Page 39 of The House on Forgotten Hill

“And you listened?”

“For twenty years.” He leaned closer, his lips inches from my ear. “But guess what? My father died a month ago, and I plan to make up for lost time.”

I jerked back and did the only thing I could think to do.

I screamed.

The back of his hand struck my face so hard my vision blurred. “Don’t do that again.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve answered your questions. Now it’s time for you to answer mine. Who else knows about the photographs?”

I stared back at him.

And for the first time since he’d entered my house, I stopped being afraid of dying.

“I’ll never tell you. Go ahead and kill me.”

He smiled, then brushed a few strands of hair from my face.

“Oh, Olivia. I am going to kill you. But first, we’re going to have a little fun.”

19

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I stared at Preston, my wrists burning against the handcuffs. He reached for the strap of my nightgown, tearing at the fabric. I twisted beneath him, kicking and thrashing, desperate to break free.

I tried to roll away, but he shoved me back against the floor.

As the room began spinning around me, my father’s face flashed through my mind.

Then my mother’s.

This can’t be how it ends.

Not this way.

Not here.

Not in this house.

I screamed again, louder this time, fighting with everything I had left.

And then a deafening crack echoed through the hallway.

For an instant, everything went silent.

Preston froze, the expression on his face shifting from anger to confusion. Then his eyes rolled back, and his body collapsed beside me.

I lay there, unable to move, struggling to understand what had happened.

Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the hardwood floor as footsteps approached, slow and deliberate.

Then a figure stepped into view.

Estelle.

She stood in the hallway, a revolver trembling in her hand.

“I couldn’t sleep. The more I thought about those photographs, the more worried I became, and I decided to come over and check on you. I’m so glad I did.” She dropped the gun and rushed toward me. “Oh, sweetheart. Are you all right?”