The Sixth Kind Chapter 09

The Sixth Kind Chapter 09

“Let me walk you through the parameters.”

“I scouted Raven Ridge multiple times. All those abandoned shafts-I chose that one for a

reason. Geothermal heat. A steady 25 degrees Celsius.”

“I needed to make sure she didn’t die of hypothermia. That she died exactly the way I

planned.”

He glanced at me and Thomas. His tone was calm. Like he was presenting at an academic

conference.

“She was the perfect subject. Twelve years old. Scared. Desperate to live.”

“At that age-without water-three to five days is the max. Food without water? Three to six

weeks.”

“Obviously, I chose the shorter timeline. So I told her-if she swallowed even one sip of water

-her sister would die. Her mother. Her father. Everyone.”

“A little hypnosis for reinforcement…… and guess what? She actually chose to die of thirst.

Didn’t dare swallow a single drop.”

“When the hunger and thirst got bad-she begged me. ‘Brother–can I put the snack in my

mouth? I promise I won’t swallow it.”

“I said, ‘Sure. It doesn’t matter. Without water, you won’t be able to swallow anyway.”

“She also begged me not to kill you. Because she’d deleted your paper. And she couldn’t bring

you the flowers. She thought she owed you.”

“On that last day-all she had to do was take one drink. Just one. But that stupid little girl- mouth full of snacks-staring at that canteen-died without ever touching it.”

“You sick fuck!” I was gripping my water glass so hard I wanted to throw it in his face.

Vincent didn’t even flinch. Just smiled.

“Calm down, Grace. It was just a little psych experiment.”

“Your sister’s ‘lethal suggestion.’ Your father’s ‘double bind.’ Your mother’s ‘displaced aggression.’ And your ten years of ‘survivor’s guilt.’ Four perfect data points-all connected.”

“I have to admit-this comprehensive experiment in destroying a family? The data was beautiful. Especially you. The last surviving subject. Your breakdown just now? Perfect validation of my hypothesis.”

“I call it–the sixth kind of murder.”

I looked at Vincent’s gloating, unhinged face. And I felt nothing. Just–absurdity.

“You think your experiment was perfect, Vincent?”

I walked toward him. Calm. Steady.

“You thought you could control human nature. Fight monsters by becoming one. But you

forgot one crucial variable.”

“You think you destroyed my family? No. You proved how low human beings can sink–but

you underestimated love.”

“My sister didn’t die of thirst because of your stupid hypnosis. She died because she loved

Loved her family. She’d rather die than put us in danger.”
“And I spent ten years getting a PhD in criminal psych not to be your ‘subject’–but to put

you behind bars for the rest of your miserable life.”

“Your experiment failed. Because you made me into the person who’s going to destroy you. Spend the rest of your life in a cage thinking about that.”

Vincent’s smile froze. The madness in his eyes shattered.

“Son of a bitch-I’ll kill you!”

Thomas lunged at Vincent.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The call had been connected the whole time.

Detective Greer’s name was on the screen. Thirty minutes and counting.

“Detective Greer–did you get all that? You can come in now.”

The door burst open. Greer and a team of armed cops stormed in. Guns drawn. Pointed at Vincent’s ghost-white face.

“Freeze! Police!”