Chapter Nine: The Reckoning Deepens
Content Warning: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence, murder, blood, attempted murder, law enforcement pursuits, and scenes of severe physical injury.
PRESENT: 12:15 AM
The highway stretched ahead, empty and dark.
Madi's hands were tight on the wheel. Rachel sat beside her, their wounded hand wrapped in a gas station towel that was now completely soaked through.
Neither of them had spoken in twenty minutes.
The silence was heavy. Suffocating.
Rachel's phone buzzed. They looked at the screen with their good hand.
Unknown number.
They didn't answer.
It buzzed again. And again.
"Turn it off," Madi said.
"What if it's important?"
"Nothing is important right now except getting somewhere safe."
Rachel stared at the phone. Then they powered it down.
The highway stretched on.
Behind them, somewhere in the dark, David was either dead or dying in that gas station parking lot.
Rachel had left him there, bleeding on the concrete, his face a mess of torn skin and broken bone.
They'd hit him with their heel. Over and over. Until their hand slipped and the heel's metal spike went through their palm.
The pain had been immediate. Blinding.
But Rachel hadn't stopped.
They'd kept hitting him until he stopped moving.
And then they'd called Madi.
Now they were driving. Away from the gas station. Away from the blood. Away from everything.
"Do you think he's dead?" Rachel asked quietly.
Madi didn't answer right away.
"I don't know," she said finally.
"I didn't mean to—I just—"
"I know."
Rachel looked out the window. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know that either."
They drove in silence for another mile.
Then Madi's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen. Claire.
Madi answered, putting it on speaker. "Where are you?"
"Home." Claire's voice was tight. Strained. "I need to see you. Both of you."
"Now?"
"Yes. Now."
"Claire, it's after midnight—"
"I don't care what time it is. I need to see you."
Madi looked at Rachel. Rachel nodded.
"Okay," Madi said. "We're coming."
She hung up and took the next exit.
FOUR HOURS EARLIER: 8:30 PM
Detective Rodriguez sat across from Madi in the small interrogation room at the police station.
The walls were beige. The table was metal. The air smelled like stale coffee and desperation.
"Mrs. Reid," Detective Chen said, opening a folder. "Do you know what this is?"
She slid a printout across the table.
Madi looked at it.
It was a screenshot of a blog post. The title read: "The Husband's Death Note: Entry #47."
Madi's blood ran cold.
"I've never seen that before," she said.
"Really? Because the IP address traces back to your home."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?" Detective Chen leaned forward. "The blog details various ways to kill a husband and make it look like an accident. Poisoning. Staged falls. Allergic reactions." She paused. "Sound familiar?"
Madi's heart was pounding. "I want a lawyer."
"You can have a lawyer. But first, I want you to look at this." Detective Chen slid another printout across the table.
It was another blog post. This one was titled: "The EpiPen Method."
Madi felt sick.
"According to this post," Detective Chen continued, "if you give someone with a severe allergy the wrong EpiPen—say, one filled with the allergen instead of epinephrine—it would trigger anaphylactic shock. And it would look like an accident."
"I didn't write that."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
Detective Chen sat back. "Mrs. Reid, your husband nearly died from anaphylactic shock three weeks ago. You were the one who administered the EpiPen. And now we find a blog, written from your IP address, detailing exactly how to kill someone using that method."
"I didn't write it."
"Then explain how it got there."
Madi was quiet.
She couldn't explain it. Because she had written it.
Not the blog. But the notes. The research. The plans.
She'd kept them in a password-protected document on her laptop. She'd never posted them online.
But someone had.
Someone had found her notes and posted them.
"I want a lawyer," Madi said again.
Detective Chen nodded. "Smart choice."
She stood up and walked to the door. Then she paused.
"One more thing," she said. "The blog was deleted about an hour ago. Right after we contacted you for this interview. Interesting timing, don't you think?"
She left.
Madi sat alone in the interrogation room, her hands shaking.
