Mr. Miller had taken the time to explain how he discovered Sophie was my half sister. He had stalked my mother while trying to get her to admit what she did, and how she killed his wife. He had seen her go to the hospital and then return two days later with a new child. He had even seen Charles and her exchange the child a few months later when he assumed the baby would have been weaned off the mother's milk. I gagged at the thought, but it had unaffected him and he continued on.
When he had given my mom a final chance to come clean she came back to Shady Hallows. He spent a long time tracking her down again. It had taken so long because he didn't want to alert her to his search, so he couldn't have asked my grandmother to tell him straight-out where my mother lived. It took a few years, but he soon found her thanks to a local newspaper article. He didn't elaborate on what the article had been about, but instead on how soon after he followed her here. He had laid low for a while, and then picked up a job at the school. He had watched us grow up, and he was mad because his child didn't even have a chance at life while her children were out experiencing all that the world has to offer.
He thought about giving my mom another chance, but decided she didn't deserve it since she didn't do anything with the previous chances he had given her. Though he couldn't go after her right away at first either. He had seen Sophie be given to Charles, and knew that she had another daughter. Just eliminating the two children from her marriage wasn't enough of a punishment, all of her children would need to be killed for her to suffer the same as he did. So he spent time tracking down Charles and Sophie. It took him a while, and he didn't find them until Sophie made a social media page. It listed her home town of Nantucket, and some of her family members.
Mr. Miller clarified that he had been the one to get Charles moved here for work, and how he had put in an application for him after the previous person in the position mysteriously disappeared. Suddenly it didn't seem so mysterious.
He went on explaining everything to me, even how he had been watching Mason and I grow close. He had hoped that it was the relationship as everyone else thought it was, but he quickly learned that neither Mason nor I had thought Sophie's death was an accident. He had hoped to divert us, and he had heard Mason say he was ready to give up. He had hope that I would too, but he knew he'd still have to get rid of me. At least Mason would live. He'd know I didn't kill myself, and he'd investigate. I just wasn't sure what he would find if Mr. Miller had sent the text message and taken the phone.
Mason may never know what happened and he'd lose someone else close to him; me.
After he finished explaining why I had to die, he had gone into the other room to do something. Probably to get everything ready to inject me with the drugs. As soon as he had left I started to struggle with the restraints again. I knew when Mr. Miller came back I'd be given the same concoction that Sophie had and no matter what I went through the result would all be the same. I'd end up dead just as she had. I needed to get out. I needed to tell someone, anyone who would listen. Everyone had to be warned, and I needed a way to make sure he admitted what he had done to someone else. I wasn't going to let him get away with this, he was going to pay.
With a hard yank on the left wrist restraint I heard it snap. I paused momentarily, hoping Mr. Miller hadn't heard it, but also in shock at actually breaking through. I inspected the strap that had snapped against my struggling. There were a few stray cuts as if the knife had slipped and he had cut most of the way through and allowed me to break free. Something fell in the other room that caused me to break out of the trance. I didn't waste anymore time as I fiddled with the buckle on the other strap to release my other hand. Once my injured wrist was released I took a moment to hold it to make sure the gauze stayed on, and prayed the bleeding had stopped.
I listened to Mr. Miller's movements in the other room as I undid the restraints on my legs. From the sounds he was making it seemed like he was looking for something or cleaning up whatever had fallen. He was moving in a small area, and seemed to be pacing back and forth. That gave me an opportunity. I could see the door, and I knew I could make it out before he came back; I just had to be quiet.
Taking in a shaky breath to prepare myself and calm my nerves, I started the trek to the door. I tiptoed along the wooden floors, silently praying the boards wouldn't make a sound and alert Mr. Miller that I had managed to escape. It was easy until I made it close to the room that he was in. He had been in the other room for a while. I assumed it had been a kitchen or a utility room, but I couldn't be sure. Just like I couldn't be sure where he was facing.
