Truth doesn’t hide forever

Truth doesn’t hide forever
The night air clung to Alisha’s skin as she walked away from the hospital gates. Her footsteps were steady, but inside, her nerves were unraveling. Jonas had begged her not to continue. Laira had pleaded, tears in her eyes, warning her that the further she pushed, the closer death would crawl. But Alisha could never stop now—not when shadows whispered secrets in the corners of every room, not when the truth felt so close she could almost breathe it.

Joel and Sam walked on either side of her, silent at first, until Sam finally muttered, “You know, even Jonas and Laira are right. They don’t want you involved anymore. Maybe you should really stop this.”

Alisha gave him a sharp glance. “Stop? After everything I’ve seen? After everything that doesn’t make sense? No. If I stop, we’ll never know what happened to those missing women.”

Joel tightened his coat, his jaw stiff. “Then we do this carefully. One wrong move and you won’t just be chasing ghosts—you’ll be joining them.”

The three of them walked down the empty street, the yellow glow of the streetlights flickering like faint candles. Each step echoed too loudly, too unnaturally, as though someone unseen was walking in sync with them.

Their destination: Lily’s apartment.

Lily—Allan’s estranged partner. The woman who might know more than she wanted to admit.

The stairwell up to Lily’s place smelled of mold and something metallic, almost like dried blood. The walls were cracked, peeling, whispering with faint drafts that made the shadows dance.

Joel knocked on her door.

For a long while, nothing moved inside. Then, the sound of a lock sliding.

The door creaked open just a sliver, revealing Lily’s tired eyes, rimmed with smudged eyeliner. She hesitated, then opened wider.

“What do you want?” she asked flatly.

Alisha stepped forward, her voice calm but firm. “We need to ask you about Allan.”

At the mention of the name, Lily’s face hardened like stone. She scoffed. “Him? No thanks. We separated, and if I could erase him from my memory, I would.”

Sam crossed his arms, studying her. “So the rumors are true then—you two aren’t together anymore?”

Lily laughed bitterly. “Together? Don’t make me laugh. I hate him. He disgusts me. I’ve cut him out of my life completely.”

Joel’s eyes narrowed. “Did you call him last night?”

“Hell no,” Lily snapped, almost spitting the words. “I blocked his number months ago. I wouldn’t even answer if he was bleeding on my doorstep.”

Sam’s gaze dropped to the floor before he said carefully, “Allan had a car accident.”

Lily blinked, her expression still sharp, but for the faintest moment her lips trembled before she pressed them tightly together. “And? Do you want me to cry for him? Because I won’t. He made his choices. Don’t drag me into whatever pity story you’re cooking.”

Joel leaned in closer, his voice low, deliberate. “Are you aware Allan has been with other women? Including Adelia Murray?”

Something flickered in Lily’s eyes, a crack in her mask. She shook her head slowly. “Adelia Murray? Never heard of her. But other women…?” She let out a bitter laugh. “Of course I know. Everyone knows. Allan couldn’t keep himself loyal if his life depended on it. There was always someone—some waitress, some co-worker, some stranger he met in a bar. He was like a disease spreading himself around.”

Alisha studied Lily carefully. “So you don’t know their names? Or who they were?”

“I didn’t care,” Lily hissed. “Why would I waste my life keeping track of his garbage? He disgusted me long before we split. If you’re here hoping for some grand revelation, you’re wasting your time.”

But the way her hands trembled gave her away.

The four of them sat around Lily’s cramped living room. The curtains were drawn tightly, not a shred of moonlight allowed in. The air smelled of stale cigarettes and something faintly rotten.

Alisha pressed on. “Lily, Allan’s affairs… they’re not just about infidelity. These women—some of them are missing.”

Lily’s eyes widened, then quickly narrowed. “Missing? Don’t play games with me.”

Joel’s voice dropped almost to a whisper. “It’s not a game. Women who were connected to Allan vanished. One of them was Adelia Murray. Others… names you probably wouldn’t know. But the trail points back to him. And we need to know if you’ve ever seen or heard anything strange. Anything at all.”

For the first time, Lily faltered. Her hand went to her throat, nails scratching lightly at her skin as if some unseen memory was crawling out of the dark.

“There was one thing,” she muttered, barely audible.

Alisha leaned forward. “What?”

Lily’s eyes darted to the corners of the room, like she feared someone was listening. Her voice trembled. “Sometimes… he’d come home smelling of dirt. Not just a little—like he’d been digging in the ground. His clothes would be ruined, and when I asked, he’d tell me to shut up.”

Sam frowned. “Dirt? Like he’d been burying something?”

Lily looked sick. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to know. I thought maybe drugs, maybe some secret business deal. But now that you say missing women… oh God…”

Her voice cracked. She covered her mouth, trembling violently.

The silence in the room was unbearable. Even the hum of the refrigerator stopped, leaving only the sound of their breathing.

Joel broke it with a whisper. “Lily, you need to think. Did Allan ever mention a name, a place, anything that stood out?”

Lily shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks. “No… no, he never told me anything. But sometimes, late at night… I’d wake up and hear him whispering. Talking to himself. He’d say things like ‘She won’t talk anymore’… or ‘The ground will keep her quiet.’”

Alisha’s skin crawled. “He said that?”

“Yes.” Lily’s voice cracked again. “I thought he was dreaming, or drunk, or crazy. I never thought—” She stopped, staring past them into the corner of the room.

Joel followed her gaze. His stomach turned cold.

In the shadowy corner, the air seemed darker, thicker, as if the space itself was bending.

“Do you see that?” Lily whispered.

Sam’s throat tightened. “See what?”

“The corner,” Lily breathed. Her voice dropped to a trembling hush. “When Allan stayed here… that corner… it was always darker. I used to think it was just the lighting, but sometimes I’d hear scratching. From inside the wall.”

The room went silent again.

Then came the faintest sound—scratch… scratch… scratch.

Joel stood up immediately, scanning the wall, his muscles tense. Sam froze, his eyes wide.

Alisha swallowed hard, forcing her voice steady. “Lily… are you saying Allan… brought something here?”

Lily’s eyes filled with horror. “I don’t know. But I think… I think he left something behind.”

The scratching grew louder, more frantic, as though whatever was behind the wall had just woken up.

The lightbulb overhead flickered, then went out.

In the suffocating darkness, Lily screamed.