Chapter 1: Bones in Silver Hollow

They found a skeleton out on the edge of Silver Hollow—bones with no name, just waiting for someone to claim them. The whole town held its breath as the police worked to uncover the truth. When the news finally broke—when they said it was Autumn Harris, missing for ten years—the shock hit like a punch to the gut.

The news hit Silver Hollow like a thunderclap, the kind that rattles windows and makes folks stop whatever they're doing, just for a second. Even if you’d never met Autumn, the town’s memory never let her go. When the police finally confirmed it was her, it was like the past clawed its way up from the dirt, refusing to stay buried, demanding to be seen.

I’m sure of it—the murderer is one of the people at tonight’s class reunion. No doubt in my mind.

There’s this cold certainty in my gut, you know? The kind that makes your hands tremble, even if your voice comes out steady. Tonight, the old gang’s getting together, and I know—just know—someone in that room is the reason Autumn never made it home.

And sure enough, everyone here’s got secrets they’d do anything to keep buried. Believe me.

It’s almost funny—if you’re twisted like me, anyway. Everyone’s got something they’d sell their soul to keep hidden. There’s a tension in the air, sharp as broken glass, and I see it in the way folks dodge each other’s eyes, the nervous laughter, those too-tight smiles.

Myself included.

I’m not above it. Not even close. I’ve got secrets of my own—things I’d rather choke on than confess. But tonight, the past isn’t interested in staying silent.

All those secrets are about to surface. Just like her remains did.

You can feel it, sticky as a southern summer before a storm. The truth is coming, and it’s not going to be gentle.

(It repeats the opening info, so skipping as instructed.)

It’s strange, how a decade can vanish in a flash. The woods past Fox Ridge were always a place for dares and whispered stories, but now they’d given up something real—something that cut through the years like a chainsaw. The moment I heard, the taste of old fear came back, metallic and bitter on my tongue.

I was there. The day she disappeared.

That memory weighs on me like a sack of bricks. No matter how I try to shake it, it won’t budge. I remember her laugh echoing down the hallway, the way she’d tuck her hair behind her ear, the last look she gave me before she vanished.

So when the news broke, I used a burner phone. Sent an anonymous, threatening text to Carter Jennings, telling him I knew the darkest secret of his life.

My hands shook as I tapped out the message, but I did it anyway. Carter always thought he was untouchable. But everyone’s got a weak spot. Even Carter. I made sure he knew someone out there hadn’t forgotten.