Chapter 40: Chapter 40

JAMIE

The moon cast long, spooky shadows as we stood in the forest. We were in a clearing, with the overhead branches blocking out most of the starlight. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves.

This place gave me the chills.

I grabbed my shovel, a cold, heavy metallic object that felt like a ton in my hands. The ground was hard and unyielding, and it took some effort to break through the top layer of soil.

Carmen was nearby, shining her flashlight on me, its beam highlighting the hole I was digging.

My movements were slow, each scoop of dirt revealing a new layer of earth. The surrounding area was eerily quiet, and despite wearing one of Ethan’s hoodies from the back of his car, I was freezing.

The cold seemed to penetrate my bones, a grim reminder of our task.

Ethan was digging next to me, his face a picture of concentration. Carmen was close by, her face a mask of distress.

I knew she was scared…just like I was. But we were resolved to see this through.

“It’s so cold,” Carmen said, her teeth chattering.

I nodded, unable to speak. We were all freezing, but we knew we couldn’t stop now. We had to finish what we started.

We must’ve been digging for another hour, the relentless rhythm of the shovels breaking the forest’s silence. The hole was wide and deep enough, a six-foot gap in the earth.

Ethan stopped digging, and I followed suit, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“I think that’s deep enough,” Ethan said, his voice rough from the exertion. “What do you think, Jamie?”

I looked down at the hole, the effort it took to dig it evident in my aching muscles. It was big…big enough for Brent.

I couldn’t help but think about his family. They’d start looking for him, maybe not tomorrow, but surely the day after. That would be their new reality, a never-ending search for a loved one they would never find.

“It’s big enough,” I replied, my breaths a bit ragged. “It’s getting late, we should get the body now.”

They nodded in agreement.

Carmen’s eyes were shiny with tears as she helped place Brent’s body into the hole. The whole ordeal was so distressing, and I wondered how she would ever recover from this.

We began to shovel the earth we had dug up back onto the plastic sheeting covering Brent’s body. One scoop after another, the hole started to fill in, burying Brent deeper and deeper.

“He will be buried here forever if we’re lucky,” Carmen said.

“If we don’t get caught,” Ethan added.

I let out a sigh, trying to steady my nerves. “Can we not think like that? We’re not going to get caught. We’ve got our story straight, we’ve been careful. We need to hold it together.”

“I know… You’re right,” Ethan said, nodding.

We shoveled the last of the dirt onto Brent’s grave, bringing it up to ground level. Carmen dragged some leaves across with her foot, trying to make the disturbed area blend in with the rest of the forest.

I should have felt relief that it was over, but in reality, it felt like it had only just begun. Yes, Brent’s body was buried, the scene was cleaned up, and we all agreed on our alibi.

But there was a profound sense of grief that came with something like this, a heavy weight that seemed to press down on us. There was also the constant paranoia, the fear of being caught, the nightmares that would haunt our sleep.

And then there were the lies, the constant fabrication of stories to tell everyone around us.

As terrible as burying a body was, I felt as though it was the easy part.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ethan said.

I picked up my shovel from the ground, feeling a surge of dread. My fingers brushed against an empty space on my left hand, and panic washed over me. My engagement ring was missing.

I fell to my knees and frantically searched the ground, my fingers clawing at the dirt. “My engagement ring… It’s gone,” I gasped.

Carmen’s eyes widened in shock. “When do you last remember seeing it?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” I managed to say, swallowing back the tears. “Maybe it’s at the apartment.”

I hadn’t given it much thought, considering everything that had transpired. Except when Carmen had spotted it in the apartment.

Suddenly, a chilling thought crossed my mind. What if it had slipped into Brent’s grave? What if I had accidentally dropped it while we were lowering his body?

“What if it’s with him?” I stammered. “If it’s down there, and the cops find my ring with his body…”

Ethan cut me off. “They won’t,” he assured me. “Everything will be fine. Let’s just search around here. It might’ve fallen on the way.”

I nodded, thankful for his comforting words.

Just as we were about to start our search, a dim light broke through the trees. It seemed far off, but it was definitely there, and we all saw it.

Carmen’s voice sent a chill down my spine. “Someone’s coming,” she warned.

