Chapter 5 - “No.”I took Maya's phone from her hand.
“You are not going anywhere.”
“But he knows.”
“I don't care.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No, Mom.”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“If I don't go, he'll hurt Sophie.”
The detective stepped between us.
“Nobody is going anywhere without police.”
We tracked the message.
The location was the old gymnasium.
The building had been closed for renovations six months earlier.
Nobody was supposed to have access.
Yet someone had just told Maya to go there.
At midnight.
The police surrounded the property.
Maya remained in the cruiser with me.
Then we heard a sound.
Three knocks.
From inside the gym.
The officers entered.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Finally, one detective returned.
His face was grim.
“You need to see this.”
Inside the old gym, rows of broken mirrors lined the walls.
On the floor were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Girls from the cheer team.
Some recent.
Some from years ago.
Every photograph had a name written beneath it.
Sophie.
Emily.
Maya.
And others.
I picked one up.
It showed Maya entering the school last Monday.
Another showed her leaving practice.
Another showed her eating lunch.
Someone had been watching her for weeks.
Then I saw something worse.
A photograph of me.
Standing outside our house.
Taken from across the street.
My hands started shaking.
“He's been watching us.”
The detective didn't respond.
At the center of the room stood a wooden chair.
Taped to it was a photograph of Sophie.
Alive.
She was sitting somewhere dark.
Her hands were tied.
The photo was recent.
On the wall behind her was a clock.
The time read 12:17.
The detective looked at his watch.
12:08.
“She may still be alive.”
Then the lights went out.
Someone screamed.
A loud metallic sound echoed through the building.
A side door slammed.
The officers ran toward it.
But whoever had been there was gone.
In the darkness, I heard Maya whisper:
“Mom.”
“What?”
She was staring at the wall.
There was writing there.
Made with red paint.
ONE SECRET FOR ONE LIFE.
Beneath it:
TELL THE TRUTH OR SOPHIE DIES.
Maya stepped forward.
“No.”
The detective held her back.
Then something fell from above.
A phone.
It hit the floor at Maya's feet.
The screen lit up.
A live video was playing.
Sophie.
She was crying.
“Please.”
Maya screamed:
“Sophie!”
Sophie's eyes looked directly into the camera.
“Maya, don't tell them anything.”
A man's voice spoke from off-screen.
“Tell her what happens if she lies.”
Sophie shook her head.
The man grabbed her.
She screamed.
Then the video went black.
Maya collapsed.
I turned to the detective.
“We have to find her.”
“We will.”
“No.”
I pointed toward the phone.
“He wants something.”
The screen displayed a message.
ONE NAME.
Then:
WHO STOLE THE MONEY?
Maya's face went white.
“I don't know.”
The message changed.
WRONG ANSWER.
The phone began counting down.
Maya stared at it.
“I know who.”
Everyone turned.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Principal Harris.”
I felt the ground disappear beneath me.
“Why would he steal the money?”
“Because Sophie found the account.”
“What account?”
“The second one.”
“What second account?”
Maya looked at the timer.
“The booster club had an account nobody knew about.”
“Who controlled it?”
“Principal Harris.”
“Then tell us everything.”
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because that's not the worst part.”
“What is the worst part?”
Maya stared at me.
“The money wasn't stolen.”
“It was being paid to someone.”
“Who?”
Maya whispered:
“The Keeper.”
The screen went black.
Then a final message appeared.
NOW YOU KNOW WHERE SOPHIE IS.
Beneath it was an address.
My house.
I looked at the detective.
Then slowly turned toward Maya.
May you like
Someone had brought Sophie to our home.
While we were at the school.
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