Chapter 19 — Echoes in the Wind
331 Words
The vineyard had been silent for days—almost too silent.
Marina noticed it first. A drone buzzing overhead during her walk to the edge of the vines. She thought it was a bird at first, until it paused… hovered… then zipped away.
Then came the phone calls.
Unmarked. Repeated. Dominic never answered them, but she could see the tension rising in his shoulders with every ring.
On the third day, a letter arrived at the gate—no postmark, no return address. Just a single piece of paper, tucked in a plain white envelope, shoved beneath the wrought iron gate.
"I found you. And I’m not the only one looking."
Dominic held it with trembling fingers. His jaw clenched so tightly Marina could hear the grind of his teeth.
“Who?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” he said, but his voice had gone cold. “Could be someone from my world—or yours.”
They burned the letter in the fireplace, but the message lingered.
That night, Dominic installed new security cameras and motion lights around the house. Marina didn’t argue. The shadows outside seemed to press harder against the windows now.
And still, someone watched.
She felt it while brushing her hair. While watering the roses. While walking the edge of the vineyard. A presence. Fleeting. Always out of sight, but there.
The vineyard’s stillness had changed—it no longer felt like a sanctuary.
It felt like a trap.
Meanwhile…
Across the state, inside a dingy motel room lit by the flickering glow of a laptop screen, he watched her.
Screenshots. Video clips. Facial recognition scans. Her photo matched with multiple identities—Juliette Ward, Marina Doyle, and several other names flagged by PI firms, bounty hunters, and curious tabloids.
The man leaned back in his chair, a smirk curving his lips.
“She really did vanish… but now she’s back.”
He reached for his phone.
Time to collect.
End of Chapter 19.
- Writer
