Chapter 7: The Mask Unveiled
Evelyn stood in the cold, her breath coming out in jagged clouds as she stared at the darkened entrance of the warehouse. The haunting sight of Marcus’s lifeless body still burned in her mind, the image seared into her thoughts like a scar. She knew the killer’s words hadn’t been empty—this was personal. The game had turned from a hunt into something far more sinister, and she was its next target.
She could feel it, the weight of the threat pressing against her chest, suffocating her. The killer had been right about one thing: her past had come to haunt her, and now it was reaching into her future. But no matter how twisted the path became, she wouldn’t stop. Not now. Not after everything.
With a final, determined glance at Marcus’s body, Evelyn turned away. She couldn’t afford to let grief consume her; there were too many questions left unanswered, too many layers of deception still to be peeled back. She had to follow the trail, even if it led her deeper into the heart of darkness.
The symbol carved into Marcus’s chest—the same one that had appeared in the previous crime scenes—was the only clue she had left. It was a signature, something personal to the killer, and Evelyn couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that it held the key to understanding his twisted motives. She had seen it before, in her past, though it had been buried beneath years of professional distance.
She had to revisit those memories. She had to confront the demons that had been lurking in the corners of her mind, waiting for this moment.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, breaking the silence. She fumbled for it, her fingers shaking, and pulled it out.
“Evelyn, I need to see you. It’s urgent. I have something you need to know.”
The message was from Liam. She had worked with him in the past—a fellow forensic psychologist, someone she trusted. Or at least, she had. Her suspicions had been growing over the past few days, as Liam’s name kept cropping up in unexpected places, but now wasn’t the time to doubt him. Not yet.
She typed back: “Where?”
“My office. Now.”
The urgency in his words left no room for hesitation. Evelyn slipped the phone back into her pocket and made her way to the parking lot. As she drove through the winding streets, the tension in her body only deepened. She had to be careful now. Too many people were involved in this, and trust had become a rare commodity.
Liam’s office was a stark, sterile place—white walls, clinical décor, and an overwhelming smell of antiseptic that always made Evelyn feel like she was suffocating. She hated the place, but it was familiar, and for a brief moment, the familiarity was comforting.
When she walked in, Liam was already there, standing by the large window that overlooked the city. His back was to her, and he didn’t turn around when she entered. Instead, he spoke, his voice low and steady.
“You’re looking for answers, Evelyn. But the truth is, you’re too close to see it.”
Evelyn felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a sense of foreboding creeping over her like an unwelcome visitor. “What do you mean?”
Liam turned, his expression unreadable. “I’ve been investigating the killer too, Evelyn. But there’s something you don’t know—something you need to hear. You’re not just a victim in this game. You’re part of it. You always have been.”
The words hit her like a punch to the gut. She took a step back, feeling the ground shift beneath her feet.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady, but she could hear the crack in it.
“The killer… he’s been leaving clues about your past, hasn’t he?” Liam’s eyes were intense, studying her every reaction. “He’s trying to pull you into something you’re not ready to face. Something from years ago, Evelyn. The work we did together, the things we uncovered. It wasn’t just a case. It was a warning.”
Evelyn felt a chill creep up her spine as the words settled into her mind. The files, the therapy sessions, the long-forgotten case she had buried deep within her subconscious… it was all coming back now, crashing over her in waves of dread.
“You’re telling me this is connected to our old case?” Evelyn’s voice was barely a whisper. She could hardly believe it. “The one from years ago?”
Liam nodded slowly. “The killer has been watching you for a long time, Evelyn. And he’s been waiting. He knows you’re the key to understanding it all. You were the one who cracked that case wide open. You were the one who exposed the truth. But the truth wasn’t what we thought it was. There’s more to it—more than we ever realized.”
Evelyn felt the room close in around her as the weight of his words settled in. Her mind raced, trying to connect the dots, but they refused to come together. There were too many unanswered questions, too many things that didn’t make sense.
“You’re not making sense, Liam. What truth? What are you hiding?”
Liam stepped closer, his expression hardening. “You think this is just some random killer targeting you? No. This is personal, Evelyn. This is about the case we worked on, about the people we uncovered. You were never meant to expose that, and now it’s all coming back to haunt you.”
The truth—the thing Evelyn had been running from for years—was staring her in the face. She had never fully processed the horrors of that old case. She had buried them, locked them away, thinking that time would erase them. But it hadn’t. And now, the killer had returned to finish what had been started all those years ago.
“You can’t hide from it forever,” Liam said, his voice soft, almost sympathetic. “You never could.”
Evelyn’s blood ran cold as she realized the true nature of the trap she was caught in. It wasn’t just a game. It was a reckoning.
The killer wasn’t the only one with a past to hide.
And now, Evelyn was about to face hers.
