I apologize for being unreachable for a little bit there. As you can tell from my last entry, my entire world has been turned upside down. There was a long string of sleepless nights. I’m happy my friend, Jeff, was able to get back to a few of you in the comments during my absence. He’s been incredibly supportive throughout all this and of these posts to get the information out there.
There are a lot of families beyond my own that have been impacted by Aria’s actions, and they deserve to know the truth. If you’ve lost a loved one in Eastern Europe over the last six months, please reach out. Aria mentioned dozens of victims early on, and I think that is an underrepresentation of the situation.
“I think it’s best if we start at the beginning. Let’s talk about mom.”
I opened the package to see Erica’s head.
My eyes grew wide. It was a grotesque sight. The attempt to keep the head preserved had not been done well. There were vast amounts of decay. If it hadn’t been the love of my life I certainly would have had trouble identifying who it was.
“I presume the package has arrived?” she asked.
I did not respond.
“I’ll take the silence as a yes. So let me tell you a story. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be just like my daddy. There was no one alive who was as cool as he was. But he was never around. He was too busy for me,” she said.
It felt like my heart had hit the floor. So this was because of me. I had tried to deflect blame and put it on others. Like the neighbor with a dark side or the teacher who inspired odd behavior. At the end of the day though-there was no one else to blame but me. This was my fault.
“My mom on the other hand, I was never much of a fan. She took care of me, sure, but I can’t say we ever truly connected. It was all superficial for me. No, I wanted to be like my daddy. But maybe he didn’t like me? Maybe he didn’t see enough of himself in me? I had no idea. It seemed like he liked the neighbor boy, Jonah. Why didn’t he like me?”
Of course that wasn’t the case. I loved her. So very much. I was never one for expressing emotions but clearly I’d been too repressed towards my daughter.
“There was one job that kept daddy away for months. I missed him dearly. All mom would do is nag me. Do your homework! Go have some fun with your friends! Blah blah blah. When he finally came back, I couldn’t have been happier. Only he mostly kept to himself and stayed in his room. He seemed sad and tired all the time. Was it because of me? Did I make him sad?”
Hearing these words come out of Aria’s mouth cut deep. My failures as a father kept piling on. To make a daughter feel unloved is as great a sin as any.
“Then one day we were kidnapped by ‘a colleague’ of his. I found out that daddy killed people for a living. Of course, he came and rescued us, and put a bullet in the kidnapper’s heart. When I looked in my dad’s eyes that day, they were empty. I finally understood. Killing made him feel lonely.
That’s why he was so sad! Then I had a great idea. Maybe if he didn’t have to do it alone he wouldn’t be so sad all the time? So I came up with a plan. I was going to learn to kill too. Even better then daddy. Then I was going to surprise him! He’d be so happy he wouldn’t have to do it alone anymore. So I had him train me, saying it was to protect myself,” she said.
She may have known I was a killer but surely she couldn’t know everything. The toll it took, the precautions taken, and the other risks involved. In this very home there was a hidden tunnel to the shed out back. Those are the types of measures I had gone through to protect her and Erica. This twisted lifestyle consumes anything and everything near and dear to you. Case in point-my wife, and now my daughter.
“I kept this up for years. Eventually I needed to settle on a first victim. I decided Jonah was the ideal first target. He was my competition after all. We were in high school now, and every high school boy has the same weakness.
So one night, we left a party together, and I seduced him. I laid it on thick and he fell hook, line and sinker. We went out by the river, where I allowed him to make love to me. That was his parting gift before being sent to the afterlife. Once we were done, I wrapped some wire around his neck, and pulled. I could feel him squirm and squirm, both of us knowing he had no chance at escaping. His body went limp and that feeling, knowing I had taken a life, that was real pleasure,” she said, the pitch in her voice noticeably higher than before.
“I see,” I said. My words didn’t seem to faze her, and she continued.
“After that I was insatiable. I couldn’t stop at one. So I didn’t. I set our church on fire and listened from across the street to the screams of those trapped inside as they perished. I’ll never forget those beautiful flames.”
I tried to cut in.
“Aria…you….”
She didn’t seem to care what I had to say.
“Time went by, and I couldn’t control myself anymore. I told mom my plan. I was so excited to see what she had to say.
Do you know what she did? She slapped me. She scolded me. She told me that what I wanted to do was sick. That I had everything wrong. But how could I? Killing was FUN. Imagine how much more fun it could be if you did it with someone important to you? She told me she was going to ruin my surprise, and I couldn’t let her do that. So she needed to go.”
She started to go in-depth but I tuned her out. I couldn’t listen any further. Knowing the sadistic things Aria had done to Erica wouldn’t help me at this point. Selfishly, the last thing I needed was more details about my failures. I was already a broken man before all of this. Now? Just an empty shell wishing to be washed away at sea.
At this point it became crystal clear to me where this was going to go. I’d resigned myself to my fate. So be it. I had nothing left anyway.
A rock hit the window and the thoughts of my failures faded. I had almost forgotten someone was outside this whole time. Whoever left the box was still out there. I began listening to the call again. Aria hadn’t stopped speaking.
“Daddy was home a lot more often now. At first I was happy. But I soon realized he was more miserable than ever. The more time I spent with him, the more I saw the real him. He was actually quite…pathetic. He didn’t find killing fun at all. He hated it. He did it because he was good at it, and it put food on the table. It was kind of sickening seeing how weak my idol really was. I had put this man on a pedestal. Naturally I began to resent him.”
The sound of someone walking over rocks could be heard outside. It wasn’t subtle. They wanted to be heard. Thankfully the blinds were closed. I began to tiptoe out of the kitchen, and towards the closet in the hall, gun still in hand.
I couldn’t be certain, but I was 90% sure Aria didn’t know about the hidden room behind the closet. I entered the closet and removed the false back quietly.