If I ran by when he was looking then he'd catch me in no time, but there was nothing I could do about that. I didn't have time to waste. If I stood around trying to determine if he was facing me or not, then he'd be all that closer to coming out and running straight into me. I took a deep breath and shook out my arms as an attempt to get rid of the nerves; I had to go.
I can do this.
Without another thought I bolted toward the door. Despite how my hands were trembling, I was able to undo the latch in one swift motion and pull the door open just enough for me to slip through. After I was outside, I pulled the door shut just a crack so that I wouldn't make any noise and alert him of my escape. Then, with my arms pumping at my sides and my legs moving as quickly as they could, I raced toward the trees. My breathing came out in ragged breaths as I ran harder than I ever had before, which honestly wasn't hard considering I rarely ran. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I sprinted through the woods that I had been playing in all of my life.
It wasn't long until I recognized where I was. My heart clenched at the thought, but I pushed myself further, knowing that it would be the easiest location for Mason to find me. As I neared the the place where I had first met Sophie and Mason, I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my walkie-talkie. I was so grateful to have it at this moment that I wanted to hug and kiss it. Instead, I turned the volume all the way up and pushed the ring button so that it would ring on Mason's end.
The ringing sound was making noise on my end as well and I silently prayed that Mr. Miller hadn't noticed that I was missing yet or he would probably be out here searching for me and the sounds from the walkie-talkie would help him track me down faster. I gripped the electronic tightly in my hand realizing that it was my only connection to safety, and only chance at living. As I waited for Mason to respond on his end, I continued toward the hole in the woods.
After a minute, that felt like an hour, Mason's voice came in over the radio. "Casey?" he said in a groggy voice. He must have gone to bed after he had gotten the text message Mr. Miller had sent him.
At the sound of his voice, tears began to flow from my eyes and down my cheeks. "Mason," I responded, my voice cracking. "Mason, you have to get help."
"What's wrong?" he asked, responding quickly. "I thought you went home."
"I didn't send you that message. I never got home. I'm in the woods near the hole where I first met you and I'm in danger. I was right about Mr. Miller." I wiped tears from my eyes and sniffled. "Please hurry. Bring the police. He killed Sophie, and now he's trying to kill me."
There was a crack of fuzz in the connection as he responded, but I heard him say, "Call you when I get there. Don't worry, Casey. I won't let him hurt you." Then he was gone.
As if my body wanted to prove Mason's words wrong, my wrist began to burn softly. Ignoring the pain, I tucked the walkie-talkie back into my pocket, leaving it on as I jogged toward the location that I was going to meet Mason at. I hoped that he hurried, and they would make it in time. Otherwise I was heading straight for my death.
My body continued to shake as I headed toward a large tree to hide behind so that I wasn't out in the open. I sat down, pressing my back to the tree and breathing deeply, trying to calm myself down and think rationally. The woods were big, and Mr. Miller wasn't a native to our area while I knew the forest like the back of my hand, thanks to the many times that I had played in it with John. I knew every trail, and route, while he didn't. The only thing holding me back from trying to find a way home was that where I was, would take an hour for me to get to town walking. Mr. Miller had driven us only about fifteen minutes away and then into the woods to the cabin. When John and his friends came out here with me, we all rode our bikes, which made travel a lot quicker.
I sat behind the tree, breathing hard for about five minutes. I knew that it wouldn't take Mason and the police long to get here if he got to them quickly. They would speed, and I would be safe in no time. My wrist throbbed, and I wanted more than anything to be home with my family. I knew that by now they would all be awake and someone would have alerted them about my disappearance. Hopefully it wasn't long until someone came, and that Mr. Miller had gone in a different direction than I had. If so, then Mason would find me before he did.
My hopes were short lived when I heard the sound of leaves crunching not far from where I was hiding. I tugged my coat tighter around me as a gust of cold air hit me. I was trembling in fear, and cold now as Mr. Miller called my name through the woods.
