Page 113 of The Lake of Lost Girls

“She’s in there.” His voice cracked and he looked away as I carefully stepped aboard. I pulled back the old sheet that had covered her body for all these years.

I stared down at the bundle that was my sister, hoping that she hadn’t suffered too much, in life or in death. Maybe I shouldn’t feel any sympathy or kindness toward a woman who inflicted such atrocities. But this kind of love, like whatI felt for my sister, was black and sticky like tar—it would never go away, even if I scrubbed my skin raw.

“I tried to hide her as best I could. I didn’t want anyone to know what she’d done. It was better for her to be missing than a monster,” Dad rasped, his words strangled, yet strangely content.

I knew he truly believed he had made the right choice. He had protected her in the only way he could. And in doing so, he had been the father she deserved. The father he hadn’t been brave enough to be when she was alive.

I glanced at Ryan, who had followed us out to the boat. His eyes met mine and I saw something there that looked like relief.

He finally knew what had happened to the woman he loved. Maybe he could move on. Now, knowing the truth about Jess, maybe he could forgive himself.

He gave me an imperceptible nod and slipped back into the kitchen, his phone pressed to his ear. I heard him talking to the dispatcher on the other end, giving our address, telling them what we found.

Dad stared at me, his expression filled with a wrenching adoration that wasn’t meant for me.

“I’ve only ever wanted what was best for my girl. She’s all that ever mattered,” he rasped.

I carefully unwrapped my sister’s body, forcing myself to look at the skeletal remains she had become. Her hands had been crossed over her chest. Some wisps of dark hair still clung to the intact skull. The bleached, white bones of her teeth created a ghastly smile. Even though the sockets were empty, I strangely felt her gaze on me. As if Jess were watching our reactions, enjoying the show.

Dad let out a strangled cry and climbed into the boat beside me, dropping to his knees. He gently, lovingly, touched the bones, an anguished wail ripping from somewhere deep inside him. Tears dripped down his cheeks.

“My sweet girl, I’m sorry I failed you,” he whispered. He looked up at me, his eyes deadened with fresh grief. “Please, we have to keep her safe.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was paralyzed. Incapable of doing anything other than stare at my father as he wept over the naked bones of my long-dead sister. He rocked back and forth, whispering words for her alone. Words she couldn’t hear, but he needed to say anyway. As if it would absolve him of his guilt and shame.

“I’m sorry, Jess. I’m so sorry, my beautiful girl.”

I got out of the boat, leaving my father behind, cradling Jess’s remains, sobbing uncontrollably for the daughter he had lost. A daughter who had become the stuff of nightmares.

A daughter he had stopped before she could hurt anyone else.

I knew then that I wanted no part of this twisted familial bond ever again.

“Lindsey … please …” he began.

I knew what he was going to ask. Everything inside me told me to reject it. To deny him this last comfort because he didn’t deserve it.

And neither did she.

But for some reason—perhaps in a final act of painful, soul-crushing love—I found myself agreeing.

“No one will ever know. I promise.”

He closed his eyes, his body caving beneath the weight of his hideous secrets as the sound of sirens wailed in the distance.

Ten Seconds to Vanish: The Unsolved Disappearanceof Jessica Fadley

Episode 13

The Finale

Stella:Hi everyone. Welcome to … an epilogue of sorts, I guess. I’m your host Stella—

Rachel:And I’m Rachel.

Stella:And this isTen Seconds to Vanish: The Unsolved Disappearance of Jessica Fadley.

*Theme music plays*

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