---
Chapter Three: The Mask Behind the Smile
I delete the message, but it doesn't delete the feeling.
Someone is watching me.
Someone knows I'm digging.
And they don't want me to stop.
I can't tell Cami. Not yet. She'll freak. Or worse—tell me to let it go. But how do I let go when my nightmares are becoming reality?
I sit with my laptop on the bed and scroll back to the anonymous forum post. It's still there. No updates. No replies. Just that one haunting sentence:
"I saw her. She wasn't alone. The other girl ran."
I wonder if the person who posted it has been watching me this whole time. What if they're the same one who texted me?
What if they were there?
I open a notepad and begin typing everything I remember from the night Chloe died—every detail, every flash. I title the file "The Night She Fell".
---
The next morning, I decide to confront the past head-on.
I go back to Chloe's favorite coffee shop. She used to call it "our spot." It's quiet, with mismatched chairs and chalkboard menus.
The barista gives me a weird look as I order the same thing Chloe always did: vanilla chai with extra honey.
I sit in our old corner.
For a second, it feels like she's about to walk in, her curls bouncing, her laugh echoing off the walls. But she doesn't.
She never will again.
I sip the tea and pull out my notebook. One page reads:
"What if it wasn't suicide? What if it wasn't an accident? What if it was murder?"
As I stare at the words, a voice interrupts me.
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
I glance up.
It's him.
Liam.
Chloe's boyfriend.
Well, ex-boyfriend. Or… something more complicated.
He hasn't spoken to me since the funeral.
Now, here he is, leaning against my table like we're friends.
"What do you want?" I ask.
He shrugs and sits. "I saw you through the window. Thought I'd say hi."
"You never came to the memorial."
"I didn't think I'd be welcome."
"You were her boyfriend."
He laughs, bitter. "Was I? You sure about that?"
Something about his tone sends a chill through me.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He leans in. "It means everyone thinks Chloe was some perfect angel. But she had secrets, Ava. Big ones."
I narrow my eyes. "And you didn't?"
He smiles, slow and cold. "We all did."
Then he stands and walks out, leaving me stunned and shaking.
---
When I get back to my dorm, Cami is pacing.
"Where have you been?"
"Coffee shop."
"You missed Film Lit."
"I needed to think."
She sighs. "Ava, I'm worried about you."
I toss my bag down. "Don't be. Worry about whoever's been texting me."
Her eyes widen. "What?"
I show her the message.
She reads it in silence. "This is messed up."
"I think someone's trying to scare me."
"Or help you."
I look at her. "You think they want me to find the truth?"
She nods slowly. "Sometimes secrets want out."
---
That night, the dreams come again.
But this time, Chloe speaks.
"Ava, they're lying to you."
"Who?"
"They know what happened. I didn't slip. I didn't fall."
I reach for her, but she backs away.
"You have to remember, Ava. Or you'll be next."
Her face distorts—melting into something monstrous.
I wake up screaming.
Cami bursts in. "Ava?!"
I'm soaked in sweat, heart racing.
"I saw her again. She said I'll be next."
Cami sits beside me. "You need to see someone. A therapist. Something."
"I need answers."
I grab my laptop and open the file. Type: "She didn't fall. She was pushed."
---
The next day, I skip all my classes.
I go back to the bridge—but not alone.
I meet with Jesse.
He used to be close to Chloe. They grew up on the same street. Drifted apart junior year. But I remember one thing: he never liked Liam.
He shows up in a leather jacket and sunglasses, looking like a conspiracy theorist.
"Didn't expect to hear from you," he says.
"I heard you might know something."
He shrugs. "Depends who's asking."
I cross my arms. "Don't play with me, Jesse."
He looks past me at the bridge. "I saw them arguing. A few days before she died. Chloe and Liam. It got ugly."
"About what?"
"No clue. But she threatened to tell someone. Said she 'wasn't going to keep it quiet anymore.'"
My blood runs cold.
"And then she died."
He looks at me, eyes dark. "I think she knew something she wasn't supposed to."
---
I go back to my dorm, head spinning.
Liam. Secrets. Threats.
I type into my file:
"Maybe Chloe knew something about Liam. Maybe he wasn't the only one with a secret. Maybe someone else made sure she'd never tell."
I scroll through Chloe's old Instagram posts.
Perfect smiles.
Filtered memories.
But then I find something odd.
A photo from the week before she died.
Caption: "Careful who you trust. The devil wears a friendly face."
She tagged no one.
But she posted it after the fight with Liam.
I stare at the screen, heart pounding.
Maybe she was warning someone.
Maybe she was warning… me.
---
Suddenly, a notification pops up.
Another message.
Unknown Number: "Keep going. You're almost there."
Attached is a file.
I hesitate, then click.
It's a video.
Grainy. Dark. But I recognize the setting immediately.
It's the bridge.
Chloe is on it.
And she's not alone.
I pause it.
I zoom in.
The second person is blurry—but familiar.
Short hair. Dark jacket.
No.
It can't be.
I replay it. Frame by frame.
A hand reaches out.
A shove.
Chloe screams.
Then silence.
I drop the phone.
The room spins.
My knees buckle.
Because I know who's in the video.
And it's not Liam.