The conversation they thought was safe
816 Words
# Chapter 5:
I didn't leave after haunting them.
I stayed.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Because I wanted answers.
Daniel had looked guilty.
Maya had looked terrified.
But something about their fear bothered me.
It wasn't just fear of me.
It was fear of... someone else.
---
Morning arrived.
The sun rose over the city, yet I felt no warmth.
I stood on the rooftop across from my apartment.
Daniel finally stepped outside.
He looked awful.
His neatly combed hair was a mess, his shirt was wrinkled, and dark circles hung beneath his bloodshot eyes.
He kept looking over his shoulder.
As if expecting me to appear.
Good.
I followed him.
He couldn't see me.
No one could.
I moved through the crowded streets like a shadow.
Cars passed through me.
People walked through me without even noticing.
Only a little girl stopped.
She looked directly at me.
Then she smiled.
"You look lonely."
Before I could answer, her mother grabbed her hand.
"Who are you talking to?"
"The sad lady."
Her mother frowned.
"There isn't anyone there."
They walked away.
I stood frozen.
Why had that child been able to see me?
The question stayed with me as I continued following Daniel.
---
An hour later, he arrived at a tall glass building.
Horizon Holdings.
The company where we all worked.
The company Daniel had claimed was worth betraying me for.
He entered through the front doors.
I followed.
The receptionist didn't look up.
The security guards didn't notice me.
Being dead had its advantages.
Daniel didn't stop until he reached the top floor.
He knocked once before entering a large office.
I slipped inside before the door closed.
The room was enormous.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city.
A bookshelf lined one wall.
Expensive paintings covered another.
Standing by the window was a man in an elegant black suit.
His back faced us.
"I heard about last night," the man said calmly.
Daniel lowered his head.
"I'm handling it."
The man chuckled.
"Handling it?"
He turned around.
His face was hidden in the shadows, but his smile was cold.
"A dead woman doesn't simply walk back into her apartment."
Daniel swallowed hard.
"We buried her."
"I know."
"We made sure she couldn't survive."
"I know."
"So how—"
"I don't care how."
The man's voice turned icy.
"I care that she's become a problem."
My heart clenched.
He knew.
He knew I had died.
He knew they had buried me.
Who was this man?
Daniel rubbed his trembling hands together.
"What do you want me to do?"
The man walked to his desk and opened a drawer.
He removed a thick brown envelope.
Inside were photographs.
My photographs.
Pictures of me laughing.
Working.
Walking home.
Even sleeping.
Someone had been watching me long before I died.
The man tossed the envelope onto the desk.
"You were paid to eliminate a witness."
Witness?
I stared at him in disbelief.
What witness?
Daniel's face turned pale.
"You told us she didn't know anything."
"I believed she didn't."
The man smiled.
"I was wrong."
A loud ringing filled my ears.
Everything around me became blurry.
I hadn't been murdered because of love.
I hadn't been murdered because of money.
I had been murdered because...
I had seen something.
Something I couldn't even remember.
---
Daniel's phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the screen.
"Maya."
He answered immediately.
"Maya, calm down."
Her voice shook so badly I could barely understand her.
"She's here."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
"She's standing outside my office."
His eyes widened.
"Don't move."
"I'm not joking!" Maya cried. "She's just standing there... smiling."
Daniel rushed toward the door.
I followed him.
Within minutes, we arrived at Maya's office on the twelfth floor.
Employees crowded the hallway.
Some looked confused.
Others looked frightened.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
Maya pointed toward the large window with trembling fingers.
"There..."
Everyone turned.
The sidewalk below was full of people.
Cars moved normally.
No one was looking up.
No one seemed afraid.
Daniel slowly stepped closer to the glass.
His face drained of color.
Outside...
Across the street...
A woman in a dirt-stained white dress stood perfectly still.
Her long black hair covered her face.
She was staring directly at the building.
At Daniel.
At Maya.
But...
I was standing beside Daniel.
I looked out the window.
Then back at myself.
The woman outside slowly lifted her head.
She smiled.
I hadn't smiled.
She raised one hand.
I hadn't moved.
A whisper crawled through my mind.
"If that isn't you..."
"Then who is wearing your face?"
The woman outside opened her mouth.
Every window in the building shattered at the same time.
Her scream echoed through the city.
And then...
She disappeared.
I stood frozen.
For the first time since crawling out of my grave...
I realized something terrifying.
There was another monster.
And it looked exactly like me.
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