Emily's scream still echoed in the trees when Jade grabbed her shoulders. "Stop. You're going to get us all killed."
"She's gone!" Emily sobbed, clawing at Jade's grip. "They took her right in front of us and we didn't do anything—"
"We couldn't see," Jade snapped. "We were blind."
Mia stood frozen, shaking so hard she looked like she might shatter. "This… this isn't a game anymore. They have Sophie. They have her."
Emily tore free from Jade and spun in circles, scanning the darkness. "We can't just leave her!"
Jade lifted her crowbar, eyes darting through the shadows. "Then we find her. But running around like scared kids isn't going to help. We need a plan."
Another buzz. All three phones lit up at once.
Emily forced herself to look.
"Want her back? Do as I say. Tonight. – R"
Mia's voice was sharp, trembling. "They're telling us what to do now? Like we're their puppets?"
Jade exhaled hard, steadying herself. "They've been pulling the strings since the beginning. This just proves it."
Emily's stomach churned. "What if she's… what if they hurt her?"
Her phone buzzed again. A photo appeared.
Emily's breath hitched. "Oh my god."
It was Sophie. Sitting in what looked like an abandoned room—peeling wallpaper, a single flickering lightbulb. Her face was pale, eyes red from crying, but she was alive.
Scrawled across the wall behind her in dripping black paint were the words: "TRUST NO ONE."
Mia covered her mouth. "They're sending us proof. They want us to see she's alive. For now."
Emily's whole body shook. "Then we have to do what they say. We can't risk her life."
Jade's jaw tightened. "And what happens when they tell us to do something worse? When following orders isn't enough?"
Emily met her eyes, tears streaming. "Then we figure it out. Together. But we can't lose Sophie."
Another buzz.
Emily didn't want to look, but she had no choice.
"Midnight. Bring the diary. No excuses. – R"
Mia turned on her like a storm. "You knew this was coming. You've been hiding it from us, and now Sophie's paying the price. If you don't bring that diary, she's dead. Do you understand?"
Emily's chest collapsed under the weight of their stares. The diary—the one thing Rachel had entrusted to her—was now the only bargaining chip they had.
Jade's voice was low, dangerous. "So what's it going to be, Em? Protect Rachel's secrets, or save Sophie's life?"
Emily clutched her phone, staring at the flickering photo of Sophie.
And for the first time, she wasn't sure she could do both.
The walk back to town felt endless. Emily's legs carried her on autopilot, though every step was heavy with dread. Jade walked in silence, the crowbar still clenched in her hand. Mia stalked a few paces ahead, her phone gripped tight, muttering curses under her breath.
When Emily's house finally came into view, she thought she might collapse.
Inside, the familiar space felt foreign, dangerous. Every creak of the floorboards made her flinch. Her mom was asleep upstairs; if she came down now, she'd never understand what was happening.
Emily slipped into her room and shut the door. Her hands shook as she knelt beside her bed, pulling out the shoebox she'd kept hidden for weeks. The others crowded close, breathing down her neck.
"Open it," Mia demanded.
Emily's chest tightened. She lifted the lid, revealing the worn leather diary nestled inside. Its cover was scratched, the corners fraying. The sight of Rachel's looping handwriting on the first page nearly undid her.
Sophie's face flashed in her mind. She forced herself to steady.
Mia snatched it up before Emily could react. "Finally."
"Wait!" Emily reached for it, but Mia had already flipped the cover open.
The room went silent.
On the first page, Rachel's words stared back at them:
Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating under the weight of all the lies. If anyone knew the truth about us, everything would fall apart.
Mia's eyes darted to Emily. "About us? What does that mean?"
Emily shook her head. "I don't know. Keep going."
Mia flipped further. Paragraphs, fragments. Anger and fear etched in ink.
Jade scares me sometimes. She thinks she can protect me, but control isn't protection. She doesn't understand the difference.
Jade stiffened. "That's a lie."
Mia kept reading.
And Sophie… she doesn't deserve to get dragged into this. I never meant to kiss her. I didn't want her to see the truth in my eyes. If she did, she'd never forgive me.
Emily's throat closed. Sophie hadn't been lying. But Rachel had framed it as a mistake, a crack in the armor.
Mia's hands trembled as she turned the next page. She froze. Her face drained of color.
Emily's heart thudded. "What does it say?"
Mia slammed the diary shut, clutching it to her chest. "Nothing."
"Give it here," Jade snapped, lunging.
Mia twisted away, her voice sharp. "I said it's nothing!"
Emily's stomach twisted. "Mia… what did you see?"
Her phone buzzed. All three of them flinched.
Emily unlocked it with shaking hands. The message was simple, brutal:
"Mia's secret is written in ink. If she won't tell you, I will. – R"
Emily looked up. Mia's face was ashen, her eyes wide with terror.
"Don't," Mia whispered. "Please don't."
Jade's jaw tightened. "Then tell us before they do."
Emily could feel it—the cracks spreading wider, secrets spilling faster than they could stop them. And somewhere out there, Sophie was alone, waiting for them to make the wrong move.
