“I have to go,” she said, grabbing her coat and practically sprinting for the door.
“Lilia!” Her mother’s voice followed her, sharp and cutting. “Where are you going?”
But Lilia couldn’t stop. She threw open the front door, her feet carrying her down the steps two at a time. The air was thick with tension, the scent of burning leaves and the cold bite of lateNovember filling her lungs. Her neighbors were already outside, lingering on their porches and sidewalks as the police cars flew past.
Her heart pounded in her ears, her mind racing. What was happening? Why was Eleanor at that house?
An ambulance screamed past, sending a wave of dread coursing through her. Lilia quickened her pace, nearly tripping over her own feet as she rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a large crowd gathered at the edge of the street. Yellow police tape cordoned off the house, officers milling about like ants, their expressions grim. The sight of Eleanor in the distance, standing stiffly near the sidewalk, caught her eye.
Lilia pushed through the crowd, her breath coming in sharp bursts. “Eleanor!” she called out.
Eleanor met her halfway, her face pale and tight with worry. “Are you okay?” Lilia asked, her voice breathless. “What happened?”
“McCall,” Eleanor answered grimly, her voice tight with disbelief. “It’s his house.”
“What?” Lilia gasped, her gaze darting toward the house again. “What do you mean?”
Before Eleanor could answer, Augustus appeared, crossing the street with a similarly grim expression. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I heard the scream from my house,” Eleanor said shakily. “My mom called the police. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“A scream?” Augustus frowned. “From inside McCall’s house?”
Another wail echoed through the air. They all turned to see a woman crumpled on the lawn, sobbing uncontrollably, her arms wrapped around her pregnant belly as another woman knelt beside her, trying to offer comfort.
Lilia’s blood ran cold. She looked back toward the house just in time to see two officers carrying out a body bag.
A chill ran through her. Her voice was barely a whisper. “What happened?”
They all stared at the house in a stunned silence, none of them able to answer.
A buzz interrupted the quiet. All of their phones went off at once. Augustus pulled his out, his face paling as he read the message.
Unknown
He knew too much.
The wind blew sharply through the street, rattling the bare trees. The eerie whistle of the wind was all that accompanied them as they stared at McCall’s house, at the body being wheeled into the ambulance.
The pieces were falling into place—each one more terrifying than the last.
iii.
iii.
i know the end
“We chase the shadows, thinking they hold answers, but it’s the light that reveals the skeletons we’ve tried so hard to bury.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The wind had picked up, sending the first hints of winter sweeping through the park. The trees, skeletal and bare, whispered in the breeze, rustling the last few dead leaves clinging to their branches. The sky hung heavy with dark clouds, the moon only peeking through every so often, casting an eerie glow over the deserted benches and swing sets.
Sebastian paced back and forth, his breath visible in the cold night air. “He knew too much? What the fuck?” His voice was ragged, a wild edge creeping in as he threw his hands up in frustration. His feet scuffed the path, kicking up loose gravel. “Are we next? Someone’s just going to kill us now?”
Eleanor leaned against a rusted lamppost, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if to ward off more than the cold. Her eyes were distant, tracking Sebastian’s movements without really seeing them. “Maybe that’s what he was trying to tell us the other day,” she murmured, her voice barely audible over the wind.
“Before someone killed him,” Augustus finished, standing near the bench, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. His jaw was clenched, his posture tense. It was clear he hadn’t beensleeping—none of them had, but Augustus wore his exhaustion in the taut lines of his face and the shadows under his eyes.
