I Believe in Liars

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His words followed me out the door.

"Some doors don't open one way. They open both."

I walked slow through the city.
Wet pavement. Faces passing. Everyone moving with purpose.
Mine heavier than all of them.

When I reached my door, it was already unlocked.

Inside, she was waiting.
Settled into the chair by the window like she'd been there long enough to get comfortable.

Her perfume hit first.
Always does.

“You’re getting too close.”

I dropped the key on the table between us.
Brass hit wood.

"Then tell me what it is."

She looked at it the way you look at something you thought you'd never see again.

"It doesn't open. It seals. The craftsman told you that much."

I didn’t answer.
Silence makes people talk.

She leaned forward.
Voice low enough to mean it.

"That key doesn't just hold secrets, Ten. It holds people. The kind that should never walk free."

I studied her the way she'd been studying me since Chapter One.
Every word sounded like truth.
Every truth came with edges.

"And you? Why give it to me?"

Something crossed her face that she didn't mean to show.

“Because you’re the only one I trust not to use it.”

I poured two glasses. Pushed one across the table.
She didn't drink.

The drink wasn't why she came.

The suit won't stop. He can't. If that lock opens it destroys him. And he'll destroy you before he lets that happen."

I leaned back, letting her words sit in the room.

"Funny thing. I don't believe in keys that don't open. I believe in locks. And I believe in liars."

Something in her face softened.
Then didn’t.

"Then maybe I should've never come back."

She left the way the dark takes things.
Without asking.

The key remained on the table.
The question she left behind was louder:

Who was lying?
Her or the man in the grey suit?

To be continued…

Final Chapter — Not Yet

Hood Author’s Note

It’s coming to nearly a year since I wrote my first ever story on Substack. I’ve always been known as a storyteller and a platform like this gave me the chance to voice my imagination on paper. What I didn’t know was that the thing that captured those who heard me wasn’t just the stories they heard. It was the underlying message that spoke to them long after it ended.

Here I am now. Exerting everything I think about through my fingers. Still wondering where this will all end up.

92 subscribers stamped to 10Chapters by IN10MACY. I am deeply honoured to see what was once a vision come to life.

If you find this message, let me be the first to tell you that I couldn’t have done this without you. You rode with this from the jump and never let it sit still. You allowed me to find a new home for fast fiction lovers and embraced the chance to truly experience what luxurious intimacy feels like.

10Community, let’s not stop here. The road to 100 is inevitable and the group chat is waiting for your voice.

Thank you for choosing us as your vibe curator, soul provider, and the engine room of high end experiences.

Thank you for being a 10.

#Stay10
#10Out

— This is your Hood Author, Mr.10

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