Someone was setting her up.
But who?
SAME NIGHT: 9:45 PM
Tyler sat in his car outside the police station, staring at his phone.
He'd just finished reading the blog posts. All forty-seven entries.
Each one detailed a different method of killing a husband.
Some were elaborate. Some were simple.
But they were all written in Madi's voice. Her tone. Her dark humor.
Tyler felt sick.
He'd known Madi was angry. He'd known she wanted revenge.
But this?
This was something else.
His phone buzzed. A text from Sophie:
Dad, where are you? Mom's not answering her phone.
Tyler didn't respond.
Instead, he opened his photos and scrolled to the one he'd taken earlier that day.
It was a picture of a yellow raincoat.
He'd found it in the back of Madi's closet, stuffed behind a box of old shoes.
At first, he hadn't thought anything of it.
But then he'd remembered the news report. The one about the man who'd been murdered three months ago. The witness had described seeing someone in a yellow raincoat leaving the scene.
Tyler had dismissed it at the time. Lots of people owned yellow raincoats.
But now, looking at the blog posts, looking at the raincoat—
He couldn't dismiss it anymore.
Tyler got out of the car and walked back into the police station.
SAME NIGHT: 10:15 PM
Madi sat in the holding cell, waiting for her lawyer.
The cell was small. Cold. The bench was hard metal.
She'd been here before. After the car accident. After the wedding.
But this time felt different.
This time, she wasn't sure she'd get out.
The door opened. A guard appeared.
"You made bail," he said.
Madi stood up. "Who posted it?"
"Your daughter."
Madi felt something warm settle in her chest.
Sophie.
She followed the guard out of the cell, through the hallway, to the front desk.
Sophie was waiting there, her arms crossed, her face tight with worry.
"Mom," she said.
Madi hugged her. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Dad's here. He's talking to the police."
Madi pulled back. "What?"
"He found something. I don't know what. But he's showing it to them right now."
Madi's blood ran cold.
She looked toward the interrogation rooms. Through the window, she could see Tyler talking to Detective Chen.
He was holding something. A plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a yellow raincoat.
Madi felt the world tilt.
"We need to go," she said.
"Mom—"
"Now, Sophie. We need to go now."
They walked quickly toward the exit.
Behind them, Detective Chen's voice called out: "Mrs. Reid! Stop!"
But Madi didn't stop.
She grabbed Sophie's hand and ran.
SAME NIGHT: 10:45 PM
Tyler stood in the parking lot, watching Madi and Sophie drive away.
Detective Chen stood beside him, her arms crossed.
"You should have stopped them," Tyler said.
"I can't arrest her without a warrant. And right now, all we have is circumstantial evidence."
"The raincoat—"
"Could belong to anyone. We need forensics. DNA. Something concrete."
Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "She's going to run."
"Then we'll find her."
Tyler looked at the detective. "What if she hurts someone else?"
"Do you think she will?"
Tyler was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't know," he said finally. "I don't know what she's capable of anymore."
Detective Chen nodded. "Go home, Mr. Reid. We'll handle this."
But Tyler didn't go home.
Instead, he got in his car and started driving.
He didn't know where Madi was going. But he had a guess.
She'd go to Rachel. Or Claire.
The three of them had been coordinating. Planning. Conspiring.
Tyler had seen the texts. The calls. The secret meetings.
They were in this together.
And if he wanted to stop Madi, he needed to find them all.
SAME NIGHT: 11:00 PM
Rachel stood over David's body, breathing hard.
The gas station parking lot was empty. No witnesses. No cameras.
Just Rachel and David and the blood pooling on the concrete.
David wasn't moving.
Rachel had hit him seventeen times with their heel. The metal spike had gone through his cheek. His eye. His forehead.
Their hand was bleeding. The spike had gone through their palm on the last hit.
But Rachel didn't care about the pain.
They cared about the fact that David had stolen everything. Their money. Their future. Their life.
And now he was paying for it.
