Chapter 3

"You had me worried for nothing. Willow was just stabbing a stuffed doll."

I looked at Naomi, not sure I had heard her right.

"What do you mean, 'just stabbing a stuffed doll'? Doesn't that tell you something's wrong? That kind of aggression doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a doll now. Next time, it could be us!"

Naomi rubbed her temples and took my hand.

"Mom has already said Willow wouldn't hurt a fly. How could she kill her own family? You're reading too much into this. She's probably just stressed about the SAT and needs a way to vent."

Could she be right?

After thinking it over, I couldn't dismiss the possibility that the pressure of the SAT had been what drove Willow to murder our family.

So, the next morning, I called the school to excuse Willow and took the whole family to an amusement park.

She used to love it when she was younger, back before school took over her life.

Maybe a day to unwind would help her let go of some of the pressure she was carrying and change the terrible future that awaited our family.

So I kept her moving from ride to ride, making sure she tried everything.

Willow didn't complain. She looked happy, wearing an easy smile I hadn't seen in a long time.

Katherine trailed after them with her phone out, taking pictures of Willow and Caleb, while Naomi leaned closer to me and said quietly, "See? I told you she was just stressed. Look at her now."

I nodded, watching Willow laugh.

For a moment, the tension in my chest eased.

Then my eyes flew wide open.

Willow had taken Caleb onto the roller coaster. Just before the ride started, she reached over and unlatched his safety harness.

The ride was filled with loops and inverted drops. Without the restraint holding him in place, Caleb would almost certainly be thrown from his seat.

The operator was already getting ready to start when I screamed, my voice cracking.

"Wait!"

He paused and looked over.

Without a second thought, I rushed over, pulled Willow and Caleb out of their seats, and dragged them away from the platform.

Naomi and Katherine followed, confused. We didn't stop until we reached an open area, and then they turned to me.

"What happened? Why'd you pull them off?"

I pointed at Willow. "Ask her!"

She looked up at me, eyes wide and clear. "Dad, I don't understand what you mean."

"Jeremy, what are you doing?" Katherine stepped in front of Willow, her expression turning sharp.

Naomi's face tightened as well.

I looked at all of them, the way they instinctively moved to shield her, and felt the words catch in my throat.

"Just now, on the ride, Willow unlatched Caleb's harness!"

I waited for the truth to sink in.

It never did.

"That's impossible!" Katherine said right away. "Willow would never do something like that. Maybe you saw it wrong, or the staff didn't secure it properly."

Caleb nodded along. "Yeah. It wasn't Willow."