Chapter 4The River's Toll: Blood, Secrets, and the Family Business

When Scott was pulled up, he was completely unconscious.

Luckily, Frank reacted quickly. Otherwise, he would have drowned.

Once on the boat, Scott was coughing uncontrollably.

Frank immediately cleared the mud, sand, and water weeds from his mouth and nose.

Then, using the "head-tilt, chin-lift" technique, he tilted Scott's head back to keep his airway open.

Finally, after throwing up a large amount of filthy water, Scott was able to breathe deeply.

But he was still disoriented.

We quickly rushed Scott home.

Aunt Jane was terrified and immediately rushed out to care for him.

I didn't dare alarm my mother, as she still hadn't recovered.

Grandpa was also surprised. Scott was an excellent swimmer, even better than Jimmy.

He had been in that exact spot hundreds of times. How could he possibly drown?

Scott was still woozy, but seemed out of danger.

Since Aunt Jane was caring for him, Grandpa told us to hurry up and dispose of Tom's body.

"The youngest died just two days ago, and now he's dead too… If the police see such frequent deaths, they'll suspect something. Go bury him… hurry…"

Frank, Jimmy, and I drove out late that night, found a spot, and buried Tom.

When we got back, Scott had recovered significantly.

He could at least open his eyes and speak a little.

Seeing us return, Grandpa told Aunt Jane to rest. The main goal was for all of us to hear why Scott had almost drowned.

When the subject came up, Scott's face was full of terror.

He started shaking.

His trembling lips could only force out one sentence:

"A head… a human head! The eyes… the eyes were glowing…!"