Rachel's phone buzzed.
They looked at the screen with their good hand.
Madi.
Rachel answered. "I need help."
"Where are you?"
"The gas station on Route 7. I—I did something."
"What did you do?"
Rachel looked down at David. "I think I killed him."
There was a long pause.
"I'm coming," Madi said. "Don't move. Don't call anyone. Just wait for me."
The line went dead.
Rachel stood there, staring at David's body.
They should feel guilty. Horrified. Scared.
But they didn't feel any of those things.
They just felt tired.
Rachel sat down on the curb, their wounded hand wrapped in their shirt.
And they waited.
SAME NIGHT: 11:30 PM
Claire sat in her bathroom, staring at the pregnancy test.
Two pink lines.
Positive.
She'd taken three tests. All positive.
Claire felt like she was going to be sick.
She was pregnant.
After three years of trying. After the IVF. After the divorce.
After the cancer diagnosis.
She was pregnant.
Claire laughed—a hollow, bitter sound.
Of course. Of course this would happen now.
When she was dying. When Marcus was gone. When everything was falling apart.
Of course.
Her phone rang.
She looked at the screen. Madi.
Claire answered. "What?"
"I need you to meet me. Now."
"Madi, I can't—"
"Claire, this is important. Rachel's in trouble. We need to help her."
Claire was quiet for a moment.
Then she looked at the pregnancy test in her hand.
"Okay," she said. "Where?"
SAME NIGHT: 11:50 PM
Madi pulled into the gas station parking lot and saw Rachel sitting on the curb.
And David's body lying on the concrete.
Madi got out of the car and walked over.
"Is he dead?" she asked.
"I don't know."
Madi knelt down and checked for a pulse.
Faint. But there.
"He's alive," Madi said.
Rachel looked at her. "What do we do?"
Madi was quiet for a moment.
Then she stood up and looked around the parking lot.
No cameras. No witnesses.
Just them and David and the dark.
"We move him," Madi said.
"Where?"
"I don't know yet. But we can't leave him here."
Rachel nodded.
Together, they grabbed David's arms and dragged him to Madi's car.
They opened the trunk and lifted him inside.
David groaned. His eyes fluttered.
"He's waking up," Rachel said.
Madi grabbed a tire iron from the trunk and hit David across the head.
He went still.
Rachel stared at her. "Madi—"
"Get in the car."
Rachel got in.
Madi closed the trunk and got behind the wheel.
They drove in silence.
Behind them, the gas station lights faded into the dark.
NEXT DAY: 12:30 AM
Claire opened her door to find Madi and Rachel standing on her porch.
Rachel's hand was wrapped in a bloody towel. Madi's clothes were stained with something dark.
"What happened?" Claire asked.
"We need your help," Madi said.
"With what?"
"There's a body in my trunk."
Claire stared at them. "What?"
"David. Rachel—Rachel hurt him. And now we need to figure out what to do."
Claire looked at Rachel. "Is he dead?"
"Not yet," Madi said. "But he will be if we don't do something."
Claire was quiet for a long moment.
Then she stepped aside. "Come in."
They walked into the living room.
Claire closed the door and locked it.
"Okay," she said. "Tell me everything."
SAME TIME: 12:35 AM
Tyler drove past Claire's house and saw Madi's car in the driveway.
He pulled over and parked down the street.
Through the window, he could see the three women talking.
Tyler grabbed his phone and called Detective Chen.
"I found them," he said.
"Where?"
"Claire Summers' house. 2847 Maple Drive."
"Stay there. I'm sending a unit."
Tyler hung up and watched the house.
Whatever they were planning, he was going to stop it.
SAME TIME: 12:40 AM
Inside, Claire paced the living room.
"We can't go to the police," she said. "Rachel will be charged with attempted murder."
"I know," Madi said.
"And we can't take him to a hospital. They'll ask questions."
"I know that too."
Claire stopped pacing. "Then what do we do?"
