Page 37 of The House on Forgotten Hill

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he sighed. “He left me no choice.”

Tears filled my eyes.

“As soon as Julian left the house that night, I knew where he was going,” he said. “I knew what he intended to do."

I squeezed my eyes shut. “And you stopped him.”

“I did what I had to do to protect myself.”

In that moment, a horrible realization washed over me. He wouldn’t be telling me any of this unless he planned to make sure I never repeated it.

He was going to kill me.

If I was going to make a move, I needed to do it now.

I sprinted down the hallway, making it only a few feet before something slammed into my back, the force sending me crashing to the floor.

Pain exploded through my shoulder as my cheek struck the hardwood. I screamed and tried to crawl away, but Preston grabbed my arm and yanked it behind my back.

“Stop fighting,” he said. “You’ll only make things worse.”

Panic consumed me as tears streamed down my face. “Please, Preston, whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.”

He reached for my other arm, forcing it behind me.

A metallic click echoed through the hallway.

Handcuffs.

My wrists burned as the steel tightened around them.

I lay there gasping for air, my heart hammering against my ribs.

This is it.

This is how it ends.

Not with answers.

Not with justice.

With me dying on the floor of my childhood home.

18

Pain shot through my body as Preston grabbed the handcuffs and flipped me onto my back. Before I had the chance to catch my breath, he was on top of me, pinning my legs beneath his weight.

For the first time since I’d seen him standing in my kitchen, I got a good look at his face, and what I saw terrified me. The charming smile was gone, and the warmth in his eyes had vanished. What stared back at me now was something cold and empty, something lifeless. It was the face of a man who felt no guilt or remorse for the things he’d done.

He leaned closer, gritting his teeth as he said, “Who else knows about the photographs?”

I swallowed hard and said nothing.

“I assume you told Estelle,” he said. “Who else?”

“I’m not telling you anything.”