything down."

Another click. Another video.

This one was different.

It wasn't Evelyn recording. It was someone else. A phone camera. Hidden. I saw the kitchen. Caleb was standing with a woman Meredith.

They were very close.

"I thought you said you'd get rid of her," Meredith said in a low voice.

"I will," Caleb said coldly. "She's already upset. One little push and she'll break. People will believe anything if it looks like suicide."

My blood went cold.

He had planned it. All of it.

Another video. Meredith again.

"You promised we'd be together. After she's gone."

A pause. Caleb's face hard.

"She's just in the way. Once she's gone, we start over. Clean."

I couldn't breathe.

There was no doubt anymore.

He had killed her.

And I had married him.

Suddenly, a shadow moved behind me in the screen's reflection.

I turned around fast.

No one was there.

But I felt it. Like eyes were watching me from somewhere behind the shelves.

I copied all the videos to a second USB. Just in case. Then I took the first one and pushed it deep into my pocket.

When I left the library, the sky was brighter, but the sun felt far away. The world looked the same, but everything had changed.

Evelyn hadn't been weak.

She had been hunted.

And now... I was next.

I drove home slowly, checking the mirror every few seconds. A black car followed me for a while. My hands got sweaty on the wheel. But it turned away before I reached the house.

I parked and sat in the car, breathing deeply. I had to act normal. I had to pretend nothing had changed.

But I couldn't forget those videos. I couldn't forget Evelyn's voice. And I couldn't forget Caleb's cold face.

Inside, the house was quiet. Caleb wasn't in the kitchen. I walked slowly to the living room.

He was there. Sitting in Evelyn's old chair. Staring at the fire.

He didn't look at me when he spoke.

"You went out early."

I nodded. "Had trouble sleeping."

He finally turned to look at me. His eyes were sharp and dark.

"You weren't at the store."

I froze.

How did he know?

"I stopped by the library."

He smiled. But not with his eyes.

"What are you looking for in the library, Riley?"

I shrugged. "Just books. Something to read."

He stood up slowly. Walked over to me. Too close.

"You know, Evelyn used to go to the library a lot too. Said it helped her feel less trapped."

I swallowed hard. "Trapped?"

He leaned in.

"I think she was hiding something. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

I shook my head.

He smiled again. "Good."

Then he walked past me and out the front door.

The second he was gone, I ran upstairs. I grabbed the diary. The USBs. I had to hide them somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

I put them in my backpack and zipped it shut.

I would take them to the police. Not yet. But soon.

I needed to be sure.

That night, I stayed in Ash's room. I told him I was scared of being alone. He didn't ask why.

We played cards on the floor until he fell asleep.

I watched him breathe softly, his face peaceful.

And I made a promise to Evelyn.

I would not let him grow up thinking monsters were normal.

I would get us out.

I would get justice.

But then, just before I fell asleep, my phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

"You think you've seen everything? You don't know what she was hiding."

Attached... was a photo.

Of Evelyn.

Holding hands with a man I didn't recognize.

In a hotel room.

Smiling.