Madi was quiet for a moment.
"I know someone," she said finally. "Someone who can help."
"Who?"
"She calls herself the Oracle."
Rachel looked at her. "The Oracle?"
"She's—she's hard to explain. But she knows things. She can help us."
Claire stared at her. "You want to take advice from someone called 'the Oracle'?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
Claire didn't.
"Fine," she said. "Where is she?"
SAME TIME: 1:15 AM
The Oracle lived in a small house on the edge of town.
The yard was overgrown. The windows were dark.
Madi knocked on the door.
A moment later, it opened.
The Oracle was a woman in her sixties, with long gray hair and sharp eyes.
"Madison," she said. "I've been expecting you."
"How did you—"
"Come in."
They followed her inside.
The house smelled like incense and old books. The walls were covered with strange symbols and paintings.
The Oracle sat down at a small table and gestured for them to sit.
"You have a problem," she said.
"Yes," Madi said.
"A body."
"How do you know that?"
The Oracle smiled. "I know many things." She paused, studying each of their faces. "But perhaps it's time you knew who I really am."
She reached up and slowly removed the long gray wig. Beneath it, her hair was silver-streaked and cut short. She wiped at her face with a cloth, removing the aging makeup that had added years to her appearance.
The woman who emerged was in her fifties, with severe features and sharp, calculating eyes.
Madi's breath caught. "You—"
"My name is Vivian Chen," the woman said. "I run Brewster's Coffee House. You've been meeting me there for weeks without realizing who I was. I've been watching you all along, waiting for the right moment to help."
Rachel stared at her. "The barista. You're the barista."
"Among other things." Vivian set the wig aside. "I've used many identities over the years. The barista who serves you coffee and listens to your conversations. The private investigator who approached you, Madi, offering to help expose Tyler. The Oracle who gives guidance to women in need. All of them are me. All of them serve the same purpose."
"Which is?" Claire asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Protecting women like you. Women who've been wronged by the men they trusted. Women who need someone watching out for them." Vivian leaned forward. "I've been listening to your stories for months. I know about Tyler's affair, about Danny's fake death and the stolen money, about Helen and the land. I know everything because I've been investigating—gathering evidence, documenting crimes, preparing for the moment when you'd need help."
Madi felt her hands trembling. "You've been helping us this whole time."
"Yes. And I'm going to help you now."
She looked at each of them in turn. At Madi. At Rachel. At Claire.
"You've all made choices," she said. "Choices that have led you here. And now you must face the consequences."
"We need help," Madi said. "We need to know what to do."
The Oracle was quiet for a long moment.
Then she stood up and walked to a bookshelf. She pulled out an old leather-bound book and opened it.
"There is a place," she said. "Far from here. Where the earth is soft and the trees are thick. Where no one will find what you bury."
"You're telling us to bury him?" Claire asked.
"I'm telling you that the earth keeps secrets. If you ask it to."
She wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Madi.
Coordinates.
"Go there," the Oracle said. "Do what must be done. And do not look back."
Madi took the paper.
"Thank you," she said.
The Oracle nodded. "Be careful, Madison. The path you're on—it leads to darkness. And once you step into it, there is no coming back."
They left.
Outside, the night was cold and still.
"Do you trust her?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Madi said. "But right now, she's all we have."
NEXT DAY: 2:00 AM
They stopped at a 24-hour hardware store.
Madi went inside and bought three shovels, a tarp, and heavy-duty garbage bags.
The cashier didn't ask questions.
Madi paid in cash and left.
In the parking lot, Rachel was leaning against the car, their wounded hand wrapped in fresh bandages.
"How is it?" Madi asked.
"It hurts."
"Can you dig?"
Rachel looked at their hand. Then they nodded. "I'll manage."
Claire came out of the store carrying bottles of water and energy bars.
"For the drive," she said.
They got in the car.
Madi entered the coordinates into her GPS.
Three hours away. Deep in the mountains.
