Chapter 3: Dark Secrets
The door creaked as Ada stepped into Jacob Hayes’s cabin. The interior was dimly lit, with heavy curtains drawn over the windows. Dust particles floated lazily in the shafts of light that slipped through the cracks. The air inside felt thick, as though the place hadn’t been aired out in ages. The musty smell of old wood and stale smoke clung to everything. Ada had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t supposed to be here, that this was a place meant to be hidden, its secrets buried deep.
Jacob led her into a small living room, sparsely furnished with a worn leather couch, a coffee table stacked with magazines, and a small, flickering television in the corner. The room was cluttered with fishing gear, old books, and the faint smell of whiskey. Ada couldn’t help but notice a few framed photographs on the walls, some of Jacob with a younger, smiling Sarah Cooper. In most of the photos, they were standing side by side, arms around each other, looking carefree. In others, Jacob was alone, but the pictures had an undeniable sense of history, as if they were meant to tell a story long forgotten.
Jacob gestured toward the couch, and Ada sat down, her eyes scanning the room for any clue that might give her a sense of what had happened to Sarah. Jacob stood across from her, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“I don’t know what you think you’ll find here, but I’ll tell you this—you’re better off leaving this alone,” Jacob said, his voice rough, like it had been through too many sleepless nights. "Cliffton’s a small town, and people like to pretend nothing bad happens here. But that’s not the truth, is it?"
Ada leaned forward, her eyes locking onto his. "You knew Sarah, didn’t you? You were close. I think you might know what happened to her."
Jacob’s gaze darkened, and he turned his head, avoiding her eyes for a moment. There was something in his expression—a mix of guilt, fear, and frustration—that made Ada’s heart race. This wasn’t just a man trying to protect his own secrets; this was someone who knew far too much about something horrible, and was afraid to speak.
“She came to me a few weeks before she disappeared,” Jacob said quietly, his voice low, as if the very act of speaking the words caused him physical pain. “She was scared, Ada. She said there were people after her. People who were watching her. At first, I thought it was just paranoia, you know? But she was shaking. She was terrified.”
Ada’s pulse quickened. This was the break she needed. “What people? What did she say?”
Jacob shifted uncomfortably, glancing around the room as if the walls might be listening. “She didn’t say names, but she mentioned some powerful families in town—people with money, influence. She thought they were using their power to control things here, to keep the town in line. She was trying to get out, trying to leave it all behind, but she knew she couldn’t. She was too deep in it.”
"Too deep in what?" Ada pressed, leaning forward, desperate for more details. "What were they doing? What does this have to do with Sarah disappearing?"
Jacob clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing as if the memories were too painful to bear. “There’s a lot that goes on in Cliffton that no one talks about. A lot of things people think are just rumors. But Sarah knew. She started to figure things out—things she wasn’t supposed to. People like her… they’re dangerous to the people at the top.”
Ada’s mind raced. She knew that this town’s undercurrents ran deeper than she had anticipated, but Jacob’s words were starting to paint a picture she wasn’t ready for. The quiet, idyllic town of Cliffton wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
“And what did you do when she told you this?” Ada asked. “Did you try to help her?”
Jacob’s face twisted into something like regret. “I tried to warn her to stay quiet. Told her to drop it. Told her she wasn’t safe if she kept digging. But she didn’t listen. She was too stubborn. And she wanted to expose them—the ones who had their hands in everything. She had a plan. She was going to write about it, expose them all.”
Ada could feel the weight of the words settling in her stomach. Sarah wasn’t just missing—she had been silenced. And the people behind it weren’t ordinary criminals. These were powerful people, the kind who had the resources and influence to make anyone disappear without a trace.
“I think she got too close to something she shouldn’t have,” Jacob continued, his voice barely above a whisper. “The night she disappeared, she was supposed to meet me. We were going to talk about what she’d found. But she never showed up. And I haven’t heard from her since.”
Ada sat back, her mind spinning with the implications. There was no doubt now—Sarah’s disappearance was part of something much larger. But what exactly were these powerful families involved in? What kind of hold did they have over the town? And how far would they go to protect their secrets?
Jacob suddenly pushed off the wall and walked over to a small cabinet by the window. He opened it slowly, as if thinking over his next move. When he turned back, he was holding a thick folder, one that looked like it had been tucked away for years.
“This is everything Sarah was working on,” Jacob said, holding it out to Ada. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t want her to get caught up in it. But here it is. The truth. It’s all in there.”
Ada’s breath caught in her throat. This was it—the key to everything. She stood up quickly, taking the folder from him. The weight of it in her hands felt symbolic, as if she were holding the very thing that could change the course of her life—and possibly bring down the powerful forces controlling the town.
“I’ll look at this carefully,” Ada said, her voice steady, though inside, her pulse was racing. “But you’re right about one thing. I won’t back down. Not now.”
Jacob didn’t respond. Instead, he stood there, watching her, a mix of fear and regret in his eyes. Ada knew that whatever she found in that folder would either expose the truth about Sarah’s disappearance—or lead her straight into the heart of something much darker.
As she walked out of the cabin, the fog had thickened, and the woods around her seemed even more menacing. She held the folder tightly against her chest, knowing that her life had just changed forever.
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