Ethan reacted instantly as he eyed the approaching light. “We need to leave,” he declared. “We’ll get caught if we stay.”

My heart pounded in my chest. What about my ring? If we stayed, we were almost guaranteed to get caught. But if we left, I might be leaving evidence behind.

Desperation drove me to scan the ground one last time, praying I’d find it.

“We’ll come back, Jamie,” Carmen assured me, urgency lacing her voice. “But we need to leave now.”

She extended her hand, and I took it, pulling myself up from the ground, dirt sticking to my bare legs.

Ethan gave the area one last look, carefully rearranging leaves and twigs to hide the disturbed ground.

As we walked away, I glanced back, watching the light grow brighter and closer. A sense of dread washed over me, a cocktail of fear and guilt. I knew we had to leave, but the thought of leaving my ring behind was unbearable.

***

The warm water flowed over me, washing away the dirt and grime of the night’s events. Despite the comforting sensation, my mind was far from peaceful.

The night’s events replayed in my mind like a broken record.

I wondered if this was my new reality, a life plagued by secrets and the constant fear of getting caught. Could I ever move past this?

The question lingered, unanswered. As I stood under the shower, water trickling down my face, I finally let myself cry. The tears I’d been holding back all night, bottled up for the sake of the others, now flowed freely.

And that was all I did for the next twenty minutes.

I stepped out of my closet and into my bedroom, the cool air wrapping around me. My short hair, still damp from the shower, flicked against my shoulders, soaking into my T-shirt.

Looking up, I saw Carmen sitting on the edge of my bed. She was fresh out of the shower too, dressed in the pajamas I’d given her when we got back to the house. Her face was red and streaked with tears.

She’d been crying again.

“I didn’t want to be alone,” she confessed, her voice barely audible.

I nodded in understanding. “Me neither,” I replied, walking over to the bed and sitting next to her. “Are you okay?” I asked, knowing it was a pointless question, but I needed to ask anyway.

Carmen shrugged. “I don’t know what to feel right now,” she admitted. “I did what I had to do. He was drunk and out of control. He wasn’t going to stop, Jamie.”

“Alcohol was always his problem,” I agreed, recalling the stench of booze on him the last time I saw him alive. He’d been hitting the bottle hard.

“And the woman he was trying to screw behind my back for years,” Carmen added bitterly.

“We have to live with it now,” I said, glancing at her. “I don’t regret helping you. I know you would’ve done the same for me. Ethan too.”

Carmen smiled. “Of course I would,” she said, her eyes softening. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

I glanced at my bare fingers, a faint smile playing on my lips. The only ring I’d worn tonight was my engagement ring, and now it was missing. There was no trace of it ever being there, no indentation on my finger to suggest it had ever existed.

It hadn’t even been there long enough to leave a mark.

Carmen’s voice broke through my thoughts. “What are you going to tell him?” she asked.

I shrugged, my mind a whirlwind. “I don’t know,” I replied. “Maybe I’ll tell him I took it in to be resized because it was a bit loose. If I can, I’ll try to get a replacement.”

But even as the words left my lips, I knew it was a weak excuse. How long could I use the resizing excuse before he started questioning my ringless finger? It was a temporary fix.

And what if I told him I lost it? How would he react? Would he be angry?

“Jamie… Your phone is ringing,” Carmen said.

“Oh,” I responded, rising from the bed.

I moved toward the dresser, my limbs aching from the night’s events. I picked up my phone and glanced at the screen.

“It’s Mason,” I said, my heart fluttering in my chest.

But just as I was about to answer, the call ended. I guessed I took too long to reach the phone. I dialed his number to call back, but there was no answer.

I shrugged it off and returned to bed. Maybe it was a butt dial. Or maybe he was drunk and the party was still raging.

Suddenly, a noise from downstairs stopped me in my tracks. It sounded like something had fallen and shattered. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at Carmen. Her face mirrored my shock and fear.

“What was that?” Carmen whispered.

I shrugged, trying to appear calm. “Something might have fallen over. I’ll go check.”