They drove in silence.
In the trunk, David was still unconscious.
But for how long?
SAME TIME: 2:15 AM
Tyler sat in his car outside Claire's house, waiting for the police.
But they didn't come.
He called Detective Chen again.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"The unit got delayed. There was an accident on the highway. They'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes? They could be gone by then."
"Mr. Reid, I need you to stay calm—"
Tyler hung up.
He got out of the car and walked toward the house.
The lights were off. The driveway was empty.
They were gone.
Tyler tried the front door. Locked.
He walked around to the back and found a window slightly open.
He climbed through.
Inside, the house was dark and quiet.
Tyler turned on his phone's flashlight and looked around.
The living room was a mess. Papers scattered. A bloody towel on the couch.
Tyler's heart was pounding.
What had they done?
He walked into the kitchen and saw a piece of paper on the counter.
Coordinates.
Tyler took a picture of them with his phone.
Then he climbed back out the window and got in his car.
He entered the coordinates into his GPS.
Three hours away.
Tyler started driving.
SAME TIME: 3:30 AM
Rachel's phone buzzed.
They looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
They answered. "Hello?"
Silence.
Then, faintly, singing.
A man's voice. Low and haunting.
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..."
Rachel's blood ran cold.
"Who is this?" they asked.
The singing continued.
"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream..."
Then the line went dead.
Rachel stared at the phone.
"What's wrong?" Madi asked.
"Someone just called me. From David's phone."
"What?"
"They were singing. Some—some nursery rhyme."
Claire leaned forward from the back seat. "David's phone is in the trunk. With him."
They all looked at each other.
"Pull over," Rachel said.
Madi pulled onto the shoulder.
They got out and opened the trunk.
David was still unconscious. But his phone was in his pocket, the screen lit up.
Recent call: Rachel's number.
"He didn't make that call," Rachel said. "He's unconscious."
"Then who did?" Claire asked.
Madi grabbed the phone and scrolled through the call history.
There were dozens of calls. All to unknown numbers. All in the last hour.
"Someone else has access to his phone," Madi said. "Someone who knows we have him."
Rachel felt sick. "The serial killer."
"What serial killer?"
"There's been a serial killer in the news. Targeting people involved in financial scams. He calls his victims before he kills them. Sings to them."
Claire stared at her. "And you think he's after David?"
"I think he's after all of us."
They stood in silence for a moment.
Then Madi closed the trunk.
"We keep going," she said. "We bury him. And then we disappear."
They got back in the car.
But now, the darkness felt different.
Like something was watching them.
SAME TIME: 4:45 AM
They arrived at the coordinates just before dawn.
It was a clearing in the woods. Remote. Isolated.
Perfect.
They got out of the car and grabbed the shovels.
"Here?" Rachel asked.
Madi looked around. "Here."
They started digging.
The ground was hard. Rocky.
It took an hour to dig a hole deep enough.
By the time they finished, the sun was starting to rise.
Claire sat down on a fallen log, breathing hard.
"Are you okay?" Madi asked.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Claire looked at her. "I'm pregnant."
Madi and Rachel stared at her.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"I'm pregnant. I found out last night."
"But—but you have cancer," Madi said.
"I know."
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know. But it is."
Rachel sat down beside her. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know that either."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Claire smiled—a small, sad smile.
"Congratulations," she said. "You're going to be aunts."
Madi and Rachel looked at each other.
Then they sat down beside Claire.
And for a moment, despite everything, they felt something like hope.
SAME TIME: 5:00 AM
Tyler pulled into the clearing and saw Madi's car.
He parked behind a tree and got out quietly.
Through the trees, he could see the three women sitting together.
And beside them, a freshly dug hole.
Tyler's heart was pounding.
He walked closer, staying hidden in the trees.
Then he saw the trunk of Madi's car.
It was open.
And inside—
Nothing.
The body was gone.
Tyler looked at the hole.
They were going to bury him.
