Chapter 10 - Someone Inside the Room
Hannah stared at the empty can.
“That isn't possible.”
Avery searched the cabinet.
Nothing.
“Who else has a key?”
“Nobody.”
“Hannah.”
“Nobody, Avery.”
Avery turned.
The apartment suddenly felt unsafe.
Someone had entered before the police arrived.
Or while they were distracted.
They checked the bedroom windows.
Locked.
The fire escape.
Locked.
Then Hannah noticed the ventilation panel above the hallway.
One screw was missing.
They opened it.
A tiny wireless camera was hidden behind the grate.
Hannah stepped backward.
“They've been watching us.”
Avery removed the camera.
Its indicator light blinked once.
Then died.
Whoever was watching knew they had found it.
They packed immediately.
Hannah's uncle owned a cabin thirty miles outside the city.
They drove there without using their phones.
Halfway out of town, Avery finally spoke.
“Only four people knew we had the drive.”
“You.”
“Me.”
“Lila.”
“Hannah.”
“And?”
Avery looked through the windshield.
“Brooke.”
Hannah frowned.
“You told Brooke?”
“I told her enough.”
Avery remembered their confrontation outside the library.
Maybe Brooke had guessed.
Maybe Vale had followed Avery.
Maybe Lila had betrayed them again.
They arrived at the cabin after midnight.
Lila was waiting.
Avery nearly slammed the car door.
“You knew where we were going?”
Lila looked confused.
“Hannah texted me.”
Hannah stopped walking.
“No, I didn't.”
Lila pulled out her phone.
The message appeared to come from Hannah's number.
MEET US AT THE CABIN.
Avery looked around the dark woods.
It was a trap.
A light flashed between the trees.
Then another.
Hannah whispered, “Get inside.”
They ran.
A vehicle approached on the dirt road.
Avery locked the cabin door.
The headlights stopped outside.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then someone placed a small envelope beneath the door.
The vehicle drove away.
Avery waited before picking it up.
Inside was a memory card.
And a note.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG PERSON.
Avery inserted the card into Hannah's spare laptop.
One video appeared.
Timestamp: the night of Lila's fall.
The footage showed the practice gym.
A figure entered.
The person walked directly toward the crash mat.
Then dragged it six feet away from Lila's stunt zone.
Avery leaned closer.
It wasn't Vale.
It wasn't Mercer.
May you like
It wasn't Brooke.
It was Lila.
