Page 55 of Nightmare

Within five minutes, an older man walks out of the elevator leading up the top offices. His eyes fall on mine, and a shiver runs up my spine. I’ve seen pictures of the infamous Bill Whart, but up close, he’s scarier and far more confronting. He has aged a lot in the last twenty years. Gone is his thick dark hair, and in its place, there are flickers of gray with a receding hairline. His eyes, the same murky green, have small wrinkles on the skin surrounding them. He’s still a well-built man, tall and large, but he is a little softer around the middle these days.

Pushing to my feet, I approach when he walks my way. His eyes never leave mine as he stops in front of me. “Considering I don’t have a niece, I was curious as to who might have been down here, claiming to be family.”

I give him a cold smile. “It works most of the time when I want to talk to someone without an appointment.”

“And what, my dear, would you like to talk to me about? I’ve never seen your face before, so I’m afraid I don’t know what you could possibly be here about. My son is Mayor, is it him you wish to speak with?”

“No, it’s you. I’m certain you’ll know exactly what I’m asking about the moment it leaves my lips. Can we talk privately?”

He narrows his eyes. “I’m quite busy.”

“Too busy to talk about how you murdered Daniel and Braithe Gregory and sent an innocent man to prison for twenty years?”

His eyes flash in a way that has me taking a step back, but it’s his expression that tells me I’ve hit a nerve, and I’ve got the truth even without him opening his mouth. Gone is his kind expression, in its place a scowl fills his features.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a person who is going to share this story with the world, and you, my friend, will spend a very long time behind bars where you belong. That’s only scratching the surface, too, I’m going to crack all your illegal shit wide open and share it with this town that you have so effectively brain washed.”

Rage fills his features, but he manages to calm it.

“I don’t know what you think you know, or even who you are, but I can assure you that whatever it is you’re talking about, will only get you into trouble. There is no proof I have done anything of the sort.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I’m bluffing, but I’m bluffing with full confidence. I’m holding his eyes, my voice is big and strong, and I’m acting certain even though at this stage, I have zero evidence to prove what it is I’m saying. It doesn’t matter though; my words have him look a smidge uneasy, and that is an incredibly thrilling sight.

“If I were you, I’d walk out of this office and let this go. You don’t want to go down whatever path you’re walking right now, little girl, because if you do you’ll find yourself in the kind of trouble you can’t get out of.”

I smile, cold as ice. “Your threats mean nothing to me, I’m not afraid of you, and I’m going to make sure you get what’s coming to you. You’re a murderer, you took the lives of two innocent people, and you need to pay for that.”

“Careful,” he grinds out, “you’re walking a fine line.”

I shake my head in disgust. “You are the scum of this earth, and I just wanted you to know that I’m onto you and soon, the rest of the world will be, too. Enjoy your happy little life, I’m about to blow the shit out of it.”

With that, I turn on my heel and walk toward the door.

“You better watch your back, young lady,” Bill murmurs, just loud enough that I can hear it.

I don’t look back.

I’ve said what I needed to say.

I’ve made him uneasy.

He needs to know that his little world is about to be torn to pieces.

As I walk out, I’m so confident, but little do I know that I’ve just opened a bear trap, and I’m about to dive right inside.

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