Emily barely remembered stumbling home. The night blurred into fragments—Jade limping beside her, Mia's silent sobs, the phantom sound of laughter in the trees. By the time she crawled into bed, her body shook so violently she thought she might never stop.
But morning came anyway.
Sunlight streamed through her curtains, cruel in its brightness. Emily sat up slowly, her throat dry, her chest aching. For a moment, she almost convinced herself it had been a nightmare. That Rachel was alive. That Sophie wasn't missing. That the diary wasn't gone.
Her phone buzzed.
The illusion shattered.
One new message:
"Good morning, liar. Sweet dreams? – R"
Emily's stomach turned. She tossed the phone onto her nightstand like it burned.
Downstairs, her mother's voice drifted through the house. "Emily? Breakfast!"
Emily pressed her fists into her eyes. How could she sit at the table, pretend everything was fine, while Sophie was tied to a chair somewhere, terrified and alone?
Her phone buzzed again. This time, a group chat—Mia and Jade.
Mia:We need to meet. Now.Jade:Library. 11. Don't be late.
Emily sighed shakily. She dressed in silence, tugging on a hoodie to hide the dark bruises blooming on her arms.
The library was nearly empty, just the hum of fluorescent lights and the smell of old paper. Emily found Mia and Jade in the far corner, hidden between tall stacks.
Mia's eyes were red, her hands jittery as she clutched her coffee. Jade leaned against the table, ankle bandaged, face set like stone.
"Sit," Jade said.
Emily slid into the chair, heart heavy.
Mia's voice cracked first. "What the hell are we going to do? Sophie's gone. They have the diary. They're—" she dropped her voice, glancing around "—more than one person. Maybe dozens."
Emily swallowed. "Then we don't stand a chance."
Silence.
Jade finally spoke, her tone clipped. "We have to think smarter. If Rachel really left proof in that diary, then R will come after us next. Whatever's inside—it's not just about her. It's about us."
Mia's jaw trembled. "What if it's about me?"
Emily met her eyes. "Or me. Or Jade. Rachel trusted us with pieces of her, but never the whole picture. She knew something we didn't."
Jade's eyes narrowed. "And that's why she's dead."
Emily flinched.
Before anyone could respond, their phones buzzed simultaneously.
Emily's chest tightened as she read the new message:
"Three little liars, sitting in a row. One of you watched Rachel fall. One of you made her run. One of you held the knife. – R"
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Mia whispered, "They're trying to turn us against each other."
Jade's stare was ice. "Or they're telling the truth."
Emily's pulse thundered. For the first time, she wondered if Jade was right.
Emily's hands shook so hard she had to set her phone down on the table. "This is what R wants," she said quickly, her voice strained. "They're trying to make us turn on each other. Don't let them."
Jade's eyes burned into her. "Easy for you to say. You've been acting like you knew more than the rest of us since day one."
Emily's throat tightened. "That's not true."
"Really?" Jade's voice was sharp, almost a hiss. "Then tell us why you froze last night when the diary was mentioned. Like you already knew what was inside."
Emily opened her mouth, but no words came. Her silence was enough.
Mia slammed her palms against the table, startling them both. "Stop it! Rachel is missing, and Sophie—God, Sophie—she could be dead right now, and you two are tearing each other apart!"
Her voice broke on the last word. Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked between them. "Don't you see? That's exactly what R wants."
Emily's gaze softened. "Mia's right. We need to stay together, or we lose."
Jade's jaw clenched, but she sank back into her chair, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
For a brief moment, silence settled.
Then Jade said quietly, "Rachel told me something the week before she disappeared."
Emily and Mia snapped their heads toward her.
"What?" Emily asked.
Jade's expression was unreadable, her eyes distant. "She said if anything ever happened to her, it wouldn't be an accident. She said someone close to her would make sure of it."
The words landed heavy, thick, like chains tightening around all of them.
Emily's heart pounded in her ears. "She said that to you? And you didn't—"
"Tell you?" Jade's eyes flashed. "Would you have believed me? Or would you have thought I was trying to stir up drama like always?"
Mia wiped her eyes, voice trembling. "So… Rachel knew. She knew someone was after her."
Emily's stomach dropped. She whispered, "Which means R isn't just tormenting us. They finished what they started."
All three phones buzzed at once, vibrating against the wood.
Emily's hands shook as she picked hers up.
"Tick-tock, liars. Truth has a way of rotting from the inside. Tell her secret—or she'll never come home. – R"
Mia's face drained of color. "Sophie."