Tyler pulled out his phone to call 911.
But before he could dial, he heard a sound behind him.
He turned.
David stood there, covered in blood, his face a mess of torn skin.
He was holding a rock.
"You," David said.
Then he swung.
SAME TIME: 5:05 AM
Madi heard a sound from the trees.
A shout. A crash.
She stood up. "What was that?"
They walked toward the sound.
And found Tyler lying on the ground, unconscious.
And David standing over him, holding a rock.
"He was calling the police," David said. His voice was slurred. Broken.
Madi stared at him. "You're awake."
"You tried to bury me."
"You stole from us."
"So you tried to kill me?"
Rachel stepped forward. "You deserved it."
David laughed—a wet, gurgling sound. "Maybe I did."
He dropped the rock and stumbled.
Madi caught him before he fell.
"Help me," David whispered. "Please."
Madi looked at Rachel. At Claire.
Then she looked at the hole they'd dug.
"No," she said.
She let go.
David fell to his knees.
"Please," he said again.
But Madi didn't answer.
Instead, she grabbed him by the arms and dragged him toward the hole.
Rachel and Claire helped.
Together, they lowered him into the hole.
David tried to climb out, but Rachel pushed him back down.
"Wait," he said. "Wait, please—"
Madi started shoveling dirt into the hole.
"Stop!" David screamed. "STOP!"
But they didn't stop.
They kept shoveling until the hole was half-filled.
Until only David's head was above ground.
He was crying now. Begging.
"Please," he sobbed. "Please don't do this."
Madi knelt down beside him. "You took everything from us. Our money. Our futures. Our lives."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't enough."
She stood up and walked back to the car.
Rachel and Claire followed.
Behind them, David's screams echoed through the trees.
SAME TIME: 5:15 AM
Tyler woke to the sound of screaming.
His head was pounding. His vision was blurred.
He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't cooperate.
He looked around.
He was lying at the edge of a clearing. The sun was rising. The trees were thick.
And in the center of the clearing, there was a hole.
With a man's head sticking out of it.
David.
Tyler tried to stand, but his legs gave out.
He crawled toward the hole.
"Help," David said when he saw him. "Help me."
Tyler stared at him. "What happened?"
"They buried me. They—they tried to kill me."
Tyler looked around. The women were gone.
But their car was still there.
Tyler pulled out his phone.
No signal.
He tried to dig David out with his hands, but the dirt was packed tight.
"I can't," Tyler said. "I can't get you out."
"Try harder."
"I am trying."
David started crying again. "I'm going to die here."
"No, you're not. I'll—I'll find help. I'll—"
A sound.
Tyler looked up.
Madi was standing at the edge of the clearing, holding a shovel.
"Madi," Tyler said. "Thank god. Help me get him out."
But Madi didn't move.
She just stared at him.
"Madi?"
"You shouldn't have come here, Tyler."
"What?"
"You should have stayed away."
Tyler stood up. "Madi, what are you talking about?"
"You ruined everything. You and your affair. You and your lies."
"Madi, please—"
"I told you someone had to die. I told you this wouldn't end until someone did."
Tyler backed away. "Madi, don't—"
But Madi was already moving.
She swung the shovel.
Tyler tried to dodge, but he was too slow.
The shovel connected with his shoulder.
He fell.
Madi stood over him, breathing hard.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But this is the only way."
She raised the shovel again.
Tyler rolled away and scrambled to his feet.
He ran.
Madi chased him.
Through the trees. Through the clearing.
Tyler's lungs were burning. His head was pounding.
He didn't see the hole until it was too late.
He fell.
Down.
Into the darkness.
He hit the bottom hard.
Pain exploded through his body.
He looked up.
Madi was standing at the edge of the hole, looking down at him.
"Madi," he gasped. "Please."
But Madi just turned and walked away.
SAME TIME: 5:25 AM
Marcus pulled into the clearing and saw Madi's car.
He'd been tracking Claire's phone. She'd left it on, probably by accident.
