Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Pages of Twisted Devotion

I knelt beside Sterling's bed, my entire body trembling as I stared at the opened box of my belongings. My stomach churned with each new item I discovered – tokens of a secret obsession I never knew existed.

But there, beneath a pile of my stolen possessions, something caught my eye. A worn leather-bound book.

My fingers hesitated, hovering over it. Did I really want to know more? The stolen items and hidden camera were already horrifying enough. Yet something compelled me to reach for the book, my hand shaking as I lifted it.

Sterling's journal.

The leather felt cool against my fingertips, worn smooth from years of handling. The front cover bore no title, no name – just dark brown leather with a simple clasp now unlocked. I opened it slowly, dreading what I might find inside.

The first page bore a date from ten years ago, when Sterling was seventeen and I was just ten.