Madison Parker's Arc

Chapter 4 of 1

The burner phone was poison now. One more post from it could point straight back to Madison. She lay awake turning the problem over. The account needed feeding, but her own trail was the leak. She needed content she could blame on someone else. Someone who would never suspect her, and who would hand over the goods for free. She found him on Willow's family page. Marcus Holloway, Willow's older brother. His profile was full of blurry photos and worried captions. Madison had seen his name before. He was the one who pushed too hard, who said the wrong thing, who could not stop trying to fix his sister. That made him useful. She made a fresh account under a fake name and sent him a message. She said she was Willow's friend. She said she was scared for her. He wrote back fast. No greeting, just words. "You noticed too. Good. Somebody should." Madison typed carefully. She said Willow looked so tired lately. She said she wanted to help but never knew how. "You can't help her," Marcus wrote. "I've tried for a year. I told her once she'd end up in a hospital. I was right. I still can't reach her." Madison almost smiled at the screen. He was cracked wide open. She kept nudging. She asked if he thought Willow was eating enough now. "No. She hides it. Always has." A pause. Three dots blinked. "Look at this. Took it last weekend." A photo loaded. Madison sat up. It showed Willow on a path, walking behind Marcus and a blond woman Madison guessed was the mother, Angela. Willow trailed a full step back. Her shoulders sagged. Her legs looked like they might fold. Her face was gray and slack with exhaustion. It was clear, sharp, and daylight bright. No blur. No club walls to hide. And Marcus had sent it himself. Madison saved it in one tap. Her hands were steady. This photo carried no trace of her at all. A brother had taken it. A brother had given it away. If anyone traced it, the road led to Marcus, not to a girl at band practice. "Thank you for trusting me," she typed. "We both just want her okay." "Yeah," he wrote. "Tell her that. She won't hear it from me." Madison closed the chat. Then she opened the burner account she had almost buried. The old fear was gone. She did not need to be the insider anymore. She had a source outside the circle now, one who would keep giving. She stared at the picture of Willow lagging behind her family. Tired. Small. Perfect. She started typing a caption, slow and careful, the way she liked it. The leak was sealed. And the person who sealed it was Willow's own brother.