Page 86 of The Weekend Getaway

“Was that part of the plan?” Phil asked. “You wanted someone to find a person dead, then when they told theothers, there was nobody so no one believed them? You’re a killer and a gaslighter?”

Again, Jason chuckled. “Actually, I only got the idea to do that when Grace found Alex’s head. I thought that the head should be gone if she brought everyone to see the head, which she did. I thought it was kind of ironic, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know, Alex’s plan was to make you think you raped Sarah, which wasn’t true,” Jason said. “And you damn near went crazy because you couldn’t believe you’d done that. I just wanted everyone to feel like they were going crazy.”

Phil glared at Jason. “You know, you bastards made my life hell just so you could blackmail my father. You went through a lot of damn trouble. Must have been an easier way to rob my family.”

Jason dropped his head. “Wasn’t just for money. Alex had to protect me.”

“Protect you?”

“I raped Sarah.”

CHAPTER 76

SARAH

The ropes binding Phil’s wrists unwound, slipping to the ground.

Phil was free now.

But Sarah felt as though she’d been imprisoned. Chained. Bound and gagged. Unable to move. Paralyzed. Confused.

What had Jason said? Had she heard him right? No, she couldn’t have. Could she? Jason couldn’t have said…

Sarah’s heart slammed as she fought the disgusting, damning words slithering through her mind, vile and repulsive, like a curse.

I raped Sarah.

Fear battled fury as a scream rose from the pit of her gut. Jason had raped her? How? Why? It didn’t make any sense. Why would he …?

Her head pounding, Sarah struggled to remember the night at Phil’s party.

She’d come to, groggy and disoriented, staring in shock and horror at the blood all over the sheets and the bruises on her arms. She’d thought she was dying. Thought that she’d been stabbed. Slashed over and over by some sadistic psycho.

But despite the wounds and the pain, the blood had been easily explained.

Sarah had gotten her period.

While she was being violated.

While Phil raped her …

No. No, that wasn’t right.

I raped Sarah.

It hadn’t been Phil. Alex had told her it wasn’t.

You can’t go to the police because Phil didn’t rape you.

Alex hadn’t told Sarah who’d really assaulted her. He’d told her it didn’t matter. But had he known? Had Alex known that Jason had raped her? Had Alex … protected Jason?

Sarah groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. No. Alex hadn’t tried to make sure Jason didn’t end up in prison. Alex hadn’t wanted her to go to the police because he’d come up with that revolting idea to scam Phil’s father. A scheme Sarah had agreed to and gone along with …

Cautiously, Sarah opened her eyes. From her position, she saw Jason walking, pacing back and forth in front of Phil, ranting and raving. Her gaze drifted to the headless corpses lined against the cave wall. Hardly recognizable as human, they were grotesque and macabre, like desiccating dolls, moldy and broken.

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