The Sixth Kind Chapter 08

The Sixth Kind Chapter 08

“Your dad’s a monster-a total goddamn predator.”

“I was thirteen years old…… ‘Prized student’? ‘Friend’? Bullshit!”

I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. My throat closed up. I backed away until my spine hit

the cold wall.

“You know why I studied psychiatry? Why I minored in psych? Not to help people. To fix what

he broke.”

He ripped up his sleeve. His arm was a roadmap of self-harm scars. One after another. Row

after row. Sickening.

“Twelve years ago I got away from him. Got into college. But he wouldn’t leave me alone. He

made me stay local. Used photos from back then to blackmail me into sleeping with him.

Over and over.”

“Why does a piece of garbage like that get to have a happy family? Why does everyone

worship him?”

Vincent’s voice went shrill. Like something crawling out of a grave.

“I couldn’t let it stand. I wanted to rip off his respectable mask.”

“I wanted to see-between his precious reputation and his daughter’s life-which one he’d

choose.”

“Guess what? Ha-when he saw his little girl’s body-he knew it was me right away. But he

kept his mouth shut. To save his own skin.”

“Mister upstanding teacher? He’d let his own daughter’s murder slide to avoid a scandal.”

“So

you

really did kill my sister?!” I was shaking with rage. Could barely breathe.

“She was his favorite little girl.” Vincent’s eyes went wild.

“Twelve years old-same age I was. It was perfect.”

“That day-I asked your dad to meet me on Raven Ridge. He didn’t even think twice.”

“I wanted to take his daughter-right under his nose. Lure her into my trap.”

“Just like he did to me-right under my parents’ noses.”

I fell apart.

So sad I couldn’t even cry.

The nausea came back. Bitter acid burning my throat.

Ten years.

Ten years of closing my eyes and hearing those words: “Don’t come back without them.”

I thought I killed her with a single sentence.

I thought I destroyed my family.

On those nights when I couldn’t take it anymore-I’d go up to the roof of the science building.

One step. That’s all it would take.

Then I could pay for what I’d done.

But at the last second-I always stopped.

Because I was afraid. Afraid that if I died-nobody would ever figure out why she died of

thirst.

So I couldn’t die. I was too scared to die.

I lived with that guilt. Pushed that boulder up the hill every single day.

And now I find out-the real story? It was this ugly. This sick. This disgusting.

I turned my head-slowly-to look at the man I’d called Dad.

He was just sitting there. Head down. A lump of flesh. No words.

And then it all clicked into place. Everything from the past few days. The rage made my brain

sharper than ever.

I whipped my head back to Vincent.

“So-when my father tortured Lily-that stray cat-he was trying to show me who you really

are. In his own sick way.”

“And you-you went along with it. Made sure I saw the video.”

“You wanted me to believe-my father killed my sister the same way. So I’d go after the

wrong man. And you’d get to sit back and watch.”

“How’s that feel, Vincent?”

Vincent was quiet for a few seconds. Then he let out a low laugh.

“Grace-you really are too smart for your own good. It’s not ‘manipulation.’ It’s called ‘turning

the tables.”

Vincent spread his hands. Grinned.

“Your father tried to use my own playbook against me. He wanted to point you in my direction. So I just–let him. And made sure all the evidence pointed right back at him.”

“But he was always a coward. And a fool.”

I gritted my teeth. Forced myself to detach. To think.

“The strays-ten years ago-they were practice. How did you go from cats to my sister? How did you make a living person-with a full canteen-die of thirst?”

Vincent stood up. His eyes were blazing.

“Now we’re getting to the interesting part. The ‘swallow inhibition’ experiment–the final, flawless execution–I performed on your sister.”

My brain went white noise. I was freezing.

He smiled. Walked toward me.

“Grace–you’ve spent ten years thinking those stupid words of yours killed your sister.”

His grin got wider.

“The truth? I told her where the prettiest cliff fireweed was. I told her exactly where to find it.”

“You monster……” I wanted to tear him apart.

Vincent just got more excited.