My Stepdad Put A Camera In My Room And My Mom Called Me A Liar. I Ran To The “Creepy” Neighbor For Help, But No One Expected What Was Waiting For Us. Who Was The Real Monster All Along?

The Note

2 weeks after I’d been forced home, everything escalated. Jeff had started his nighttime visits again, each one worse than the last. I tried barricading my door with furniture, but he’d simply removed it all while I was at school. That night, I heard him coming down the hallway, but then I heard something else. A soft tapping at my window.

I rushed over to see Mrs. Grant standing in our backyard holding a flashlight.

“Open the window,” she mouthed.

I struggled with the lock Jeff had installed but managed to crack it open a few inches.

“Thomas sent me,” she whispered urgently. “He can’t come himself because of the restraining order, but we know you’re in danger. Nathaniel’s been fighting to get an emergency hearing. We just need a little more time.”

“I don’t have time,” I whispered back, hearing Jeff’s footsteps getting closer.

“He’s coming tomorrow night,” Mrs. Grant said quickly. “Be ready. We’re going to…”

My door opened and Jeff stood there, his face dark with anger. Mrs. Grant ducked below the window, but he’d seen her flashlight.

“Who were you talking to?” he demanded.

“No one. I was just…”

He crossed the room in two strides, shoving me aside to look out the window. Mrs. Grant was gone, but he saw the disturbed grass where she’d been standing.

“That old bitch,” he snarled. “She’s working with Thomas, isn’t she?” He grabbed my arm, squeezing hard enough to bruise. “What did she tell you? What are they planning?”

“Nothing. She just…”

He shook me hard. “Don’t lie to me! I know they’re planning something. But it won’t work. I’m too smart for them.”

He stormed out, and I heard him on the phone with Mom. Within minutes they were both in the living room strategizing. I pressed my ear to my door, trying to hear.

“We need to discredit her too,” Jeff was saying. “Make it look like she’s part of Thomas’ delusions. I’ll call the police tomorrow.”

Mom agreed. “Tell them she’s been harassing us. Helping Thomas stalk our daughter.”

“No. Better idea.” I could hear Jeff’s smile. “We’ll make it look like she’s been helping Thomas with something worse. Plant some evidence. Let the police draw their own conclusions.”

My blood ran cold. They were going to frame Mrs. Grant just like they’d turned everyone against Thomas. I had to warn her. But how? I was locked in. No phone, no computer. The window was my only option, but Jeff would be watching now.

I waited until the house was quiet, then tried the window again. It was locked tight. Jeff must have secured it from the outside while I was in the bathroom. I was completely trapped.

The next day at school, I tried to find someone, anyone who would listen, but Jeff’s poison had spread too far. Teachers redirected me to the counselor. The counselor talked about my fixation on these stories. Even my friends avoided me now, their parents having warned them about my “lies.”

During lunch, I saw a police car in the school parking lot. My heart leapt. Maybe they were here to investigate Jeff? But then I saw him walking out of the principal’s office with two officers, shaking their hands, looking concerned and fatherly. He saw me watching and winked.