Chapter 4 The Warning Signs

I looked at Evelyn's diary in my hands. The leather cover was worn, with bent corners from being opened many times. But Caleb never saw this one. He thought the fake diary was real. He never knew she had hidden something more.

Ash sat on his bed, hugging his knees. He looked too small for his room, with eyes that seemed too old. His fingers played with his blanket threads, but he stayed quiet.

I opened the diary. The first page had her rushed handwriting.

Riley, if you're reading this, I was right. He killed me. And you might be next.

My stomach felt sick. The words burned into me like the fire that took her life. I read the next line slowly.

Caleb has secrets. I found out too late. Now I can't sleep, can't breathe, can't stop thinking... What if he's planning something worse?

My hands shook. This wasn't just sadness. This was real fear.

I turned the page.

There's a woman. Her name is Meredith. He called her "M" in his messages. I found photos. Hotel bills. A necklace in his car that wasn't mine.

Meredith. M. The blonde woman in the photo.

He lied to me. Over and over. And I think... I think Ash saw something. He doesn't talk much, but he hears everything. I'm afraid he knows too much.

I looked at Ash. He was watching me now.

I've made mistakes too. There's something I never told you. Something from before I met Caleb. If people find out, it could ruin everything.

I flipped ahead, reading quickly. Evelyn's words got more scared. More worried. She wrote about Caleb's anger. About how he had changed.

He wasn't like this when we met. He was sweet. Kind. Then the business started failing. Then the drinking. Then Meredith. Then the threats.

The next page had smears, like tears had fallen on it.

He told me once, "If you ever leave me, you'll be sorry." I thought he was just upset. But now I think he meant it.

I closed the diary and held it tight. My heart beat fast. Ash watched me quietly.

"Why didn't you show this to anyone?" I asked.

Ash looked down at his blanket. "Dad said Mom was sick. That she made things up. But I didn't believe him."

I caught my breath. "Did she seem sick to you?"

He shook his head. "She was scared."

I stood and walked to the window. The house looked calm outside. But inside, it was full of ghosts.

Ash came to me. "There's something else," he whispered. "The night she died... I saw someone in the yard. Not Dad."

I turned to him. "Who?"

"I don't know. A woman. She had blonde hair."

Meredith.

Things were starting to make sense.

Then, I heard a door slam downstairs. Caleb was still awake.

I put the diary under my sweater and whispered, "Don't tell anyone I have this, okay?"

Ash nodded.

I went back to my room quietly. I wanted to keep reading the diary, but there wasn't time. I needed to find a computer. I needed to check the USB drive.

The diary might tell the truth about Caleb.

But the USB might show it.

I hid the diary under my mattress and took out the USB from my pocket.

Tomorrow I'd go to town. Find a library. A computer. Somewhere Caleb wouldn't follow.

As I lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, I felt caught between two lives.

One where I was Riley the quiet sister, the helper, the caretaker.

And one where I was something else. A witness. A target.

I heard Evelyn's voice in my head.

If he did this to me, what do you think he'll do to you?

I didn't sleep that night.

But just before sunrise, I heard something.

A creak.

A slow step.

Then another.

Outside my door.

I held my breath.

The steps stopped.

And then something slid under the door.

A white envelope.

I waited until the footsteps were gone before I got out of bed and picked it up.

Inside was a note, typed in neat letters:

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