The dining room buzzed with laughter and clinking silverware. Haley moved like a ghost in her own home, smiling politely, pouring wine, laughing at just the right moment. Every gesture was flawless, but her eyes never left Andrew.


Damika stayed in her room, the door firmly shut, refusing to be in the same room with Andrew. 

Michael goes into the kitchen with Haley, whispering to her as he watches her fix a plate.


“The only thing I want for my birthday,” he murmured, voice low, “is for everyone in this house to be forgiven… to move on.”


Haley nodded, smiling. But inside, something stirred because she knew that he meant that he wanted to forgive his father and that was never going to happen.


The kids ran past, chasing each other, their laughter bouncing off the walls. Haley froze. The sound was a trigger.

A memory slammed into her: young Haley, on her bed, clutching a threadbare blanket, eyes wide with terror. The mask had appeared in the doorway, looming, silent. Her mother’s screams still echoed in her ears.


Shaking herself, Haley excused herself. She moved to the closet, the hinges whining, and opened a box she had kept untouched for decades. Inside rested the old Ghostface mask, pale and plastic, almost gleaming under the dim light. She lifted it gently, her hands steady, though her heart hammered.


Back in the dining room, she set it on the table, right in the center, as if it were a centerpiece.


Silence fell. Even the children paused mid-laugh.


Andrew’s face paled, but he forced a laugh. “That old thing? You… kept it?”


Haley’s lips curved into the faintest smile—not warm, but cold, deliberate. She leaned forward slightly, her voice shaking.


“Every time you put this on, I could hear Mama screaming. I stayed in my room because I thought… if I came out, I’d be next.”


Andrew’s forced grin faltered. The room seemed to shrink around him, every heartbeat a drum of panic.


Haley rose from her chair slowly. The mask caught the light as she walked past it, then to the door. She slid the deadbolt into place. The click echoed, unnerving in the stillness.


Andrew’s eyes widened, his breath catching. Haley turned, just enough for him to see her face, calm but deadly.

“This,” she whispered, letting the words hang like a blade in the air, “is the last face you’ll ever see.”