When Truth Surface (Book #2 of "When Secrets Surface")

Chapter 30

Sophie's POV

I sat in my driver's seat and started my car's engine and the gentle hum of the engine filled the air.

I heard a tap on the car's window and Dorothy slid into the car seat.

"Sorry, I forgot to unlock the door," I apologized quickly.

"Don't worry about it," Dorothy said throwing her backpack into the backseat

"What's in that bag? Why is it so heavy? " I raised an eyebrow.

"In case he tries to attack we can use some weapons in there," Dorothy said with a smirk.

I just drove away and onto the highway and after 20 minutes we finally arrived at the barn.

The barn stood silent, a skeletal silhouette against the sky. Its once vibrant red paint had faded to a ghostly white, peeling in long, ragged strips.

The heavy wooden door hung open, revealing a cavernous interior choked with dust and cobwebs.

Shadows danced across the floor, cast by the setting sun filtering through broken windows.

The air hung heavy with the scent of decay, a mixture of damp wood and forgotten hay.

A chill wind whistled through the cracks in the walls, carrying with it the whispers of forgotten stories.

"Seems like he's not here yet," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, duhhh," Dorothy said.

"Well, I didn't expect an infamous serial killer's son to come. The chances of him coming just seems low," I retorted.

We walked into the barn the floorboards creaked beneath us.

Dorothy's POV

"Do you think he will come?" I glanced at Sophie.

"We'll leave in the evening if he doesn't," Sophie replied.

Sophie sat on the creaky, bare floor as I slumped against a wooden beam which was decaying.

Sophie started to rub her temples and close her eyes a testament to her headache.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night after everything," She mumbled shutting her eyes.

A few minutes later, I heard crunching coming from the grass outside.

A guy dressed in all black and wearing a mask.

The guy entered the barn and took off his mask and it was none other than
.
.
.
.
.
.

Zach.

"Zach?! so you're Lil Ash," Sophie's eyes widened.

"Sophie it's not what it looks like," Zach said the fear in his eyes obvious.

"No, it's exactly what it looks like so what you just happened to stumble on the barn because you needed to clear your head or something don't lie to me. I want the truth," Sophie shot back.

Sophie's POV

I can't believe it was Zach all along.

"Where's Naylene?" I asked.

"I don't know," Zach took a step closer to me.

"You are always lying," I countered.

"Hey, Nichole is my friend. You and I are witnessing what is happening to her. I'm not heartless. I would have brought her back," Zach raised his voice.

"No, now you are trying to distract us, are you Lil Ash?" Dorothy asked him.

"Yes," Zach said in a small voice.

"My name isn't even Zach, it's Owen Blackson. They changed it because they wanted to keep me safe. They wanted me to live a life," Zach said leaning against the walls.

"It was 2017, I was only 10 at the time I didn't understand anything. Dad would just tell me to go to the park and pretend to be lost and bring them back to the house and I wouldn't remember anything after that I would just wake up and see the person was lifeless and then Dad would dump the body at a random location and he used to pluck their hair and burn it and then leave trails of ashes on their bodies it was twisted and he forced me to watch him dump the bodies," Zach said his voice shaking.

"You couldn't talk to anyone, could you? "

"I couldn't if I did they would have probably killed me. You don't know how dangerous my Dad was. He was so manipulative he convinced everyone in that neighborhood maybe the whole state even but he was twisted. I told him so many times that it didn't feel right I didn't want to kill anyone but he told me if I didn't help him I could join the victims. I always felt like he was ready to kill me, "Zach said his voice trembling slightly.

"Maybe I should have dyed my hair or worn contacts maybe that would have concealed my identity. Now I need to move," Zach said staring at the floor, "Mom wouldn't want me to die".

"What happened to her?" Sophie asked her voice cutting through the thick tension in the air.

"She left my Dad when I was born, I'm sure she found out he was a psychopath," Zach said his blue eyes shining with tears.

"I'm sorry Sophie. I'm sorry for lying to you after all these years," Zach said.

For the first time, he looked scared and worried.

"Don't worry I get you. You've been through so much," I said barely able to collect my thoughts.

"So why were you talking to Naylene?" Dorothy said.

"You know Layla she was addicted to Xz and she has this weird obsession with serial killers I didn't know till Naylene first contacted me. Layla wanted to find me so Naylene thought that if she was able to find Lil Ash Layla would quit Xz. I never disclosed my identity or even agreed to meet Naylene. But I promise you I don't know where Naylene is. I don't even know how Naylene was able to connect the dots to me, "Zach trembled as he spoke.

"You need to sit down. You're shaking," I told Zach helping him to sit next to me on the cold floor.

"We can't tell anyone," Dorothy mumbled.

"Of course we can't," I replied.

"I used to receive so many death threats that they would kill me if they got their hands on me. I used to cry myself to sleep every night. It was painful," Zach started to fidget with his fingers.

"Did your Dad kill 15 people?" Sophie asked raising an eyebrow.

"15?! No, he killed almost 50," Zach said the pain filling his eyes.

Just then we heard footsteps.

Who was that?