Emily clutched the phone tighter, her knuckles white. For the first time, she realized something chilling.
R didn't just want revenge.
They wanted confessions.
Emily's throat tightened as she reread the message, the black letters blurring on the screen. Tell her secret—or she'll never come home.
Sophie's life, hanging by a thread.
Jade leaned forward, her knuckles white against the table. "So, which one of you is going to confess?"
Emily snapped her head up. "Are you kidding me? You think this is us? That one of us is feeding R?"
Jade's lips twisted. "Rachel didn't trust easily. If she said someone close would make sure she disappeared, then it's someone in this room."
Mia's voice wavered. "Stop… just stop. We don't know what the message means. It could be Rachel's secret, not ours."
Emily shook her head sharply. "No. R said tell her secret. That means Rachel told one of us something before she vanished. And whoever knows it hasn't said a word." Her eyes flicked between them. "So… which one of us is it?"
Silence stretched like a blade between them.
Jade exhaled slowly. "Not me. Rachel and I barely talked those last few weeks. She was avoiding me. Avoiding all of us, really."
Emily's stomach twisted. "Then why did she warn you?"
Jade flinched, her mask slipping for just a moment. "Because she thought I'd be next."
Mia let out a shaky sob, burying her face in her hands. "This is insane. We're chasing ghosts while Sophie's out there, probably begging us to hurry. R has her, and we're sitting here arguing like children."
Emily reached across the table, placing her hand gently on Mia's trembling fingers. "We're not children. We're targets."
Jade's voice was cold steel. "Then stop pretending like you don't know more than you're saying."
Emily stiffened.
"Don't." Her voice cracked. "Don't you dare."
But Jade's eyes bored into her, unrelenting. "You froze last night, Emily. When the diary was mentioned, you went pale like you'd seen a ghost. Why?"
Emily's pulse thundered in her ears. She tried to look away, but Jade's stare pinned her down.
"Fine." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Because Rachel told me something too. The night she disappeared."
Mia's head snapped up, eyes wide. "What?"
Emily swallowed, the words tasting like poison. "She said… she said she had proof. That someone in this town wasn't who they pretended to be. She made me swear I'd never tell anyone until she was ready."
Jade's jaw tightened. "And you didn't think that was worth sharing?"
"I didn't know if it was real!" Emily snapped, her hands curling into fists. "Rachel always liked her secrets, her drama. I thought she was exaggerating. I didn't think—" her voice broke "—I didn't think she'd die for it."
Mia's hands clutched her coffee cup so tight Emily feared it might shatter. "So Rachel gave both of you pieces of the puzzle. And Sophie… Sophie might be the one paying the price."
Before Emily could respond, their phones buzzed again.
Another message.
"Tick-tock. One hour. Confess—or the next body won't be found. – R"
Mia's hands flew to her mouth. "One hour?"
Emily's chest tightened so hard it felt like she couldn't breathe. "They're not bluffing."
Jade slammed her fist onto the table, the sound echoing through the quiet library. "Then we make them think we're confessing."
Emily blinked. "What?"
"We spin it," Jade said quickly, leaning forward, her eyes sharp. "We pick something small. Something embarrassing, but not deadly. Feed it to R, buy ourselves time."
Mia shook her head furiously. "No. If they find out we're lying, Sophie—"
"She's dead anyway if we do nothing!" Jade snapped.
The table went silent.
Emily's chest burned. "Jade… if Rachel's secret is what got her killed, lying about it won't stop R. It'll just make them angrier."
Jade's hands curled into fists. "And if it's your secret, Emily? Would you rather Sophie die than admit the truth?"
Emily's vision blurred. The words hit too close. Too sharp. Because deep down, she knew Jade was right about one thing.
Emily did have a secret.
One she had buried so deep she thought it would never surface.
And Rachel had known.
Her phone buzzed again, jerking her back into the moment.
A photo this time.
Sophie. Tied to a chair. Duct tape across her mouth. Eyes wide, shining with tears.
The caption burned itself into Emily's mind:
"Your silence is her coffin. – R"
Mia let out a strangled sob, covering her mouth. Jade swore under her breath, slamming her fist against the table again.
Emily's entire body shook as she stared at Sophie's terrified face.
Rachel's warning echoed in her mind like a scream. If anything happens to me, it won't be an accident.
Now it wasn't just about Rachel.
It was about Sophie.
And maybe—if Emily didn't tell the truth—she would be next.