He got out and looked around.
"Claire?" he called.
No answer.
He walked toward the trees.
And saw the hole.
With Tyler at the bottom.
"What the hell?" Marcus said.
He ran to the edge. "Tyler? Are you okay?"
Tyler looked up at him. "Marcus. Thank god. Get me out of here."
"What happened?"
"Madi—she attacked me. She—"
A sound behind him.
Marcus turned.
Rachel and Claire were standing there.
"Claire," Marcus said. "What's going on?"
Claire didn't answer.
"Claire, talk to me."
"You need to leave, Marcus."
"What? Why?"
"Because if you don't, you're going to end up in that hole too."
Marcus stared at her. "You're joking."
"I'm not."
Marcus looked at Rachel. "What is she talking about?"
Rachel stepped forward. "Your camera. The one you've been looking for. It's in the trunk of that car."
Marcus looked at Madi's car. "What?"
"Go get it. And then leave."
"I'm not leaving without Claire."
"Yes, you are."
Marcus started toward Claire, but Rachel blocked his path.
"Move," Marcus said.
"No."
"I said move."
Marcus tried to push past her, but Rachel grabbed his arm.
They struggled.
Marcus was stronger, but Rachel was desperate.
They fell.
Marcus hit his head on a rock.
He went still.
Claire stared at him. "Is he—"
Rachel checked for a pulse. "He's alive. Just unconscious."
"What do we do with him?"
Rachel looked at the hole.
"No," Claire said. "We're not putting him in there."
"Why not? He's seen too much."
"He's my ex-husband."
"So?"
"So I'm not burying him alive."
Rachel was quiet for a moment.
Then she nodded. "Fine. We'll just leave him here."
They dragged Marcus to the edge of the clearing and left him there.
Then they walked back to the car.
Madi was waiting.
"Is it done?" she asked.
"It's done," Rachel said.
They got in the car.
But before they could drive away, another car pulled into the clearing.
A black SUV.
The doors opened.
And four men got out.
They were wearing suits. Expensive ones.
The oldest man—maybe sixty, with gray hair and cold eyes—walked toward them.
"Well, well," he said. "What do we have here?"
Madi's blood ran cold.
She recognized him.
Crime Boss. The loan shark David owed money to.
"Ladies," Crime Boss said. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
"We don't know what you're talking about," Madi said.
Crime Boss smiled. "Don't you?"
He walked past them, toward the hole.
And looked down at David.
"There you are," Crime Boss said. "I've been looking for you."
David stared up at him. "Crime Boss. Please. I can explain—"
"Explain? You stole three million dollars from me. What is there to explain?"
"It was an investment. The cryptocurrency—"
"Was a scam. And now my money is gone."
"I can get it back. I just need time—"
"You've had enough time."
Crime Boss turned to his men. "Get him out."
Two of the men jumped into the hole and started digging David out with their hands.
Madi, Rachel, and Claire backed away slowly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Crime Boss asked.
They froze.
"You three are involved in this too, aren't you?"
"No," Madi said. "We're just—"
"Just what? Burying a man alive for fun?"
Madi didn't answer.
Crime Boss walked toward them. "I think you know more than you're saying."
"We don't know anything."
"Then why is he in a hole?"
"Because he stole from us too."
Crime Boss raised an eyebrow. "Did he now?"
"Yes. He ran a cryptocurrency scam. He took our money and disappeared."
"Interesting." Crime Boss looked back at David. "Is that true?"
David didn't answer.
"I asked you a question."
"Yes," David said finally. "It's true."
Crime Boss nodded. "Then it seems we all have a common enemy."
He turned back to the women. "How much did he take from you?"
"Everything," Rachel said. "He took everything."
Crime Boss was quiet for a moment.
Then he smiled. "I have a proposal."
"What kind of proposal?" Madi asked.
"You help me find the rest of my money. And I'll let you live."
"And if we don't?"