I could easily have called the front gate or our security guard, Eric, who was likely patrolling the perimeter or stationed by the front gate. But I didn’t want to do that yet. It could be nothing, and I didn’t want to cause a scene.

I reached for my walking stick, which was leaning against the wall. I didn’t really need it, but it could serve as a makeshift weapon if necessary.

Holding the bedroom door handle, I opened it as quietly as possible. Carmen trailed behind me as we made our way down the hallway toward the stairs.

“Do you see anything?” she asked softly as we both peered into the darkness.

I shook my head, looking down. The small table lamps in the living room and the under-counter lighting in the kitchen provided some light, but it wasn’t enough to see everything clearly.

We cautiously descended the stairs, scanning the surroundings with each step. Reaching the bottom floor, Carmen grabbed an umbrella from the stand.

I looked at her, my brows furrowed. “If someone is down here, I don’t think an umbrella is going to cut it,” I whispered.

“It worked for Sidney Prescott,” she muttered. “I know what I’m doing.” She held the umbrella forward, ready to defend herself against any unseen threat.

We surveyed the living room, and it wasn’t long before we noticed a vase that had fallen from the side table and shattered.

Carmen sighed in relief. “I guess now we know what the noise was,” she said, setting her umbrella down on the couch. “I’ll grab a dustpan and brush.”

“It’s in the closet by the front door,” I replied. She nodded before walking away. I set my walking stick aside and bent down to pick up the broken glass.

As I picked up a few shards, I heard a creak from the dark hallway leading to Mason’s office and the spare bedroom and bathroom. My heart pounded in my chest.

A strange sensation washed over me, sending a shiver down my spine. Something felt off. The vase hadn’t fallen accidentally. There was no reason for it to have fallen unless someone knocked it over.

~Someone is here!!~

I picked up a larger shard of glass, gripping it tightly in my hand.

“Who’s there?” I called out, inching closer to the shadowy hallway. I wasn’t expecting an answer, but one came anyway.

A man’s silhouette emerged from the darkness, stepping into the faint glow of the living room.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my throat tightening. His face was familiar, but the unkempt look and the messy hair falling over his forehead were not. His clothes looked like they hadn’t been changed in a week, maybe more.

But his eyes—they were etched into my memory from my dreams. From the nightmares where he chased me through a forest, where he tried to kill me. Over and over, like a broken record.

My soft voice was swallowed by the eerie silence of the room. “Jack…”

Before Mason broke the news of Jack’s death, I had often pictured confronting him again. The nightmares had sparked a flame within me, a thirst for vengeance. I had fantasized about retaliating with something big and heavy, like ramming him with a car the way he had done to me years ago.

When Mason told me Jack was dead, it felt like something had been stolen from me. The revenge I thought I needed to move on. But now, seeing him, I didn’t want that. All I felt was fear.

I was rooted to the spot, unable to scream or run.

“Hi, Jamie,” he said, his voice gentle, not at all what I had anticipated.

I wasn’t sure what I had expected. Maybe the voice of a monster.

“This can’t be happening,” I murmured shakily. “Mason told me you were dead. I must be dreaming.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a circular scar on his chest. “I survived… Just like you did.”

The sound of footsteps broke the tense silence. Carmen entered the room, her gasp reverberating through the space.

“Jack…,” she breathed, dropping the dustpan and brush she was holding.

Reality finally sank in. Jack was alive, standing in my living room.

“You’ve been following me,” I accused him in a trembling voice. “I’ve seen you, but I thought my mind was playing tricks on me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, his words soft but laced with desperation. “I needed to make sure it was safe before I reached out.”

“Safe from who?” I demanded. I was ready to call security at any moment. He had to know that.

“Safe from the person who’s doing this,” he replied, sighing. As he moved closer, Carmen and I instinctively retreated, our bodies reacting to the discomfort his presence stirred. “I came here to tell you the truth. I won’t hurt you.”

“The truth?” I echoed. Was he really here to tell me the truth? Or was he planning to finish me off once and for all? The thought sent a chill down my spine.

“We shouldn’t trust him,” Carmen whispered, pulling me aside. “He’s probably here to fucking kill us. A hit and run is probably the least of what he’s capable of.” She shot a glare in Jack’s direction.