"Casey!" he called, his voice noticeably distressed at having me escape. I was ruining his plan and he couldn't have that. If I got away then he'd be caught. Right now he didn't know that I had already contacted help, and he was going down either way. "Casey!"
My head snapped to the left as I saw him come out between a clustering of trees. If I didn't move he would see me. I slowly made my way around the tree, inching around until I would be concealed from view, but with each step he got closer to me. He must have heard the leaves under my feet because I heard him slowly making his way toward me. I tried to move to a different tree one I was out of his line of sight, but when the sound of his laughter emanated through the woods I knew I had been discovered.
"I hope you knew that you couldn't get away from me." He slowly walked closer, as I backed away, nearing the canyon.
I turned around to see it slowly coming closer, and I knew what his plan was. If he couldn't torture me as he had done to Sophie, he'd shove me into the canyon and let everyone think it was an accident. That was his plan for how to get away with murder, once again, but not if I could help it. In a last ditch effort, I shoved my hand into my pocket, holding the talk button and hoping that Mason was listening on the other end. "You won't get away with this," I screamed at him, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
"I beg to differ," he replied, gesturing behind me at my dead end. I didn't take my eyes away from him though. I was hoping that if I could stall for just a few more minutes then someone, anyone, would come along and save me. "You have nowhere to go, but down. Either way, you'll be gone, but I have to admit now you've helped me figure out how to make your death look like an accident. No one will know I killed you, and then I can go after John." He held his hand out, giving me a cruel smile as he leaned toward me. "Come with me and I'll make it less painful. I promise you won't even feel a thing."
I shook my head, frowning. "Why do I have to die? Why can't you just let me go? I won't tell anyone."
A slight expression of curiosity crossed onto his face before he frowned again. "I already told you why, Casey. You're mother doesn't deserve to have her children alive and well, when she's the reason I lost the love of my life and my unborn child." He was breathing heavily now, his chest rising and falling. It was as if the mere mention of the event sent him over the edge.
"You didn't have to kill Sophie ," I improvised, I had to hope that if Mason was listening to this, he was also recording it. I had seen enough television shows to know that they needed a confession, this was the best I could offer them. "She didn't even know about the connection to my mother. No one else except her and Charles."
Mr. Miller shrugged and stepped closer to me. "That's not my fault. I am sorry she had to die, but Andrea needed to experience the pain she put me through. She needs to own up to her actions and take responsibility for what she did. Now either come with me, or take a nose dive into the canyon."
Instinctively I took another step back, not far enough to fall, but I knew that I couldn't go any further. I wanted to make it seem as if I had made my choice, but I knew I was saved. Thankfully, the the sound of feet falling on leaves became prominent as police officers with their guns trained on Mr. Miller came out of the trees, running toward him. A feeling of relief washed over me as I watched him being tackled to the ground and handcuffed.
It all happened in a blur then. An officer came near me, tossing his arm over my shoulders as he escorted me away from the scene. We headed in the direction of the cabin, coming out of the woods in another clearing closer to the canyon to where the police cars were parked. The lights were spinning around, but there were no sirens. I spotted my parents and John first, standing in a clump together with worried expressions on the faces. My mom was crying when she looked up and saw me. I ran toward them, hugging John first, not knowing how I would tell him that he was next on Mr. Miller's hit list. None of that mattered now though, I just hugged them all, elated to see them. I had thought that I would never see them again.
After a few minutes of just being surrounded and comforted by my family, my dad pointed out Mason. he was standing with an officer who I noticed was holding the walkie-talkie. I headed their way.
When Mason saw me, he smiled instantly and opened his arms for me. I hugged him tightly, resting my head on his shoulder and just being comforted by his embrace.
"We got him," Mason whispered in my ear. "We got a recording of his confession." He smoothed some of my hair down gently, hugging me tighter. "It's over."