CHAPTER : 7.2 Strings That Snap

As the new girl entered, Veronica caught a strange jolt of enthusiasm. Perhaps she'll be my best friend, she mused. I'll confide in her everything… including my deepest secret.

"Veronica," called the teacher, "what's going through your mind? Stand up, please."

She stood slowly, then responded , "I was… I was just thinking that she could be my friend.

The entire class erupted in laughter. Even the teacher smiled. "Okay, okay. But for now, get back to your lesson."

"Yes, Sensei," Veronica replied softly, returning to her seat.

During break, the new girl looked at her. "So… your name is Veronica, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she replied. "And you are…?"

"Isabella."

Veronica smiled slightly. "Nice name."

Isabella's gaze darted to the doll that sat on Veronica's desk. "I saw your doll when I enter the class… may I see it?"

Veronica paused for an instant—glad, but uncertain. Then she placed it carefully in Isabella's hands.

"You think she's been around forever, don't you?" Isabella asked.

"Yes," Veronica replied firmly. "She's real. I'm certain she is. But… nobody else will believe me."

"I believe you," Isabella said without any hesitation.

Veronica's heart skipped a beat. At last… someone who gets it.

When she arrived home, she flung herself into the kitchen. "Mama! Mama! I have a new friend! Her name is Isabella and she loves my doll!"

Her mom smiled. "That's sweet, Veronica. Now go change out of your uniform."

"Yes, Mom!" Veronica sang almost.

She sprinted up the stairs, changed her clothes, then returned downstairs to have dinner. "Mama, can you please ask Daddy if we can go out tomorrow?"

"Okay," her mom replied. "I'll ask."

Later, upstairs, Elizabeth was sitting in her usual spot on bed.

“Come and sit,” the doll’s voice echoed in Veronica’s head.

“What is it, Elizabeth?”

“You’re going to tell her about me…?”

“Yes,” Veronica answered.

“And if she tells everyone?”

“I’ll kill her,” Veronica said without a hint of hesitation.

Elizabeth’s smile seemed to stretch wider. “Then it’s fine .”

The next morning, Isabella was already at her desk, waiting for her.

"I want to share you my deepest secret," Veronica whispered.

"Oh? Really?" Isabella replied, curious.

"Yes. But you must promise that you won't tell anyone."

"I promise."

"Good. I'll share with you in the last class."

"Why not during break?"

"Because I'm only with my doll during break."

When the last lecture arrived, it was a free lecture so Veronica leaned forward. "My doll is real. Her name is Elizabeth. She speaks to me. And she assists me in killing people… this individual, and this one…"

Isabella's smile dropped. She was looking at Veronica with wide, scared eyes.

she didn't sit beside her.

Veronica looked back repeatedly, and she could sense Isabella struggling to muster the strength to report someone about Kingston, about the others but she couldn't because veronica.

During school hours, Veronica grabbed her by the hands and pulled her into an unused classroom.

"V-Veronica, I didn't tell anyone"

"But you were going to."

The walls surrounding them dissolved. The doll's space oozed into reality.

I trusted you," Veronica whispered, shaking with anger. "But you were going to betray me. Now… time for you to die."

The knife cut across Isabella's neck. She fell.

"I'll never trust anyone again," Veronica whispered.

Standing in the corner and observing veronica, Elizabeth's voice was icy. "I told you she would tell.

When Isabella's parents had gone to look for her, the guards informed them that they had seen her leave with a boy likely her brother, they imagined.

Later on, the police went to search for her then forest where two bodies were found

One of them was Isabella's. Her father ended the case straight away, too shattered to keep it open.

Back in her bedroom, Veronica gazed at her doll and murmured, "I will never trust anyone."