Mia backed against the wall, clutching the diary to her chest like it could shield her from the truth. Her breathing was jagged, uneven.
"Give it up," Jade said, stepping closer. Her voice was sharp, but her eyes burned with suspicion. "If you don't tell us, they will. And I don't think you want to hear it from R."
"I said it's nothing," Mia snapped, but her voice cracked on the last word.
Emily's heart twisted. She'd never seen Mia like this—so raw, so cornered. "Mia," she said softly, "if it's in Rachel's diary, it's not nothing. Please… tell us before they do."
Mia's phone buzzed in her hand. She jumped. Slowly, with trembling fingers, she unlocked it. The new message lit up the screen:
"Secrets are only powerful when you hide them. Should I do the honors? – R"
"No!" Mia shouted at the screen, her voice breaking. She covered her mouth, as though she could shove the word back inside.
Jade folded her arms. "So it is something."
Emily moved closer. "Mia, whatever it is… we'll deal with it. Together."
Mia's eyes filled with tears. She sank to the floor, clutching the diary so hard her knuckles went white. "I… I wasn't supposed to be there that night."
Emily frowned. "What night?"
"The night Rachel disappeared."
The words hit like a punch. Silence slammed down around them.
Emily's breath caught. "You said you were at home—"
"I lied!" Mia's sobs cracked the air. "I was with her. I was the last one to see Rachel alive."
Jade froze, her face a mask of shock and fury. "You what?"
Mia buried her face in her hands. "She told me she wanted to meet, that it was important. She was scared, paranoid. I thought she was exaggerating, that it was just drama, but… she said she had proof. Proof about one of us."
Emily's whole body went cold. "Proof?"
Mia nodded, choking back a sob. "She said she wrote it down. In here." She lifted the diary weakly. "She wanted to show me, but… but before she could, someone else showed up. She panicked. Told me to run. So I did."
Jade's fists clenched. "You left her there?"
"I thought she'd be right behind me!" Mia screamed, her voice raw. "I thought—God, I didn't think she'd vanish!"
Another buzz. All three phones lit up. Emily's hands shook as she read the new message aloud:
"And now Sophie knows too much, just like Rachel. History repeats. – R"
Emily's stomach dropped.
Jade's face darkened. "They're telling us Sophie's going to end up like Rachel."
"No," Emily whispered. Her vision blurred with tears. "Not if we do what they want."
Mia clutched the diary tighter, her knuckles trembling. "Then we only have one choice. We give them this."
Jade's eyes burned with fury, but for once she didn't argue. She looked at Emily, silent, waiting.
Emily swallowed hard. Midnight was only hours away.
And Rachel's secrets were about to decide whether Sophie lived or died.
The clock on Emily's nightstand read 11:07 PM.
The minutes seemed to crawl, dragging the three of them deeper into a silence so sharp it hurt. The diary sat on Emily's desk, its leather cover glowing faintly in the lamplight like it was alive, pulsing with secrets.
Mia paced the room, chewing her fingernails raw. "We just give it to them. No questions, no arguments. We hand it over, they give Sophie back. That's the deal."
"Since when has R kept a deal?" Jade muttered. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, crowbar gleaming by her side. Her eyes never left Mia.
Mia whipped around. "Do you have a better idea? Because right now, Sophie's life is hanging by a thread!"
Emily hugged herself, rocking slightly. Her mind wouldn't stop replaying Rachel's handwriting, Rachel's words. Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating under the weight of all the lies…
Jade's glare was ice. "You should've told us the truth the second Rachel disappeared. Instead, you ran home and pretended like nothing happened."
Mia's face twisted, but she didn't fight back. She just sank onto Emily's bed, her shoulders hunched. "I thought I was protecting myself. I didn't know it would come to this."
The room felt smaller and smaller, the air thick with secrets none of them wanted to touch.
Emily's phone buzzed. A new message flashed across the screen:
"Time is running out. Midnight. Alone. Bring the diary, or Sophie disappears for good. – R"
Her stomach knotted. Alone.
"They want one of us," Emily whispered.
Mia's eyes widened. "You can't go by yourself. That's suicide."
"Maybe that's the point," Jade said darkly.
Emily hugged her arms tighter. "If I don't, they'll hurt her. I can't let that happen."
Jade stepped forward, her voice low and fierce. "Then we go with you. Screw what R says. If they want to take us on, they'll have to deal with all three of us."
Mia looked like she wanted to argue, but her voice broke. "Fine. But if something happens to Sophie because we didn't follow the rules—"
Emily glanced at the diary. She could almost hear Rachel's voice whispering from the pages.
Trust no one.
Her chest tightened. For the first time, she wondered if giving R the diary would be the end of all of them.
The clock ticked to 11:44 PM.
Jade straightened, crowbar in hand. "It's time."
Emily picked up the diary. Its weight was unbearable, like holding someone's soul in her hands.
The three of them slipped out the back door into the night. The air was heavy, the town eerily silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
And somewhere in the shadows, Sophie was waiting.
Or already gone.