Her Hidden Secret - Chapter 8: Chapter 8
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"I turned the city upside down searching for her—nothing. Not a single trace."
"I filed every report, called in every favor. The police scoured every inch of this damn place, but Chloe? Gone. Like she'd been plucked right off the planet."
"Later, I pieced it together—she vanished near National Forest Park. Only thing out there? This godforsaken construction site."
"So I begged. I borrowed. I bled myself dry just to get this shitty convenience store gig. Played dress-up, batted my lashes at those creeps—let them stare, let them whisper. Didn't care. I'd have sold my soul if it meant finding her."
"But then—"
Vivian Langley's hands shook violently.
She lunged at me, fingers digging into my arm like talons, her voice shredding into a raw scream. "You brought me hell wrapped as news!"
The words turned to ash in my throat.
Suddenly I was crushed against her, her whole body heaving with sobs. I raised a hand to pat her back, fumbling for something—anything—to say, but my skull kept swimming.
Since when did two drinks hit like this?
The room tilted. I felt Vivian's hands guiding me down, my head sinking into the pillow as her breath warmed my ear:
"Good kid. Just sleep. It'll all be better when you wake up."
Darkness. The earth splitting open, rivers of fire carving through the ground. The stench of burning sulfur choked me.
I ran—no, sprinted—but there was no way out.
Then six skeletal arms erupted from the lava.
Girls. Twisted, screaming girls with melting skin clawed their way up, grabbing my legs, dragging me toward the pit. I kicked, fought, but their grip was vise-tight—
I woke gasping, sheets soaked through, dawn's gray light bleeding through the curtains.
Vivian's bed. Empty.
"Just a nightmare?"
I scrubbed my face—then froze.
Where the hell was she?
The store was deserted when I checked. Then sirens split the air.
Cops swarmed the site. One tackled me facedown while others stormed the dormitory. The officer pinning me went rigid when his radio crackled:
"Captain—Dorm 1's a slaughterhouse. All workers down."
They processed me fast at the station. After all, I'd handed them the case on a silver platter.
And they already had their killer.
The name turned my veins to ice.
Vivian Langley.
"That fragile woman? Killing grown men?" My voice cracked.
The cop didn't blink. "Poison. Ex-chemistry teacher. Slow-acting, brutal—no fighting that."
I staggered out of the station, hollow.
They wouldn't let me see her. Murder suspects get no visitors. Not even heartbroken sisters.
"Will they...?" I couldn't say it.
The cop exhaled hard. "Probably."
One last question escaped like a trapped animal:
"Did you find the girls?"
His face darkened.
"Yeah. Buried in the construction pillars. Like fucking fossils."
"I filed every report, called in every favor. The police scoured every inch of this damn place, but Chloe? Gone. Like she'd been plucked right off the planet."
"Later, I pieced it together—she vanished near National Forest Park. Only thing out there? This godforsaken construction site."
"So I begged. I borrowed. I bled myself dry just to get this shitty convenience store gig. Played dress-up, batted my lashes at those creeps—let them stare, let them whisper. Didn't care. I'd have sold my soul if it meant finding her."
"But then—"
Vivian Langley's hands shook violently.
She lunged at me, fingers digging into my arm like talons, her voice shredding into a raw scream. "You brought me hell wrapped as news!"
The words turned to ash in my throat.
Suddenly I was crushed against her, her whole body heaving with sobs. I raised a hand to pat her back, fumbling for something—anything—to say, but my skull kept swimming.
Since when did two drinks hit like this?
The room tilted. I felt Vivian's hands guiding me down, my head sinking into the pillow as her breath warmed my ear:
"Good kid. Just sleep. It'll all be better when you wake up."
Darkness. The earth splitting open, rivers of fire carving through the ground. The stench of burning sulfur choked me.
I ran—no, sprinted—but there was no way out.
Then six skeletal arms erupted from the lava.
Girls. Twisted, screaming girls with melting skin clawed their way up, grabbing my legs, dragging me toward the pit. I kicked, fought, but their grip was vise-tight—
I woke gasping, sheets soaked through, dawn's gray light bleeding through the curtains.
Vivian's bed. Empty.
"Just a nightmare?"
I scrubbed my face—then froze.
Where the hell was she?
The store was deserted when I checked. Then sirens split the air.
Cops swarmed the site. One tackled me facedown while others stormed the dormitory. The officer pinning me went rigid when his radio crackled:
"Captain—Dorm 1's a slaughterhouse. All workers down."
They processed me fast at the station. After all, I'd handed them the case on a silver platter.
And they already had their killer.
The name turned my veins to ice.
Vivian Langley.
"That fragile woman? Killing grown men?" My voice cracked.
The cop didn't blink. "Poison. Ex-chemistry teacher. Slow-acting, brutal—no fighting that."
I staggered out of the station, hollow.
They wouldn't let me see her. Murder suspects get no visitors. Not even heartbroken sisters.
"Will they...?" I couldn't say it.
The cop exhaled hard. "Probably."
One last question escaped like a trapped animal:
"Did you find the girls?"
His face darkened.
"Yeah. Buried in the construction pillars. Like fucking fossils."
End of Her Hidden Secret Chapter 8. View all chapters or return to Her Hidden Secret book page.