Jack turned his attention to Carmen. “You never liked me, did you, Carmen?” he said.

Carmen remained silent, her jaw set.

“I could hurt you if I wanted to, Jamie,” Jack continued, his gaze shifting to me. “I could turn you into the police for what you did tonight. Burying a body between friends wouldn’t be a short-lived prison stay. You’re looking at ten years, minimum.”

And there it was… The blackmail. He had been there tonight. I had felt like we were being watched, but I’d dismissed it as paranoia. But he was there… He saw everything.

“You’re lying,” Carmen said, her voice rising in panic. “You can’t prove anything.”

Jack reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something that made me gasp. It was my engagement ring.

“I found it in the woods after you left,” he said, looking at me. “I could take it to the police, tell them I found it in the woods. I could tell them about Brent.”

“Why would you do that?” I asked. “You know they’ll just arrest you for what you’ve done.”

Jack let out a breath. “I don’t give a damn about that. I need to make amends for what I’ve done to you… I…can’t live with this guilt. I told myself that if I could find a way to tell you the truth, that it would mean something,” he confessed.

I hesitated, my mind a battlefield of fear and curiosity. I couldn’t trust him… I didn’t want to, but I also couldn’t dismiss the chance that he might be speaking the truth.

“I’ll go to the cops. I’ll turn myself in. But first, I need you to hear me out,” Jack said.

He took a step closer, sending a shiver up my spine. Despite my fear, I found myself frozen in place. He extended his hand toward me, my engagement ring glinting on his palm.

I glanced at Carmen, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. But I took a deep breath and decided to listen. I reached out and took my ring from his hand, sliding it back onto my finger.

“Okay…,” I said. “Spill it.”

The air was heavy with tension as Carmen and I slid into the car, our hearts pounding a wild rhythm in our chests. Jack was busy diverting Eric from his post, providing us a window of opportunity.

Carmen twisted the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life. We buckled up, my body shaking in the passenger seat as we rolled out of the garage.

But just as we had exited the grounds, Jack darted in front of the car, forcing Carmen to slam on the brakes. The car jerked forward, coming to a sudden stop.

We both exchanged a glance. A part of me wanted to press down on Carmen’s foot to hit the gas, to drive forward and flatten Jack under the weight of the tires.

Now was my chance!

But I didn’t seize it. Instead, I gave Carmen the signal, and Jack hopped into the back seat. We left the grounds, leaving Eric standing in the background, his face a picture of confusion.

Darkness enveloped us as we sped toward the beach house, which was a two-hour drive from the house. An hour if we floored it. The hour was late now, but despite this, I dialed Mason’s number again. There was no answer. Just like the other times I had called him tonight.

Everything was silent. The only sound was the hum of the engine and the ticking of the clock on the dashboard. And then Jack broke the silence.

“I thought you were going to run me over,” Jack said, a note of surprise in his voice.

“I considered it,” I replied. “I guess I’m just a better person than you are.” I glanced at him in the rearview mirror. His face was ashen and his eyes were filled with remorse.

“I guess I deserved that,” Jack conceded.

I looked away, focusing on my phone. The screen was dark, still no message or call from Mason.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I murmured.

“It’s okay, Jamie,” Carmen said soothingly. “We’ll be there soon.”

We’d be there soon, but what would be waiting for us when we arrived? Possibly nothing. Or perhaps, something far worse than I could imagine.

I slipped my hand into the pocket of my trench coat, feeling the comforting weight of the handgun that I had taken from Mason’s safe. A wave of fear washed over me. The thought of actually using this gun on someone sent chills down my spine, but I wanted to protect the people I cared about. And I knew I couldn’t do that without a gun.

The anticipation was tangible as we neared the beach house. My heart was hammering, just like it had been all night. My hands trembled with fear as I picked up my phone.

It was almost four in the morning.

“Look!” Carmen exclaimed, pointing into the distance.

I followed her gaze, before seeing exactly what she was pointing at.

My hair stood on end when I saw the column of smoke rising into the night sky. It seemed to be coming from the beach house, but the distance made it hard to be certain.

“Speed up,” I urged.

