Page 111 of The Invite
A secret for a secret.
Or somebody else dies.
Xoxo, A.
P.S. No running to the cops or you’ll ruin the game.
All the air whooshes out of my lungs and white dots cloud my vision. I clutch the wall to hold myself up.
Only a psychotic and sick person would be behind this. They brutally murdered someone because I didn’t play their game.
It suddenly hits me with the force of a bullet train that I’m not being stalked by one but two monstrous predators.
I’m not able to handle one. How am I going to protect myself against two? Especially not knowing who the second person is.
The terror in my bones multiplies and tears sting my eyes.
The paper falls from my grip, fluttering to the floor, and I run to the kitchen sink just in time to vomit. My knees threaten to give out, so I curl myfingers in the ledge.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I turn on the tap and splash water on my face. Switching it off, I slump to the floor and sob my heart out.
Her death is my fault.
I should’ve taken those damn notes seriously instead of throwing them away. What am I going to do? I can’t tell the detectives. They won’t believe my far-fetched story, even thoughit’s true. They’ll think I’m giving importance to a stupid prank and ignore it. Just like I foolishly did.
Maybe if I hadn’t tossed the first two envelopes. I could’ve shown them as proof. I take this one, they’ll believe I fabricated it.
The loud ping on my phone causes my heart to panic.
I pat my chest, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.
Picking myself up from the floor, I stand and clean my face before reading the text. It’s from Ace with his home address.
Shall I tell him about the notes? Maybe he can help.
I quickly squash the idea. Until I know more, I can’t make rash decisions. While I do find Ace a genuinely nice guy, I’m too jaded to trust him completely.
Whoever said this town was quiet and peaceful fucking lied through their teeth. It’s a purgatory of heinous souls and deadly secrets.
As I focus on replying to Ace, my gaze stumbles on the notifications with Augustus’s handle at the bottom. There’s a message from him received early in the morning. I was so unsettled earlier that I didn’t bother to check before rushing out ofthe house.
Curiosity gets the best of me and I click on it.
@thedeviluworship: For you.
A private link is attached below with a passcode ‘PREY’.
No. No. No.
My head spins.
It can’t be what I think it is, right? The sinking feeling in my stomach screams otherwise. I’m too afraid to click on the link and watch. Still, it can’t be worse than what I saw this morning. I close the chat, pretending I didn’t see his text.
I wonder if the news has traveled to Augustus or not. An absurd thought enters my mind.
Would Augustus have taken care of me like Ace did?
Yes.
