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49

MADISON

W ith a frustrated sigh, I say, “Why am we here, Ben? What role do we play in your twisted game?”

“Awe, Maddie, don’t look so depressed.” He saunters across the room as though he has too much energy flowing through him to remain still. Rubbing his hands together in delight, a big smile curls his lips. His blue eyes lighten, a fanatical gleam emanating from them. “Both of you an instrumental part of my plan. There are things you are unaware of. Don’t worry. I’ll educate you.”

A slight shiver goes through me, but I do my best to hide it from him. “Oh, goodie. I can’t wait for my lessons.” I roll my eyes, a gasp coming out of me when he flies across the room and wraps his hand around my throat.

My mom gasps as he leans over me, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. “I’d watch how you talk to me, Madison. You’re in no position to be sarcastic and bitchy.” He squeezes, cutting off my air, before he releases me.

Greedily sucking in air, I slowly push myself up against the wall again. Drawing my knees up, my bound hands move to my throat, rubbing gently. Fucker. I know I shouldn’t push my luck, but I can’t help the glare I shoot him.

Luckily, Ben is pacing again, not paying attention to my glares as the manic energy swirls around him. He’s wearing jeans and a dark hoodie. His killer hoodie that I recognize from that infamous night in the woods behind campus. His voice is tinged with anger when he speaks. “It’s a shame you fucked around with Jagger, then came to campus and saw me with Brittany.”

An image of his hand around her neck, choking the life out of her as he raped her, assaults me.

"Oh, Maddie. You fucked around with Jagger ?” My mom shakes her head and I shoot her a withering glare.

“Yet you have no problem with me fucking a serial killer who just admitted to being with the raped and murdered victim. One of the ones you were supposed to be investigating her abduction.” Shaking my head, I continue. “Or didn’t you bother investigating her disappearance? You know, like you didn’t bother to do with me.”

“Madison Rose.” Her eyes flash with fury. “That’s enough.”

Ben laughs as though he’s entertained by us. He crosses his arms over his chest, a wide smile covering his lips. He reminds me of a twisted clown.

Turning my head back to my mom, I shrug. “I’m not wrong though. You weren’t looking for me.”

She bristles beside me. “I didn’t know you were missing.”

“Right. Because you’re always too involved with your job to worry about me. While I’m on campus watching Ben assault and kill a young woman while you were—I’m guessing here—safely in your warm bed, asleep?”

Bed chuckles. “Sick burn, Maddie.” He paces closer to us, peering down at my mom. “She raises an interesting question. What were you doing while the Falls Creek killer was running rampant, abducting and murdering young women?” He tsks. “Seems to me the police force is grossly incompetent.”

I snort. “I have to agree with Ben on that one.” Shooting her a withering look, my face twists up from disgust.

“Neither of you have any idea what you’re talking about.” Her body is taut as she says, “The police force is not incompetent.”

This time, Ben and I breathe out disgusted snorts at the same time. He smiles at me conspiratorially, as though we share something in common, which raises my hackles.

“Don’t get excited, killer. What you did to Brittany is disgusting. I have zero respect for you.”

Ben’s eyes light up and I think I’m going to vomit. “Ah, Brittany was such a beautiful girl. She looked even better when the life drained from her eyes.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” I grunt, disgust swirling inside me like a tornado.

“I’m glad you brought her up. I have a surprise for you.” He claps his hands together. “I have a video to show you.” He pulls his phone from his pocket, then pushes a button and flips it around so my mom and I can see it. I try to lunge for his phone but he pulls it back, shoving me against the wall. The breath is knocked out of me when I hit it. “Tsk, tsk, Maddie. You should know better.” He flashes me a vile smile as I wince, pain shooting down my spine. His eyes dart to my mom. “Maddie is more of a fighter than you are.”

Although I hate Ben and am furious at him, his words cause me to look over at my mom. She glares at Ben. “Maybe I’m just not as stupid as she is,” she hisses.

Ouch. Narrowing my eyes, I glare at her until she turns her head to mine. A look passes between us, like she’s trying to send me a signal. I just don’t know what it is.

