A Nefarious Secret

Chapter 5

We are going to get a little bit more mature in this chapter. So if you don't wanna read filth, turn back now. 

"What the fuck," Jess screamed. His voice echoed off the walls in the hallway.

A noose.

A threat.

"Chiara! Chiara!" Jess shook her trying to get her attention. He turned her face towards him.

"Chia are you okay?"

She stood there stunned. Her hands began shaking, the rest of her body following.

Jess snapped a photo for evidence and then ripped the noose down. In one sweeping motion he had picked her up and carried her to the couch. He closed the sliding door that lead out to her balcony, the source of the cold air.

"Chia answer me," Jess pleaded.

He knelt down in front of her, holding both of her hands in his. His touch bringing her back to consciousness.

"Is there a note?" Chiara asked, dazed.

Jess stood up and looked around the living room and kitchen. He walked into the bedroom and the bathroom. He returned, holding another printed photo. He handed it to her, his face stripped of color.

The black and white photo depicted another scene from that night. A bloodier scene. Jess stood in front of Chiara now, with a wooden baseball bat in hand. Chiara's face and clothes covered in blood. And a pair of feet, laying between the two of them. Attached to the photo was a sticky note.

Murder or be murdered.

In that moment, the magnitude of the situation became clear. This person knew. They knew everything. And they were planning on extorting them to the very end.

Jess crouched back down in front of her. He took the photo from her hands, setting it on the ground.

"Chia you can't stay here," he looked at her intently. "You need to find somewhere else to stay for awhile."

She knew that. She didn't know where to go though. Anywhere she crashed she was putting someone else's life in danger as well.

"I'll get a motel room or something. Some place with cameras and a security guard," she decided out loud.

"I'll come too," Jess stated.

If she hadn't just been threatened to be hung in the gallows, she may have felt excited about the prospect of Jess spending the night with her. Instead she barely heard him.