The Lunacy of Tyler Lockhart ✔️

Chapter Forty Nine - Past

Past

Victoria

Part of me wanted to throw into the fireplace and let the flames eat the pages so I could pretend none of this existed, but a greater part of me knew this was my ultimate chance. The diary entries were made on Saturday's and today was Friday so it was highly likely he would want to make an entry tomorrow and find the diary missing. I would be in trouble if that happened. I took a deep breath and continued reading the pages.

During the years, I've lied to a lot of people to hide my true nature. The true nature that my mother promised would put me in prison if I ever let it come to light, and I've always listened to her. I could be in juvie or locked in an asylum if I hadn't listened to my mom.

I think my life is a lie, at least most of it anyway. My family likes to think they are perfect which is not the case. Since childhood, I've been conditioned to cover up the truth with a lie when I needed to, I've been taught to never talk about what happens within the four walls of the mansion, and pretend that things are pretty normal. Well, news flash, things are fucked up.

Let me talk a little about this incident that happened when I was just a kid, I was around ten, I think and just returned from my horse riding lessons. Like most young kids, I was curious about a lot of things. I often ventured into the deepest parts of the woods, and sometimes even the unexplored rooms in the mansion and exploring had become one of my favorite hobbies mostly because it pissed my dad off pretty major and I liked that. It was a Monday, and on Mondays dad mostly spent his time being cooped up in his study and that gave me plenty of time to indulge in mischief.

I walked deep into the woods, and I have no idea how long I'd been there because, by the time I decided to walk back, it was dark. The Lockhart's property sat on acres and acres of land and there's a reason the mansion is surrounded by a forest. Most of my ancestors were batshit crazy and God knew what they needed a private forest for. Anyway, I saw this cabin, a comfortable looking place. I decided to knock on the cabin door thinking it must be servant's quarters and someone could help me find my way back.

No one answered the door when I knocked so I walked towards the other side of it and luckily the kitchen door was open. I walked inside and the place was well kept, nothing fancy but I remember that it was a nice place to chill. There was a bedroom with my dad's stuff in it, a kitchen, and a living area. I should have stopped the exploration there, but I decided to check the basement. Maybe there was a pot of gold or some treasure that my family didn't even know about, you see, kids are naïve at ten, and reading comic books had tarnished my brain.

I was majorly disappointed when I didn't find any treasures, what I did find was a man chained to the wall like an animal, half awake and half unconscious. I recognized the man, his name was Jeffrey something....I didn't understand certain details and company politics at that age but from some of the conversations that happened in my dad's study, I knew this man had sold confidential information of the Lockhart's Enterprises with a rivaling company so it was obvious Jeffrey wasn't about to go down easy. My dad hated liars (even though he was one too)—and what he hated more were people who betrayed him. When Jeffrey saw me there, he begged me to call for help. As I said I was super disappointed by the turn of events.

I left that place quietly and walked out into the woods. A few hours later a maid found me and brought me back home. For the next few days, I didn't tell anyone about my dad's captive in the cabin even though I should have told mom. I pretended to know nothing and continued with my daily routine. I returned to the cabin on the fifth day, went back into the basement and found Jeffrey still there—or at least what was left of him. His left leg was clean-cut and he was still chained. There was a lot of blood on the floor, seeping through the wooden floorboards and a bucket kept next to where he lay. The room stank of urine and blood. Dad planned to come back and clean up later on.