Crime Boss's smile widened. "Then you'll end up in that hole. With him."
The women looked at each other.
They didn't have a choice.
"Fine," Madi said. "We'll help you."
"Good." Crime Boss gestured to his men. "Take them."
The men grabbed the women and started dragging them toward the SUV.
"Wait," Claire said. "What about them?"
She pointed to the hole. To Tyler and David.
"Leave them," Crime Boss said. "They're not important."
"But—"
"I said leave them."
The men shoved the women into the SUV.
Crime Boss got in the front seat.
"Drive," he said.
The SUV pulled away.
Behind them, Tyler and David were left in the hole, screaming.
And Marcus was still unconscious at the edge of the clearing.
SAME TIME: 6:00 AM
In the bushes at the edge of the clearing, a figure watched.
They'd been there the whole time. Watching. Waiting.
They pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
"It's done," they said. "They're all together now."
A pause.
"Yes. All three of them. And the loan shark."
Another pause.
"I'll follow them. And when the time is right, I'll make my move."
They hung up.
Then they started walking toward the clearing.
Toward the hole.
Toward Tyler and David.
They were singing softly.
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..."
The figure knelt down at the edge of the hole and looked down at the two men.
"Hello," they said. "I've been waiting for you."
Tyler stared up at them. "Who are you?"
The figure smiled.
"I'm the one who's going to kill you."
Then they pulled out a knife.
SAME TIME: 6:05 AM
In the SUV, Madi stared out the window.
They were driving deeper into the mountains. Away from the clearing. Away from everything.
"Where are you taking us?" she asked.
"Somewhere safe," Crime Boss said. "Somewhere we can talk."
"About what?"
"About the money. And about what you're going to do to get it back."
Madi looked at Rachel and Claire.
They were both pale. Scared.
But they were alive.
For now.
"What if we can't get it back?" Madi asked.
Crime Boss looked at her in the rearview mirror.
"Then you'll wish you'd stayed in that hole."
The SUV drove on.
And behind them, in the clearing, the screaming stopped.
SAME TIME: 6:10 AM
One of Crime Boss's men—a younger guy, maybe thirty—walked toward the bushes.
He'd heard something. A rustling.
"Who's there?" he called.
No answer.
He pulled out a gun and walked closer.
The bushes rustled again.
"I said who's there?"
A figure stepped out.
It was a woman. Young. Blonde.
Amber.
"Please," she said. "Help me. I've been lost in the woods for hours."
The man lowered his gun. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was hiking. I got separated from my group."
"Hiking? At six in the morning?"
Amber nodded. "We started early. Please, can you help me?"
The man hesitated.
Then he heard another sound.
Behind Amber.
In the bushes.
He raised his gun again. "Who else is with you?"
"No one. I'm alone."
"I don't believe you."
He walked past Amber, toward the bushes.
And that's when he saw them.
Three more figures. Hiding in the shadows.
"HEY!" he shouted. "COME OUT!"
The figures didn't move.
The man fired a warning shot into the air.
"I SAID COME OUT!"
The figures stepped forward.
And the man's blood ran cold.
Because they weren't people.
They were bodies.
Three bodies. Hanging from the trees.
Their faces were covered. Their hands were bound.
And carved into their chests was a single word:
THIEF
The man stumbled backward.
Amber was gone.
He turned and ran back toward the clearing.
"Crime Boss!" he shouted. "Crime Boss!"
But the SUV was already gone.
The man was alone.
With the bodies.
And the figure in the bushes.
Singing.
"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream..."
The man raised his gun and fired into the bushes.
But the singing didn't stop.
It just got louder.
And closer.
The man turned and ran.
Through the trees. Through the clearing.
He didn't see the wire until it was too late.
He tripped.
And fell.
Into the hole.
On top of Tyler and David.
The three men screamed.
And above them, the figure appeared at the edge of the hole.
Still singing.
"Row, row, row your boat..."
They raised a knife.
And jumped.