{"id":70,"date":"2026-08-27T15:15:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/?p=70"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:30:20","slug":"chapter-6-the-false-fox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/chapter-6-the-false-fox\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 6 – THE FALSE FOX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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If Butcher really was Lena Tran\u2019s husband, I had one way to keep him from killing me. Give him someone else.<\/p>\n\n

I looked at him through the fox mask.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou want to know why I know so much?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher said nothing.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman looked up from the floor.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause I know who killed Lena Tran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The room went still.<\/p>\n\n

A lie only works when the person hearing it wants it to be true.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman had just proven that.<\/p>\n\n

Now I needed to see whether Butcher would too.<\/p>\n\n

He stepped closer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou just said you killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI said that to see how much Horseman really knew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSo your story was fake?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHalf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhich half was real?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI was inside Lena\u2019s condo that night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

One of his fingers flexed.<\/p>\n\n

The line under my feet got thinner.<\/p>\n\n

Too little and he wouldn\u2019t believe me.<\/p>\n\n

Too much and I\u2019d hang myself with my own details.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhich half was false?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I let the question hang.<\/p>\n\n

A brown notebook came back to me.<\/p>\n\n

The stuck drawer in Lena\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019d opened it because I thought there might be cash inside.<\/p>\n\n

There wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n

There was a journal.<\/p>\n\n

I hadn\u2019t read the whole thing.<\/p>\n\n

Burglars have schedules too.<\/p>\n\n

But I\u2019d flipped through several pages looking for hidden money or cards.<\/p>\n\n

One line had stuck because it sat alone between blocks of crossed-out writing:<\/p>\n\n

I hate Dad, but Mia isn\u2019t Dad. Why do I get angry before I even answer when she calls?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The same name appeared again and again.<\/p>\n\n

Mia.<\/p>\n\n

I said, \u201cHer sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher went very still.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman frowned. \u201cWho\u2019s Mia?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nobody answered him.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher asked, \u201cWhere did you get that name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHer journal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBedroom. Bottom drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe stuck one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His gaze stayed on me.<\/p>\n\n

I couldn\u2019t tell whether the answer helped or hurt.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat did she write?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBut you remember Mia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cShe came up a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cRelationship?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I rebuilt the fragments I\u2019d seen.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHalf sisters. Same father. Lena\u2019s mother never forgave him for the affair that produced Mia. Lena mostly cut that side of the family off when she got older.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman muttered, \u201cAnd that means murder?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher looked at him once.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman shut up.<\/p>\n\n

I continued.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMia still came to Lena for help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

A pause.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know. I only read a few pages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher moved closer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen why are you saying Mia killed her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This was the dangerous part.<\/p>\n\n

I couldn\u2019t tell him the real reason I knew the truth wasn\u2019t what Horseman had described.<\/p>\n\n

I could only build a story that fit whatever suspicions he already had.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI was inside before everything was over. I heard two women arguing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSaw them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNot clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen how do you know one was Mia?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLena said her name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

That was the first completely invented detail.<\/p>\n\n

I kept my voice steady.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMia came for money. At first they were talking. Then it turned into a fight. I heard something about a hospital. Their father. Bills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman murmured, \u201cSounds believable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher ignored him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI hid in the bedroom. Heard water. Heard them arguing again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher cut in immediately.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMia had already left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I stopped.<\/p>\n\n

Only half a second.<\/p>\n\n

He was testing me.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou just said they argued again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI said I heard a woman again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBut you didn\u2019t see her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThen why are you still calling her Mia?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I said nothing.<\/p>\n\n

The room changed.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman looked from me to Butcher.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher asked, \u201cIs Mia right-handed or left-handed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow tall is she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Silence.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAny tattoos?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Sweat collected under the mask.<\/p>\n\n

These weren\u2019t questions about a murder theory.<\/p>\n\n

They were questions about a person.<\/p>\n\n

And the woman pretending to be Fox should have known the answers.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy does that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAnswer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re accusing Lena\u2019s sister of murder, but you don\u2019t know what she looks like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Wrong turn.<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019d gone too far.<\/p>\n\n

From the moment I walked out of the bathroom, I\u2019d assumed Butcher knew Fox only through an anonymous board.<\/p>\n\n

