After the police came to question Bella
Bella sat by the window, watching the flashing lights disappear down the street.
Her bedroom door creaked open. Her father stepped inside, quiet, tense.
He didn't speak right away. He just sat down on the edge of her bed, shoulders heavy.
"Did you do it?" he asked gently.
Bella turned to face him. Her expression was unreadable.
"What if I did?" she whispered.
He exhaled slowly, staring at the floor.
"I always knew something inside you was... different."
Silence.
"But you're still my little girl."
Bella's lips curved into a smile. Small. Honest.
"You're not afraid of me?" she asked.
He looked up at her, eyes shining—not with fear, but fierce love.
"I'm afraid for you. Not of you."
---
The Kitchen
Her mother slammed a cupboard shut. Pacing.
"She did it. I know she did," she hissed. "That boy didn't deserve that—"
Her husband interrupted, voice low and steady:
"We don't know anything."
"You really think she's innocent?"
He didn't answer.
"That girl's got something wrong in her, and you want to pretend she's normal?"
"She's our daughter," he snapped. "We protect our own."
"I'm not protecting a murderer."
"She's not a monster."
"She kept body parts," her mother whispered, horrified. "I found the jars."
That stopped him.
His face tightened. His hands clenched.
But still—
"She's our child."
---
Bella's Room
Her father stepped in again. Closed the door. Sat across from her.
"They're going to keep watching you."
"I know."
"We're going to move."
Bella's eyes lit up. "New city?"
"Yes."
"But your mother—"
"I'll handle your mother."
He paused.
"Whatever happens… don't do anything like that again."
Bella smiled faintly, but didn't answer.
He didn't ask again.
---
One Week Later – A New City
The house was smaller. The town quieter. Fewer whispers.
Bella's mother avoided her, barely spoke. Stayed in her own space.
But her father watched her carefully, always near. A quiet guard.
She started at her new school with perfect posture and a perfect smile.
No one knew her past.
But Bella knew herself—and that was enough.
---
Midnight
In a hidden box beneath the floorboards…
The heart, the eye, and the ear still sat in jars. Trophies.
Bella sat beside them with a pen and a list of names. Students. Teachers. Targets.
Above her, the house creaked. Her father's footsteps pacing.
She closed her eyes and whispered:
"Daddy still loves me. That's all I need."
Then she circled a name.
---
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