Hellen stood at the front of the church, her eyes fixed on the altar. The choir sang in unison, their voices rising to the rafters, but her mind was somewhere else. She didn't hear the music or the praise. All she heard was the voice in her head telling her she wasn't who they thought she was.
She lifted her hands, just as they had taught her, eyes closed, lips moving with the words. A perfect pastor's daughter, everyone's idea of purity. But beneath her soft exterior, beneath the facade of the perfect child, was a secret so dark she couldn't even speak its name.
They think I'm holy, she thought bitterly. They don't know me.
The whispers began when she was younger—only 15—after he had touched her. A hand on her shoulder, his fingers lingering too long. He was a church deacon, well-respected, trusted by the congregation. He said it was "God's will" for her to serve with body and soul, a burden she didn't ask for.
She had tried to tell. But they silenced her. Her father, the pastor, said it was a misunderstanding. The church elders? They called it a test of faith. A girl's word against the reputation of a man of God. She was branded "hysterical." "Dramatic." And worse still, they told her she was possessed.
Her father told her, "The devil works in mysterious ways, Hellen. Don't let him win."
She never spoke of it again. Instead, she channeled her anger and pain into something more dangerous: Bare Truth.
At night, when the church was empty, and the eyes of her congregation were not on her, Hellen would slip into her room, alone, and log into her anonymous blog. Bare Truth was her rebellion. Her confession. An online space where the darkness of the church was exposed in secret.
No one knew it was her behind the posts—at least, no one yet. But they read it. The church's hidden sins. Elders caught in compromising acts, sexual misconduct, and corrupt power plays—all laid bare. And people were listening.
"If they want the truth, they'll get it," Hellen thought, staring at the screen one evening as she typed up another entry, her fingers steady despite the weight in her chest.
But tonight was different.
As she clicked send on her latest confession, a notification popped up on her screen. A new email. One she hadn't seen before.
"I know who you are. Check your inbox. Your secret is no longer safe."
Her pulse quickened. The blood drained from her face. She clicked the email, her hands shaking. The message was simple—too simple.
"If you don't obey, I will expose you to the world."
A chill ran down her spine. Hellen's mind raced. She couldn't let anyone find out. If her secret came to light, everything she had built, everything she had fought for, would be destroyed. Her father would disown her. The church would turn its back. And the people who looked up to her would see her for what she really was—a liar, a sinner.
But behind the fear, there was something else. Anger. Fury. How dare someone try to control her?
"I've been silenced before," she thought, her fist clenching. "Never again."
With a deep breath, Hellen grabbed her phone and typed a response, her fingers steady despite the rising storm in her chest.
"What do you want?"
She hit send, but the dread in her heart was already growing. The game had begun.
And she wasn't sure who would come out alive.
---
To Be Continued...