THE BRIDE SHE LEFT BEHIND

hidden so carefully, tucked away like Clara's final secret. Whatever was on here, Clara ha

eo files, each timestamped over the past six months. She clicked on the earli

ley remembered from their college days. This Clara looked exhausted, her usuall

must have been her bedroom door. I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind, but

the kitchen counter, and when I come back, it's in the sink. I'll leave my keys on the hall table, and they'l

"I'm not forgetting,

eaking to a camera as if she were confiding in her old roommate. As

xt video. This one wa

all notebook. I started writing everything down where I put things, what I did, when I did it. But now the no

voice to barely above a whisper. Someone's reading it. Someon

ed feeling watched, feeling like someone was in the house. Everyone had dismissed it

o made Riley's

But every morning, the memory cards are wiped clean. Every. Single. Morning. She held up an empty SD card, her

d to tell David, but he just said I was having a breakdown. Suggested therapy. M

her breathing shallow. How had none of them seen it?

inue. The fourth video was

sharp in her hollow face. I know who it is now. I found the spare key missing from i

Someone who knows my routines, my habits, where I keep things. Someone w

to me, if I disappear or they say I hurt myself, don't believe them. I would never Her

found herself crying too, her vision blurrin

ey're gaslighting me, and they're good at it. Professional level good." Clara wiped her eyes, her expre

een paranoid or delusional. Someone had been terrorizing her, methodically brea

e videos, each one showing Clara's progressive deterioration as the psychological tort

d been recorded just three

nt. Calmer. Almost peaceful, in a way that was s

ra as if she could see through the screen. "I always knew you'd be the one to fi

aught. How could

But they don't know that I know. Not yet. She leaned closer to the camera, her eyes intense and focused

finally managed to get footage of them in my house. Their face,