“So I decided to leave. We weren’t compatible, and I now knew he wouldn’t understand me the way I had hoped. We could never be killing partners. I guess mom was right after all.”
I set the false back up again. I surveyed the room. Nothing seemed out of place. No footprints. The appropriate amount of dust.
It’d been a minute since I’d been in this room. One hundred square feet that consumed years of my life. A desk sat in the corner of the room with a duffle bag on top. I opened the bag, removed the laptop from inside, and a burner phone.
I turned my head and saw a picture on the wall. I took it off its hinges. Erica, Aria, and I. My little girl smothered by my arms. My beautiful wife at my side. All of us smiling. Such a fond memory. Fond but…distant. I set the picture down and rubbed my eyes.
“From that point on I did my own thing. I reached out if his experience was needed and that’s about it. The more I killed, the more elated I became. Eventually I stopped caring whether he’d approve or not. I was happy regardless. I grew less and less discreet in my asks for help. More importantly, I became a much better killer.”
I sent a quick text on the burner then turned on the laptop. This room may have been hidden but the walls weren’t thick. God computers take so long to start. I could hear more footsteps outside. It sounded like they were making their way towards the front door. The steps sounded heavier.
The laptop finally hit my home screen. I opened a few apps, hit a few keys, and set my phone down on top of it. I dug around in the bag for one more item. Where are they? Ahh there. I took the air pods out of the bag and connected them with the phone remaining in my hand.
Then I sat down and listened.
“Daddy, do you want to know why I told you I was a killer?” she asked.
I forced the sob begging to get out back down inside of me.
“No, Aria, I do not,” I replied, tears streaming down my face anyway.
“It’s because at this point, you can’t stop me,” she said.
My little Aria was gone. This much was undeniable. My daughter telling me I couldn’t stop her from killing certainly wasn’t easy to hear. However, something else was even more concerning. I heard multiple sets of footsteps outside now.
“Who is your friend?” I asked, wiping my face. The phone in my hand flashed. I’d gotten a message. I got up and walked to the other side of the room and moved some clutter out of the way. Vent should still work.
There was one thought going through my head that I couldn’t shake. I couldn’t help but wonder how much time I had left. Authorities certainly wouldn’t get here in time to save the day. Not this far out. The local sheriff probably wouldn’t fare too well against Aria and her friends anyway.
“You didn’t think I’d find like-minded people when I studied abroad? You know better than anyone I always wanted a sister. Or two,” she replied.
^(“Where are you Aria?”)
“What?” she asked.
^(“Where are you Aria?”)
“Speak up!” she yelled.
“Sorry, where are you Aria?” was the response, much clearer now.
“I’m nearby,” she replied mockingly.
“Why don’t you come say hi to your dear old dad?”
“It’d be rude for my friends not to introduce themselves first. Don’t you think?” she said.
“Seems like a weird place to draw the line. Killing people is alright but how dare someone introduce themselves out of turn?”
“I’m a complex girl what can I say?” she laughed in return. The phone flashed again. There, understood.
“I see. It’s pretty late. I don’t think this is a good time. You should have your friends come by later.”
“Oh but I insist. They’re already here. It’d be a shame to send them back now.” she said.
“Alright darling, if you say so. Any other confessions you have to make before this old man finally gets some much needed rest?”
“By chance have you heard of the Find My iPhone app?” she sneered.
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Basically it allows me to see where you are based on the location of your phone. Looks like you’re in the closet. Actually no…that’s not right. Behind it,” she replied. “That’s interesting. It makes sense you’d have a secret room in there somewhere. Maybe you’re not as washed up as I thought. Secure walls I presume? Lots of ammunition as well? I suppose you want a war of attrition. That’s fine, we can wait this out. That or blow up the building. We have options and it’s not like we have to worry about waking up any neighbors.”
“I’m not interested in a war of attrition.”
“Oh?” she said.
“That seems like a lot of work for an inevitable result. I am too old to wait it out.”
“Well then why don’t you do us all a favor and come out of there daddy?” she asked.
I sent out one last text. This was it.
“That’s not really an option.”
“Why not?” she replied.
“A few reasons.”
“Such as?” she said.
“Well first of all, I’m not in there,” came the reply. “And second, I’m not your father.”
“You’re not my…then who is this?!” she demanded. My daughters body tensed up.
Her phone lit up and she clicked the green button. The audio call had switched to FaceTime.
“Just an old friend. You can call me Jeff.”
“Then wh…” Aria started before spinning around to meet my gaze.
This was the first time I’d seen my daughter with blonde hair in person. She looked beautiful. Healthy too. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was at her peak.
“The blonde really does look good on you, Aria,” I said.
“How?” she asked, her body shaking as she stared down the barrel of my gun.
“I texted a friend to take my place for a bit and keep you on the line. I’ve been using these to listen,” I said holding up the burner, and then pointing to the air pods. “That bought him time to trace your call and text me your location. It bought me time to get to you. Good thing you really were nearby.”
Her eyes grew wide. “What are you here to do?”
“What you said I couldn’t,” I replied.
“Daddy I…”
I didn’t allow her to finish the sentence. My daughter’s body collapsed to the floor in a heap. I stood there for a moment. Letting the impact of what I’d done hit me. I’d resigned myself to this fate but it didn’t make it any easier.
I bent over and looked down at my little Aria. Her eyes were wide open, a look still encompassed by shock spread across her face. The newly added hole between her eyes had begun to seep blood. I gently closed her eyelids.
“I’m sorry Erica. I broke another promise. But unfortunately my night isn’t done. This chamber isn’t empty.”
I bowed my head before taking one last solemn look at my daughter. Then I left.
I told you all before.
I’m not much of a family man.