Chapter 4

A barrage of questions came at me all at once, but I had just woken up, and my mind was still blank.

Miles walked over and stepped in front of the cameras.

“Everyone, my wife just woke up and needs to rest. The truth will come to light eventually. Please give us some privacy for now.”

The reporters filed out, leaving Miles and me alone in the hospital room.

I stared at him.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

He sat beside my bed and peeled an apple for me.

“Nora, let’s make a deal.”

“What deal?”

“From now on, you’re not to make any more friends or investigate what’s in that room. Just keep your head down and live peacefully with me,” he said.

“What happens then?”

“Then, we’ll pretend the whole thing with the gaming room never happened.”

“What if I refuse?”

He smiled, set the apple on my bedside table, then stood up and patted my cheek.

“I’ll leak everything in that room to the press, piece by piece. Once I do, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than a few nasty comments.”

He walked to the door and glanced back at me.

“Think it over.”

After I was discharged, I reached out to Leah Sheridan, a former elementary classmate I had run into at an event six months earlier. She worked as a prosecutor at the district attorney’s office.

I told her everything that had happened at home.

She fell silent for a long moment after I finished.

“Are you sure everyone comes out of that room acting the same way?” she asked.

“Absolutely! No matter who goes in, they all come out thinking I’m the most despicable person alive.”

Leah mulled over it briefly before saying, “I’ll go with you.”

I stared at her in surprise. “You?”

“As a prosecutor, I’ve seen more evidence than you have. Whatever your husband is hiding in that room, I can tell what’s real and what isn’t once I take a look myself.”

I hesitated, remembering how Charlene had acted after leaving the room. But Leah was different. We had grown up together, and she knew what kind of person I was.

“Okay.”

That weekend, I brought Leah home.

Miles froze for a moment when he saw her.

“Who is this?”

“Hello.” Leah smiled as she handed him a watermelon she had bought downstairs. “I’m Leah Sheridan, a friend of Nora’s. I’m a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office.”

Miles’ expression shifted slightly.

He invited us in and poured us some water. Then, he leaned back on the couch, folded his arms, and looked at me with a faint smile.

“Well, look at you. You even have a prosecutor for a friend.”

Leah said nothing. She simply surveyed the room.

Miles stood up and beckoned her over.

“Miss Sheridan, right? Perfect timing. Let me show you something.”

With that, he entered the gaming room.

My heart skipped a beat.

Leah glanced at me, silently telling me not to worry. Then, she stood and headed toward the gaming room as well.

I sat on the couch, my palms slick with sweat, as Leah pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The door closed behind her.

I waited outside, listening to the faint murmur of voices inside, though I could not make out a single word.

The wait was even longer. Twenty minutes passed before the door finally opened.

Leah emerged first, but her smile had vanished.

She stood in the doorway without looking away. Slowly, she reached for the handcuffs at her belt, the very ones she had brought along for Miles.

With a soft click, she spun them once in her hand.

Finally, she turned to look at me. I knew that look all too well.

It was the same look Zoe, Erin, Dad, and Charlene had given me.

“Nora, come with me,” she said, her voice icy.