Haunting Adeline (H. D. Carlton) – Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

The Shadow

here’s another video,” Jay says through the phone, his voice solemn.

I scramble up from my couch and make my way into my oﬃce.

An array of computer screens line the ten-foot-long desk, and all

my other illegal devices in here. Jammers, trackers, buons that set oﬀ

explosives in a number of places should someone betray me, and so on.

This room alone is worth millions with all the shit I have in here.

It’s both my happy place and my living nightmare.

This is where I make a diﬀerence in the world. Where I ﬁnd women and

children who need saving, while also witnessing the torture those sick

individuals put them through.

It takes money to inﬁltrate high-security buildings, rescue the girls and

give them sanctuary and safety oﬀ the grid.

Big corporaons pay me an ungodly amount of money to hack into their

rival’s systems for whatever bullshit reason, whether it be because they’re

compeng and want to know what the other is cooking up, or because

they have a lawsuit against one another and trying to ﬁnd informaon.

I don’t give a fuck what their problems are with each other. It’s only my

concern that they get what they hired me for.

In the end, someone wealthy gets fucked over, my client makes a

massive proﬁt from it, and I collect interest on it. It’s dirty, but I’ve never

been in the business of keeping my hands clean.

And it allows me to dedicate my life to ending human traﬃcking.

“Where?” I bark, my ﬁngers already ﬂying over the keyboard.

“Already encrypted and sent to your email.”

I roll my neck, cracking the muscles and gearing up for something that’s

going to make the steak I just ate sele in my stomach like a wrecked ship

in the ocean.

The video starts playing, and despite my insncts screaming at me not

to, I turn up the volume so I can hear.

It’s a grainy video of a fucked up satanic ritual. The person recording is

breathing heavily, more than likely from the risk of being caught doing

something extremely dangerous.

Four robed men stand over a stone slab with a squirming lile boy ed

down to it.

Over and over, he’s screaming to let him go. His lile voice breaking as

he cries for help.

I run a hand over my face when they plunge a curved knife into his chest.

They ﬁll metal goblets with his blood and drink the enrety of the cup in

one swallow.

I force myself to watch and endure the pain alongside this boy. Because

even though this innocent soul is now gone, that doesn’t mean I won’t do

everything in my power to ﬁnd jusce for him.

When the video is over, I have to turn away and breathe through the

urge to vomit.

“Z?” I had forgoen Jay was even on the phone.

“Yeah?” I respond, my voice hoarse and barely there.

“I… I couldn’t watch it, man. I couldn’t do it.”

I close my eyes and breathe deeply.

“That’s okay,” I say. “You don’t need to.”

Jay knows how hard I take these things, but he also knows I refuse to

turn away from them. That’s what most people do when it comes to

human traﬃcking. Everybody knows it exists, and most will educate

themselves on how to avoid it, but they can’t watch when it comes to the

reality of it. Can’t listen. Can’t see the depravity. Because if they don’t look,

then they can go back to their normal lives and live on as if there aren't

thousands of people out here dying every day.

Jay isn’t one of those people, he’s doing what he can. But he also doesn’t

have the stomach for it, and I can’t blame him.

Because I don’t either. And to be honest, the people who do are the

ones who are traﬃcking them and comming the crimes.

“Is it the four we’ve been tracking?” I ask.

Jay sighs. “No, Mark was spoed at a restaurant last night with his wife

during the mestamp of the video. Looks like diﬀerent men, but these

ones aren’t idenﬁable. I imagine they only do the ritual once.”

I nod my head, my mind racing as I try to ﬁgure out what the fuck I’m

going to do.

About six months ago, a video leaked on the dark web of four men in

black robes performing a ritual on a lile girl. I’m not sure if it was

arrogance or what, but the men kept their hoods down, unfazed with

onlookers seeing exactly who they were.

Even with the low-quality video and dim lighng, I was able to idenfy

them immediately.

Senators Mark Seinburg, Miller Foreman, Jack Baird, and Robert Fisher.

They surrounded the lile girl on a slab of cement, stabbed her and then

drank her blood. The girl was sll alive, wriggling and screaming at the top

of her lungs as the men chanted around her.

The same exact ritual the lile boy just went through, sll looping on my

computer screen. Except in this one, the four men surrounding the lile

boy have tall, sharp-pointed hoods drawn over their heads, concealing

their idenes.

I can already feel myself slipping back into that black hole it took weeks

to crawl out of six months ago. It put me in one of the darkest headspaces

I’ve ever been in.

I locked myself in a room and didn’t come out for twenty-six hours aer

watching that ﬁrst video. I was physically unable to go on living my normal

day-to-day with the knowledge that this was being done to children.

That helplessness grew as I explored the dark web and found thousands

of videos of parents raping their own children. Alongside the millions of

other videos of torture, cannibalism, and even necrophilia. A lot of those

videos take place in red rooms, where buyers can direct how exactly they

want the vicm to be tortured, raped, and killed.

And those are just the ones involving children.

Those videos in parcular are what drove me to create Z ﬁve years ago.

Since I was a kid, I had a knack for computer science, and my skills have

surpassed even the top hackers in government organizaons.

Finding myself on the dark web and stumbling upon those videos was by

accident. But it changed my fucking life.

I haven’t been able to sleep since then. Knowing sick people pay to view

hundreds of thousands of children being subjected to those things. Even

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FAQs of Haunting Adeline (H. D. Carlton) – Chapter 12

What is the main focus of Chapter 12 in Haunting Adeline?

Chapter 12 centers on the protagonist's discovery of a horrifying video depicting a child sacrifice, which reignites his mission against human trafficking. The chapter illustrates his emotional struggle as he confronts the brutality of the world he seeks to change. It emphasizes the psychological toll of witnessing such atrocities and his determination to find justice for the victims. The protagonist's obsession with uncovering the truth leads him deeper into the dark web, where he must navigate the complexities of morality and vengeance.

How does the protagonist react to the video he watches in Chapter 12?

Upon watching the disturbing video of a child being sacrificed, the protagonist experiences a visceral reaction filled with anger and sorrow. He forces himself to endure the pain of the footage, knowing that he must bear witness to the horrors inflicted on innocent children. This moment serves as a catalyst for his resolve to take action against the perpetrators involved in human trafficking. The emotional weight of the video drives him further into his mission, highlighting the psychological burden he carries as he seeks justice.

What themes are explored in Chapter 12 of Haunting Adeline?

Chapter 12 explores themes of trauma, obsession, and the moral complexities of justice. The protagonist grapples with the emotional aftermath of witnessing horrific acts, which fuels his determination to combat human trafficking. The chapter also delves into the darkness of human nature, as it reveals the lengths to which individuals will go for power and pleasure. Additionally, it examines the struggle between personal demons and the need to protect the vulnerable, showcasing the protagonist's internal conflict as he navigates his mission.

What motivates the protagonist's actions in Chapter 12?

The protagonist is driven by a deep-seated need to protect children from the horrors of human trafficking and ritualistic abuse. His past experiences and the emotional scars left by witnessing such atrocities propel him to seek justice for the victims. The video he watches serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing suffering, igniting his resolve to uncover the truth and dismantle the systems that allow these crimes to persist. His motivation is fueled by a combination of guilt, anger, and a desire to make a difference in a world filled with darkness.