The dim, flickering light cast eerie shadows against the cold walls of the interrogation room. The air was thick with tension, but Lucas Grey sat motionless, his hands folded on the table, watching Sheriff Ben with the patience of a predator waiting for his prey to break.
Ben sat across from him, restrained, his face bruised from the struggle in the basement. Blood had dried in the corner of his mouth, and his left arm was bandaged from the gunshot wound Emma had inflicted. But despite his disheveled state, there was no fear in his eyes. No regret.
Only exhaustion.
"You already know, don't you?" Ben said at last, his voice hoarse.
Lucas remained silent, letting him speak.
Ben exhaled, leaning back against the chair. "You think you know everything. You think you've uncovered some grand conspiracy, but the truth? The truth is darker than you realize." He let out a hollow chuckle. "And by the time I'm done talking, you're going to wish you never came to Ashwood."
Lucas tightened his jaw. "Then start talking."
Ben looked at him, eyes heavy with something unspoken. Then, with a slow nod, he began.
"The Brotherhood started long before my time," Ben said, his voice eerily calm. "Decades ago, Ashwood was nothing but a forgotten town buried under debt and failure. But then, a few men decided they weren't going to let it crumble. They took controlâquietly, efficiently. They built businesses, bought land, controlled everything from real estate to law enforcement. And they called themselves the Brotherhood."
Lucas nodded. He had already suspected as much.
"They weren't just a group of powerful men," Ben continued. "They were a family. And like any family, they had rules. Rules that were meant to be followed. You swore loyalty. You protected your own. And most importantly, you never betrayed the Brotherhood."
Lucas narrowed his eyes. "And what happened if you did?"
Ben smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "You already know, Detective."
Lucas's stomach twisted.
Every victim. Every death. They had all been connected to the Brotherhood.
"The Brotherhood handpicked its members," Ben continued. "Men they trusted. Men who would keep their secrets. Those seven boys in that old photograph? They were chosen. Groomed. They were supposed to inherit the town's legacy. But something went wrong."
Lucas's pulse quickened. "Emily Hayes."
Ben's smile faded. "Emily was never meant to be part of it. She was just a girl. But she was curious. Too curious."
Lucas clenched his fists.
"She found something she shouldn't have," Ben said quietly. "Something about her brother, Mathew Hayes. He was part of the Brotherhood, but he wanted out. He thought he could just walk away. But you don't leave the Brotherhood, Detective."
Lucas felt his breath hitch.
"The fire," he murmured.
Ben nodded. "It wasn't an accident. They set that fire to send a message. Emily died trying to protect her brother." He paused.
Lucas's mind raced.
Emily had tried to tell someone. Had tried to expose the truth.
"She was killed," Lucas said, his voice tight.
Ben's expression darkened. "She had to be silenced. The Brotherhood made sure of it."
Lucas swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "And Matthew Hayes?"
Ben chuckled darkly. "Matthew ran. He knew they'd come for him next. He's been hiding ever since."
Lucas leaned forward. "What about the others? The men you killed?"
Ben let out a slow breath. "They were traitors."
Lucas clenched his jaw. "Explain."
Ben's gaze was steady, almost indifferent. "John Carver, Samuel Harper, Aaron Moore, and Tom Marsh. They were all part of the Brotherhood. They had sworn their loyalty. But they made the mistake of thinking they could just leave. That they could walk away from everything they'd done."
Lucas's grip on the table tightened. "So you murdered them."
Ben nodded. "One by one. They thought they could outrun their past. They were wrong. Just like Emma's father."
Lucas's mind flashed back to each crime scene. The precision. The symbolism. The sheer brutality of it all.
"You didn't just kill them," Lucas said quietly. "You made them suffer."
Ben tilted his head slightly. "They deserved it."
Lucas exhaled, trying to keep his composure. "And Michael Ward?"
Ben's expression flickered with something unreadable. "Michael was different. He wasn't in that photograph because he wasn't part of the original group. He joined later. But he was weak. He hesitated when it mattered."
Lucas's chest tightened. "So you killed him, too."
Ben's lips curled into a smirk. "Loyalty is everything, Detective."
Lucas took a steady breath. "And Rachel?"
Ben's expression finally cracked.
For the first time since the interrogation started, real pain flashed across his face.
"She wasn't supposed to die," he whispered.
Lucas leaned in. "What happened?"
Ben swallowed hard. "Rachel knew about the Brotherhood. She knew about what we had done. And she begged me to walk away."
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine.
"I wanted to," Ben admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I really did. But I knew what would happen if I tried. If we both tried." His eyes darkened. "So she made the choice for me."
Lucas's throat tightened.
Rachel had taken her own life.
But it hadn't been out of weakness.
She had been trying to save him.
Ben let out a ragged breath. "After she died, I made my choice. I wasn't going to be a victim. I wasn't going to run. I was going to do what had to be done." His eyes met Lucas's. "So I cleaned up the mess."
Lucas shook his head. "By becoming a murderer."
Ben chuckled bitterly. "By finishing what the Brotherhood started."
Silence filled the room.
Lucas knew, deep down, that Ben had been as much a victim as he was a monster.
But that didn't make him any less guilty.
Lucas exhaled, leaning back in his chair.
"It's over, Ben," he said quietly. "The Brotherhood is finished."
Ben smirked. "You really think that?"
Lucas hesitated.
Ben leaned in, his voice soft but chilling. "The Brotherhood isn't just a group of men, Detective. It's this town. It's in its blood. In its history. And you... you're just another outsider who thinks he can change it."
Lucas held his gaze. "We'll see about that."
Ben's smirk didn't falter.
But as the door opened and the officers came to take him away, Lucas knew one thing for certain.
Ashwood's secrets had finally been exposed.
But the fight was far from over.