Chapter 2

"I told you, she doesn't know anything! Stop coming here. My kid has school tomorrow."

Sarah wouldn't look me in the eye, still refusing to open the door.

"Can we just talk to Bella for a second? I promise we won't scare her. Just a few questions," I begged, tears streaming down my face.

"Just leave. She's asleep. We don't know anything."

She bit her lip, and right before slamming the door, she muttered, "It's about to pour. You should ask someone who actually knows those woods."

Someone who knows those woods?

"Mrs. Higgins!" Marcus said with absolute certainty.

If anyone knew every corner of this neighborhood, it wasn't the security guards or the HOA. It was Mrs. Higgins, the community's head housekeeper.

She knew every piece of gossip and every resident's business. She knew the park area like the back of her hand.

By the time we found Mrs. Higgins, Chloe had been missing for three hours.

"Near the park woods?" Mrs. Higgins looked surprised. "There are only trees there. The cameras should have caught her leaving."

Could a living, breathing person just vanish?

My legs gave out, and I could barely breathe.

"Wait..." Mrs. Higgins suddenly gasped. "Are you sure you searched everywhere? Even the places off-camera?"

When we nodded, she hesitated, her voice trembling. "There is one place... follow me."

Mrs. Higgins led us back into the dark woods.

I stared at a massive, ancient oak tree with a hollow trunk. My mind went blank.

Marcus, panting heavily, brushed aside the thick branches blocking the hollow. He froze. His eyes went wide, and then...

"Ah! No! No!"

He let out a guttural, agonizing scream, like a dying beast. He clawed at his hair, stumbling backward until he collapsed into the mud.

"Marcus, it’s not Chloe, right? Tell me it’s not her," I forced a laugh, trying to stay sane.

But Marcus didn't answer. He tried to stand up several times but kept falling. Finally, he crawled on his hands and knees toward the tree, sobbing hysterically. "Chloe... baby... Chloe..."

It was my daughter.

I stumbled forward and fell to my knees, paralyzed by the horror in front of me.

My daughter, my sweet Chloe, was curled up in the hollow of the tree. Her torn white dress was covered in dirt. Her face, usually so full of smiles, was pale and stiff. Her fingernails were caked with dirt, showing how desperately she had clawed at the ground in fear. Her pink cartoon underwear was dragged down to her ankles...

"Baby... Chloe... Mom is here. Let me hold you..."

But the police officers who had just arrived dragged me back. They said they had to preserve the crime scene. They forced Marcus and me into separate rooms at the station to calm us down.

But even though the scene was secured, it started to pour that night. The rain washed away almost everything.

I couldn't understand. Who would do this to my baby?

Marcus and I were peaceful people. We never fought with our neighbors. I even bought food for the neighborhood stray cats.

Chloe was a good girl. She only had a few close friends and never got into trouble.

Her friend.

Bella!

I went back to Bella’s house, this time accompanied by the detectives.

When Sarah opened the door, a flash of pity crossed her eyes, but she quickly hid it.

She offered her condolences but insisted Bella came home early and knew nothing. She claimed we were traumatized and accusing an innocent child. Bella herself screamed and hid in her bedroom when she saw me.