It had been such a quiet warm Sunday afternoon. The dark winter months were behind them. Lorretta smiled at her husband Fred and their daughter Katherine playing tag oh so joyously in the garden. The scars that riddled Loretta's body were beginning to heal and the once blackened bruises were starting to fade.

The more Katherine grew the more Freddy became obsessed with dotting on their tiny daughter; which meant that he spent less time treating his wife with abject cruelty but more simply more so an indifferent coldness. At times Loretta wasn't sure which she felt was worse, but she knew the latter made her feel at least a modicum of hope for some vague resemblance of normalcy.

She had never seen Freddy so happy as that day in all the years she had known him. All the giggles and screams of delight that resounded from the garden as Freddy beamed the biggest grin at their little girl whom he was ever so proud of. It was so soothing, and made Loretta feel a certain level of peace and security that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Freddy and Katherine were so absorbed in each other's company they didn't care to even notice when Loretta slipped back inside the house. There she saw it.

The door to Freddy's secret room that he strictly forbade any entrance to and any attempt at entry she had previously made always lead to more bruises and pain. Not only was the door now unlocked, but it was actually slightly cracked open. She was drawn to it. Whatever lay within couldn't possibly be that bad. Her husband was just simply a very private person that's all; nothing more than that. The door was just simply a barrier in place to keep the m form coming together as a family like they should. Just a little peak into his world couldn't hurt right? He's out there in such a good mood and the door was finally open. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get an opportunity quite like this again, so she steeled herself and pushed her way inside with baited breath.

The stench that emanated from the room was vile as her eyes gradually adjusted to the dim lighting of the cramped work room. She didn't notice much at first other the horrendous smell that she couldn't quite place what it could possibly be. At first, she only could see a decently sizable stack of toys, small dolls and teddy bears. She assumed that maybe they were more gifts for Kathrine he wanted to keep as a surprise. After all he did spoil her a tad too much. Then she saw newspaper clippings along the walls and in an open scrapbook, though she couldn't quite make out the small print in the dark. It seemed a bit strange to keep strewn about, though Fred was always quite enthusiastic to watch the news to keep up with wat was going on in their little town, especially in recent years. Then she saw jars filled with unknown liquids and what seemed to be small organs. Finally, she saw a row of bladed gloves all various shapes, styles, and different levels of dried blood. Then everything made sense.

Loretta felt sick. She had to face the fact that her husband truly was the monster that had been plaguing the town for nearly a decade. There were times that she suspected of course; she wasn't entirely ignorant. There had been countless times they'd go out together in public he'd become lost in himself and get this intense, hungry stare gazing off at the neighborhood children when he thought she wasn't looking, and it always sent chills down her spine.

She always ended up dismissing the feeling though. Fred was always so smart, strong and had this honeyed, silver tongue tended to have a way of making her doubt herself. He always seemed to like her more when she was afraid.

She didn't want to believe he'd have done it anyway. There was a part of her that remembered the charming gentleman that won her heart when she was young. She wanted so desperately to cling to that empty façade rather than admit to herself that she had fallen into the trap of lies spun by such a heartless, cruel man.

Her mind was racing a million miles a minute as her world came crashing down around her. She couldn't even hear herself scream as she stumbled in shock back out in to the sunny garden. He spoke with a gentle firmness to Katherine though Loretta couldn't make out a word that was said but she saw Kathrine nod and skip away.

Fred calmly stood up and began slowly waking towards his wife. Much too calmly, though she still could feel the anger seething below his icy exterior. Tears streamed down her face while she began to plead and make as many promises as she could to a husband that would never listen to her.

Then when his hands wrapped around her throat and she finally looked into his empty eyes; she knew it was the end as her world began to fade to black.