Mask.<\/p>\n\n

Voice filter.<\/p>\n\n

Screen name.<\/p>\n\n

But if he was Lena\u2019s husband, he might know Mia.<\/p>\n\n

Or at least know what Mia should know about herself.<\/p>\n\n

He stepped closer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou said you read the journal. What did Lena call her father?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAt home. What name did she use for him? What did Mia call him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman began to understand.<\/p>\n\n

He gave a ragged laugh.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMaybe this one is fake too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cShut up,\u201d I snapped.<\/p>\n\n

Too fast.<\/p>\n\n

His laugh widened.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher raised one hand and Horseman stopped.<\/p>\n\n

Then Butcher looked only at me.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen did you join the board?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I remembered what the real Fox had told me.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAfter Lena died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow long after?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFox made her first post eleven days later. What was it about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou forgot the murder you used to get onto the board?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He knew.<\/p>\n\n

Or close enough.<\/p>\n\n

I stood.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDoes that matter? I just told you who-\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He caught my wrist.<\/p>\n\n

Fast.<\/p>\n\n

I tried to pull free.<\/p>\n\n

Couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n

He yanked me off balance, then reached for the fox mask.<\/p>\n\n

I twisted away.<\/p>\n\n

Too late.<\/p>\n\n

Click.<\/p>\n\n

The clasp opened.<\/p>\n\n

Cold air hit my face.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher stared at me.<\/p>\n\n

I stared back.<\/p>\n\n

For the first time that night, he saw who was actually behind the mask.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman\u2019s mouth opened.<\/p>\n\n

Then he laughed.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHoly shit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher\u2019s expression didn\u2019t become angry.<\/p>\n\n

It became colder.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not Fox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t insult either of us by denying it.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI told you. I was in Lena\u2019s condo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cA burglar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman stopped laughing.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher looked at Fox\u2019s jacket on me, then the heels, then the hallway.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I said nothing.<\/p>\n\n

His grip tightened.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhere is Fox?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He let go immediately and turned.<\/p>\n\n

After two steps, he looked back.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy are you wearing her clothes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause the door is locked. I was trying to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Probably the truest sentence I\u2019d spoken all night.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher went down the hallway.<\/p>\n\n

I rubbed my wrist.<\/p>\n\n

Run.<\/p>\n\n

That was the thought.<\/p>\n\n

But the front door was still locked.<\/p>\n\n

The key might be on him.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman was still against the couch.<\/p>\n\n

Fox was tied in the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n

The situation couldn\u2019t get worse.<\/p>\n\n

Then something hit the bathroom wall.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher\u2019s voice followed.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cCome out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

No answer.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

A moment later he reappeared, pulling the woman I\u2019d tied by one arm.<\/p>\n\n

She stumbled after him, hair loose, gag still in place, red marks around both wrists.<\/p>\n\n

She saw me.<\/p>\n\n

Her expression promised that if we both survived the night, she would deal with me personally.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher tossed the fox mask onto the floor.<\/p>\n\n

Clack.<\/p>\n\n

He ripped away the gag.<\/p>\n\n

She coughed.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cListen to me-\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Butcher grabbed her chin and forced her face up.<\/p>\n\n

For the first time, all the control left him.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I went still.<\/p>\n\n

So did she.<\/p>\n\n

Butcher stared at her.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I looked at Fox.<\/p>\n\n

Then remembered the journal.<\/p>\n\n

The name I\u2019d just used to save my life.<\/p>\n\n

Mia Tran.<\/p>\n\n

Lena\u2019s younger half sister.<\/p>\n\n

Fox wasn\u2019t only investigating her sister\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n\n

She was the person I\u2019d just blamed for it.<\/p>\n\n

And from Butcher\u2019s face, I knew he\u2019d suspected her long before I ever opened my mouth.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Previous Chapter Next chapter \u2192 If Butcher really was Lena Tran\u2019s husband, I had one way to keep him from killing me. Give him someone else. I looked at him through the fox mask. \u201cYou want to know why I know so much?\u201d Butcher said nothing. Horseman looked up from the floor. \u201cBecause I Read More “CHAPTER 6 – THE FALSE FOX”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-horrorstories-online-index-php-2026-08-27-i-broke-into-a-killers-house-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}