Chapter 4 - The House Near Blackwater Lake
Valeria dreamed of water.
Black water.
Cold water.
A ceiling reflected beneath its surface.
She was floating on her back, but she could not move her arms.
Someone stood above her.
A woman with red hair.
A silver pendant hung from her neck.
The pendant was shaped like a broken circle.
The woman leaned closer.
“Count backward from ten.”
Valeria tried.
No sound came out.
The water covered her mouth.
Then Daniel’s voice came from somewhere beyond the room.
“She is not responding like the others.”
The red-haired woman answered.
“She’s the only one who remembers the transitions.”
A door slammed.
The ceiling split open.
Valeria fell through darkness.
She woke in intensive care.
A tube scratched her throat.
Machines surrounded the bed.
Evelyn sat in a chair near the window, asleep beneath a thin hospital blanket.
Morning light pressed weakly through the blinds.
Valeria tried to move.
Pain tightened across her abdomen.
Evelyn woke instantly.
“Easy.”
Valeria touched her throat.
“The tube came out two hours ago. Your voice may hurt.”
“Did they find it?”
“The surgery was successful.”
“What did they find?”
Evelyn hesitated.
Valeria’s eyes filled.
“Please don’t lie to me.”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“The doctors removed infected tissue. They believe it was related to a pregnancy that ended several weeks ago.”
Valeria turned her head.
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
“The forensic team is involved.”
“No.”
“We do not know exactly what happened yet.”
“I do.”
Evelyn waited.
“The lake house.”
“What lake house?”
Valeria closed her eyes.
Memories flickered behind them.
A long dirt driveway.
Trees bent over a black lake.
A white house with green shutters.
Her mother carrying a suitcase.
Daniel unlocking a side door.
Valeria waking in a room that smelled like bleach.
“The house near Blackwater Lake.”
Evelyn stood and called Simone.
Within fifteen minutes, the child protection officer arrived with Detective Aaron Bell.
Bell was in his early forties, with tired eyes and a calm voice.
He placed no recorder on the table until Valeria agreed.
“Tell me only what you remember,” he said.
“My parents took me to a house.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Recently?”
“Maybe February.”
“Do you know where Blackwater Lake is?”
“It’s two hours north.”
“There are several lakes with similar names.”
“There was a wooden sign near the road. A bird carved into it.”
“What kind of bird?”
“A heron.”
Bell made a note.
“Who owned the house?”
“My father said it belonged to a client.”
“Who else was there?”
“A woman with red hair. Maybe a doctor.”
“Did you hear her name?”
Valeria shook her head.
“Mr. Holloway might have been there.”
“The man from the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone else?”
Valeria looked toward the door.
“Another girl.”
Bell stopped writing.
“Did you see her?”
“I heard her.”
“What did she say?”
“She kept calling my name.”
“Did she sound like someone you knew?”
Valeria’s breathing quickened.
“She sounded like me.”
Bell did not react.
“What happened next?”
“I woke up at home three days later.”
“Three days?”
“My parents said I had the flu.”
“Did you question them?”
“My father showed me messages from my phone. They said I had stayed home and talked to Mia. But I didn’t remember sending them.”
“Do you still have those messages?”
“They were on my other phone.”
“The one your father controlled?”
“Yes.”
Bell looked at Simone.
“Do we have it?”
“Hospital security recovered it from Daniel Mercer during the incident.”
Bell returned his attention to Valeria.
“Did you have any physical symptoms after the lake house?”
“Bleeding.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
“My mother gave me medicine and said it was normal.”
“What medicine?”
“White pills in a blue bottle.”
“Do you know the name?”
“No.”
Bell’s phone vibrated.
He checked the screen, then stepped toward the window.
His expression changed as he listened.
“When?” he asked.
A pause.
“Secure the scene. Do not touch anything until state forensics arrives.”
He ended the call.
Valeria knew before he spoke.
“You found the house.”
Bell put the phone away.
“A county deputy recognized the description.”
“Was anyone there?”
“No.”
“What did they find?”
He glanced toward Simone.
Valeria pushed herself higher despite the pain.
“What did they find?”
Bell walked back to the bed.
“The house was empty.”
“That isn’t all.”
“There was evidence that medical procedures had been performed inside.”
“And the girl?”
“We did not find anyone.”
Valeria searched his face.
“You’re hiding something.”
Bell exhaled.
“In the basement, officers found a wall covered with photographs.”
“Of me?”
“Some of them.”
“What were the others?”
May you like
Bell’s next words made the monitor beside Valeria begin to alarm.
“Girls who looked exactly like you.”