Carmen responded by pressing harder on the accelerator, significantly increasing our speed.

Within five minutes, the beach house came into view. The entire two-story building was ablaze, a towering inferno.

The fire blazed high, casting a ghostly glow on the surrounding area, and smoke billowed into the night sky.

“Holy crap!” Carmen gasped, her eyes wide with shock as we drew closer to the burning beach house.

The scene was a whirlwind of chaos. The night sky was lit up by the flashing lights of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances.

Firefighters were already in the thick of it, battling the flames with their water hoses. The air was heavy with smoke and the potent smell of burning wood.

The car came to a screeching stop, and I bolted from the passenger seat, rushing toward the scene. My heart was hammering in my chest as I scanned the area for Mason’s familiar face.

“Mason…,” I called out, my voice swallowed by the chaos.

~Where could he be?~

“MASON!” I yelled again.

A wave of dread washed over me. ~What if he’s inside?~ The thought of him trapped in that burning house sent a shiver down my spine.

There was no way anyone could survive that inferno. I looked up at the raging fire, my eyes wide with fear.

“Jamie?”

A familiar voice reached my ears, and my heart skipped a beat.

I whipped my head around, my eyes scanning the crowd of firefighters and paramedics. There, at the back of an ambulance, I saw him.

Relief flooded me as I sprinted toward him, my legs moving on their own accord. I flung my arms around Mason’s neck, pulling him close.

It was a hug I never wanted to end. “I thought I lost you,” I said, fighting back tears. “I thought you were inside.”

“I’m okay,” he replied, his voice raspy.

He buried his face into my neck, his breathing uneven. I could smell the smoke in his hair, and I noticed the burns on his arms.

My heart ached with worry.

“What happened?” I asked.

Mason lifted his head and looked at me, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief.

But before he could speak, his gaze was drawn to something in the distance. I turned my head to see what had caught his attention.

“Jack!” Mason exclaimed.

Jack was standing in the distance, but not far enough away that it wasn’t clear to Mason who he was.

I turned my head back around and looked at Mason. “He came here with us. He told me the truth…about everything. I know who’s doing this.”

“I do too,” Mason replied.

Mason stood up abruptly, his gaze fixed on something in the distance. He walked closer to a group of firefighters who were emerging from the building, their faces etched with concern.

Mason walked closer to the group and stopped them from moving the stretcher. He glanced down at the body bag that was covering the unknown person.

“Unzip it,” he said urgently.

The firefighter hesitated for a moment, but then he complied. With trembling hands, he unzipped the body bag, revealing the horrific sight that lay beneath.

I placed my hand over my mouth in shock when the body was revealed. The image was sickening, causing my stomach to churn.

It was something I wish I hadn’t seen.

“It’s my father,” Mason said, his voice barely a whisper.

He turned away from the body, his face contoured in anguish as he rubbed his facial stubble. The firefighter pulled the zip of the body bag back up and wheeled the stretcher away.

I approached Mason, my heart aching for him. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes, tears that he was desperately trying to hold back.

Mason had always been a man of stoic reserve, unwilling to show weakness. He believed that crying was a sign of weakness, a vulnerability he was trying to conceal.

But this… This was breaking him.

Just as I was about to say something, a shout echoed through the woods. “We have another one over here. He’s alive!”

Paramedics rushed toward the woods, carrying a stretcher and medical equipment. Mason and I exchanged a glance, our hearts pounding with anticipation.

As the stretcher emerged from the trees, Mason stepped forward, his eyes on the unconscious man.

I stood beside Mason, my chest tight with anxiety. I felt the presence of Carmen and Jack as they came up beside me.

We all looked down at the man on the stretcher. He was covered in dirt and smoke, his face and arms cut up and bleeding.

It was clear that he had made a jump from the second story of the house when the fire blazed. It was a desperate gamble that paid off.

“Can you identify him?” the paramedic asked.

Mason was hesitant, taking in the sight in front of him, taking in the face of the man that had taken so much away from us.

The face of the man that has been plotting against us behind the scenes.

“Yes…,” Mason said, his voice trembling slightly. “His name is Eoin Newman… He’s my brother.”

End of Book 3