“Control yourself, Maddie,” Ben snaps. “You need to see this.” He holds the phone out again, keeping it out of my reach and hits play. “Belinda Hillyard. She was quite the beauty. She was the star of the video I sent to Jagger. Did he show it to you?” That fanatical gleam is back in his sapphire orbs, his face twisted with a strange psychotic pride.

When I don’t answer, he chuckles, stooping down in front of me. If I wasn’t in so much agony from my back and head, I’d kick him in the nuts.

Ben reaches out, and I try to turn my head, but I’m not quick enough. One hand holds my chin in place while the other caresses my skin. Trembling, I bite my lip, closing my eyes.

But they fly open when he says the words that fill me with sickening revulsion. “Belinda stayed on that same mattress that you’re sitting on.”

My spine snaps straight, bile burning the back of my throat as an uncontrollable shudder sweeps through my body. “You’re fucking psychotic.”

As soon as the words leave my lips, fear courses through my spine. But I relax when Ben laughs. “I’ve been called far worse.”

He releases me, standing and pacing again. “There’s so much you don’t know, young Maddie. Things that Maura here is aware of, though.” He flashes his teeth at her, an insincere smile with eyes simmering from rage. “Let me start with this. Don’t act so snobby about the conditions in which you find yourself. The foster home I lived in as a child was horrific. It was very similar to where you find yourself now. I slept on a mattress on the floor and was only given a tiny blanket to cover up with. No toys or anything. They packed the kids in the bedroom and kept the refrigerator padlocked, so we were only fed when our foster parents allowed us to eat.”

I can’t help but feel a wave of sympathy crash through me. “I’m sorry, Ben,” I whisper.

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be such a bleeding fucking heart, Maddie. It toughened me up. Helped shape me into who I am now.” He chuckles, gaze moving to my mom. “Maura helped ensure that. Didn’t you?” His face hardens as he slowly moves closer to her. His hand shoots out, wrapping around her throat. “Answer me, bitch.”

I freeze, the choking noises coming from my mom catching me off guard.

“Stop it, Ben.” Twisting, my hands shoot out, grabbing his arm. He shrugs me off, one hand leaving my mom’s throat as he jabs his elbow into my eye.

Ow. Fuck. I lay on the smelly mattress, my eye watering and hurting, my bound hands covering it.

Ben resumes choking her, the noises made me cringe, before he stops, her loud gasps as she sucks in oxygen fill the room. Slowly, I push back onto the dirty mattress. It takes me several attempts to sit up, but finally I do.

“Yes,” my mom finally chokes out.

Tears come from my eye that he elbowed as soon as I move my hand away, flowing down my cheek. “What are you talking about?” Wiping my cheek, I blink several times, finally able to focus on them.

“Do you want to tell her, Maura?” Ben’s voice is as cold as an iceberg as he glares at my mom.

She nods, sucking in a breath, before exhaling. “I was the social worker who helped him get placed into a foster home. Ben was sent to live with his grandparents in Pennsylvania, but they were in a fatal car accident three months after he arrived. I was no longer his social worker when I accepted a job as a social worker for the prison while going to school to become a police officer.”

Oh. She screwed him over, just like she did Jagger.

“You did more than that, didn’t you, Maura?” He doesn’t raise his voice, but the fury in it is palpable. “You had me placed in that fucking horrific home because you were biased against what my father did and assumed I’d turn out just like him.”

My mom swallows hard. “Your father raped a thirteen-year-old virgin. She was barely alive when she managed to escape. She was the youngest of the dozen young women he raped.”

Ben, who had been pacing around the room, whips around and storms over to her. He points his finger in her chest, spittle flying from his lips, as he loses his composure. “And my dad was thrown in jail. My mother killed herself when she found out what he’d done, and I was left with a life of misery. All because of you ,” he screams, slapping my mom across the face. Her head turns with the hit, the loud crack making me wince.

He takes a step back, his body trembling from rage. I watch him cautiously, knowing he’s extremely volatile. “But that’s not all you did, is it, Maura?” Ben’s voice is eerily calm compared to the rage twisting his face into a grotesque monster. “Tell your daughter how you used your college boyfriend, Lawrence, who became a police officer after he graduated college and moved to Florida. Tell her how you helped him frame my father, acting as an accomplice, and in exchange, he’d help you get promoted since his uncle was a prominent political figure who pulled some strings for you.”

