Kelvin awoke in confusion, but it quickly turned to terror. The room was cold, silent, and unfamiliar. His arms were strapped to the arms of a metal chair, ankles bound tightly to the legs. A single light swung overhead.
And then he saw her—Bella. Still in her prom dress, no longer smiling. Her eyes were empty. Sharp. Unforgiving.
"W-what is this? Bella? What the hell—"
She didn't answer. She reached into his jacket pocket, took his phone, and powered it off. Location disabled. Contacts untouched. He was now invisible.
"You laughed at me," she said softly. "But I heard every word."
"Bella, please—"
But his plea was cut short as she gagged him. Then she turned to her table—neatly arranged tools, blades, and jars. She took a pocket knife and calmly walked back toward him.
"Let me show you how I deal with liars."
Without hesitation, she cut off his right ear.
The scream that followed echoed through the basement, but no one could hear. Bella had planned for that. The room was soundproof.
Kelvin writhed in the chair, soaked in sweat and blood, tears streaming from his eyes—until she took one of those eyes too, severing it clean and dropping it into a jar.
His vision blurred. His mind broke. But Bella wasn't finished.
With chilling precision, she plunged a knife into his chest and removed his heart. She didn't scream. She didn't cry. She worked with silence and skill, packing each piece—eye, ear, and heart—into separate jars.
She zipped his limp, mangled body into a black duffel bag.
Then she cleaned the room.
Spotless. As if he'd never existed.
---
The streets were empty as Bella drove through the night.
At the school, she parked two blocks away and walked the rest of the way with the bag slung over her shoulder. She didn't look around. She wasn't afraid. This was her masterpiece.
She arrived at the front gates of the school and began arranging the scene:
The heart, nailed dead centre to the gate like a warning beacon.
The eye, strung up with fishing wire, swinging gently in the wind.
The ear, pinned next to a handwritten note that read:
> _"You thought I was a toy.