Page 50 of Valley

“She would have said something. Confronted me,” I argued, my mind reeling. Kezia would have never sat back if she knew what I was doing.

“She didn’t truly believe you would cheat on her,” he admitted, his tone shifting, as if even now, he still couldn’t fully understand it. “I told her you were. Knew firsthand you did.” He glared at me, his eyes dark and filled with resentment. “Toddy is my sister, believe it or not.” He laughed again, the sound harsh and bitter. “If you could see the look on your face right now.”

“I still don’t understand how you blame me for Kezia,” I said, a sinking feeling in my gut. I knew things were about to get worse—I could feel it in the way the air seemed to thicken with tension.

“Let me explain it to you,” he said, sitting back down on the stump, his expression calm, too calm. “The night you and Kaven decided to ditch her, she decided something was up. That maybe old Adam was on to something. So instead of going home, she waited until you two idiots left. When your mom came out, she was hiding in her car, knowing she would go to the clubhouse.”

“How do you know any of this?” My voice was hoarse, dread curling in my chest. The more he spoke, the clearer it became that he knew far more than I could have imagined.

“Because, you asshole, she called me later that night, upset and needing a ride home,” he snarled, jumping up and pacing again, his agitation growing. “She had gotten inside and saw you with Toddy.”

My head dropped in shame, the guilt hitting me like a physical blow. She had seen me. Kezia had seen me, and I hadn’t even known. “She was inside the clubhouse?”

“Yeah, and she was upset and crying. Not only had she seen you, but someone had stolen her phone. She was using someone else’s phone to call me.” He stopped, looking up at the sky, as if searching for answers in the stars. “She was so damn scared, and I promised her I would come get her. I just had to wait on my brother to bring the car back. But I was too late.”

“Why didn’t you tell the police, her brothers, anyone that you knew this?” I shouted, desperation lacing my words. “It could have led to her killer.”

“Why bother? Kezia was gone, there was no bringing her back, and the person responsible is right in front of me,” he said, his voice cold and final, as he walked over to grab a shovel. “You did this by lying and cheating on her.”

“I was a shitty person, but the one responsible is walking free because you didn’t say anything!” I snarled, the ropes cutting into my wrists as I fought against them, my fury overwhelming the pain.

“Oh, don’t worry, I know some biker must have grabbed her, but I don’t have time to keep trying to figure out which one, so I’m going to make them all pay.” His voice was calm, measured, as if he was discussing the weather, not planning mass murder.

MY MIND WASin a whirlwind, a chaotic storm ofthoughts and fears crashing into one another as I tried to keep up with everything happening. The two biggest questions ate at me, relentless and terrifying:

What did any of this have to do with me?

And would I see Ellie ever again?

Adam wasn’t the quiet, nerdy boy I remembered from high school. That boy was gone, replaced by a man whose whole demeanor screamed of someone lost to his own twisted reality. The way he held himself, the darkness in his eyes—it was like staring into a void, a place where reason had no foothold.

But could he be reasoned with?

I had to try. I had to find some way to reach him before it was too late.

“Adam, hurting others won’t change anything,” I said, my voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady. As I spoke, I worked my wrists, feeling the rope give just a little. It wasn’t much, but it was something, a small glimmer of hope. “I don’t even know what any of this has to do with me.”

He turned to face me, the shovel in his hand a chilling reminder of what he intended. The cold metal glinted in the moonlight, and I couldn’t help but flinch, the fear clawing at the edges of my resolve. “Madeline, Jarrod loves you,” he said, his voice eerily calm, but there was a fire in his eyes, a manic intensity that sent shivers down my spine. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this, to be able to hurt him, to avenge Kezia.”

“I don’t love her,” Jarrod’s voice cut through the tension, but I could hear the strain in it, the way it wavered. He was trying to lie, but it was obvious even to me that his words didn’t match the truth buried in his heart.

Adam laughed, a hollow, humorless sound that made my skin crawl. “Nice try, but I’ve been watching you for years. Don’t try and play me; I know too much.”

“You were the ghost haunting me?” Jarrod’s voice was tight with disbelief, frustration etched into every word as he struggled to free himself. “Or rather, there was no ghost. You got rid of Chloe, didn’t you? Shouldn’t that have satisfied your revenge? Why go after Madeline?”

This time, Adam’s laugh was softer, more amused, as if Jarrod’s words were nothing more than a child’s misunderstanding. “Yes, I was the ghost. I’m a computer geek, after all, and the new AI programs are something else. You were scared shitless, weren’t you?” His tone was almost playful, but there was nothing light-hearted about the way he spoke.

“As for Chloe, you didn’t care about her, let alone love her. No, she caught me going into the secret room I created, and I had to take care of her. It worked out in my favor that you believed yourself responsible.”

He turned back to the hole he was digging, his movements methodical, as if this were just another task on a to-do list. As he tossed dirt over his shoulder, he spoke again, the words chilling in their casualness. “Your debt still has to be paid.”

My stomach dropped, a wave of nausea crashing over me as the reality of our situation set in. This wasn’t just about revenge; this was about destruction, about tearing down Jarrod, his sanity and anything he loved.

“Adam, what does that mean? What do you plan on doing to us?” My voice trembled, fear lacing every word. My hand slipped free from the ropes, and I caught Jarrod’s eyes, a silent communication passing between us. My feet weren’t tied tight like his—maybe, just maybe, I could do something. The gun tucked in his waistband was a reminder to be careful, he wasn’t playing around.

“Wait for my cue,” Jarrod whispered low, his voice barely audible over the sound of my racing heart. “I’ll think of something.”

Adam didn’t seem to notice our exchange, too caught up in his own twisted monologue. “I plan on making Jarrod see how it feels to know the girl you love is being hurt, the hopeless feeling of not being able to help her,” he said, his tone so matter-of-fact it made my blood run cold. He continued digging, each scoop of dirt a countdown to something terrible.

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