My head snaps to my mom, who ignores me. All her focus is on Ben, her eyes flashing venomously, her jaw clenched.

Ben snaps and rushes to her, slamming her against the wall, his hand wrapped around her throat. “ Tell her ,” he screams, spittle flying from his mouth as he seethes at her.

“F-Fine,” she choked, her voice shaking and gruff from his hand around her neck. Ben releases her, drawing himself up to his full height, a pleased expression on his face as his eyes dart to me.

“I dated Lawrence in college. I no longer wanted to work with children and youth. I was being questioned for some of the things I’d done.”

“Like Jagger?” I snap my mouth closed as soon as I say it, my eyes darting to Ben. He glowers at me but doesn’t say anything.

“Yes. And a few others. But Ben… sticking him in that home raised a lot of questions from my boss. I wanted to be a social worker for the Falls Creek Police Department. They had an opening.”

Ben throws his head back and laughs. “Let me tell you what she’s not, Maddie. Your mom had her sights set on your dad, a police officer who was making a name for himself. Sure, she didn’t want to get in trouble for her callous disregard for the children who were on her caseload, but as always, Maura only cared about herself. She helped Lawrence catch my father by giving him the idea to go undercover and pretend to be a serial killer. Which Lawrence is a piece of shit, just like your mom, so he was very believable. After he turned his back on my father, framing and arresting him for a murder he didn’t commit, he received a promotion. And has been supplying your mother with drugs from Florida.”

A gasp escapes me. “I-Is t-that t-t-true?” My mouth and throat are so dry I can hardly swallow.

My mom grits her teeth, her bound hands balling into fists. Ben moves closer, kicking the bottom of her shoe, and she answers. “Yes.”

Ben turns his head, his smile gleeful. “So you see, Maddie, she got a promotion. She also fucked Lawrence’s uncle for a while so he would get involved in her drug scheme. She’d been working with Lawrence to smuggle drugs into Falls Creek for years, and once Jagger’s dad became hooked, she used him to help further her plans. I’m sure Jagger isn’t aware of the sick shit she did.”

“How do you know all this?” I stare at him, trying to read his face to ensure he’s telling the truth.

“Research, Maddie. I can be pretty persuasive when I need to be.” He flashes me a fake, charming smile. My stomach roils, thinking of the times he’s given it to me. And I fell for it. I forget about my churning stomach when he says, “So Maura has been causing issues for years. Even your beloved Jagger, whom she was fearful would figure out exactly what was going on since he had a knack for being stealthy and overhearing things. Plus, he was smart and pieced things together quickly.”

He turned to my mom, bending over her. “And that’s why you wanted me out of the picture, isn’t it? You knew I’d keep digging because I’d started when my dad was arrested. You knew I’d be sent to live with my grandparents and then used a connection when they died so you could place me in that wretched foster home, so none of your secrets would be revealed. Isn’t that right ?”

His booming voice echoes off the walls of the small cabin, hurting my ears. But it’s the expression on Ben’s face that terrifies me. He looks like he’s ready to fucking snap.

And that would be bad for both of us.

Trying to diffuse the situation, I ask the first question that comes to mind. “What is your father’s name, Ben? You never told me anything about him.”

His blue eyes pin me in place as I cower against the wall, doubting my sanity for opening my mouth. As angry as I was at my mom, I couldn’t watch him kill her beside me, and he looked to be seconds from completely snapping.

After a few beats, his face softens. “My dad’s name is James Adler is his name. He’s currently in prison in Florida, serving a life sentence.” His face darkens, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “They call him a serial killer.” He shakes his head. “I hate such labels. My dad and I are just… different than the rest of society.” He shrugs, moving in front of me. Squatting down, he leers at me. “The only difference is, I prefer blondes instead of brunettes.” His maniacal laughter fills me with terror, my heartbeat thrashing inside my ears.

I cringe, my aching back pressed tightly against the wall, my knees drawn up to my chest.

Ben continues. “Unlike me, he got caught. I don’t intend to make the same mistake he did.” Piercing eyes cut through me, slicing into my skin as though he’s trying to read my thoughts. “Once I’ve finished with the two of you, I’m out of here.”