Episode 9 — The Man at the Funeral
409 Words
Daniel couldn't see the man's face.
Rain fell between them.
Elena grabbed Daniel's arm again.
“Don't look at him for too long.”
Daniel pulled his arm free.
“Who is he?”
“I told you. Get in the car.”
The man took another step forward.
Daniel's memory returned all at once.
A black suit.
A lowered head.
Standing near the back of the church while Maya's coffin was carried inside.
Daniel had assumed he was a friend of their father's.
He had never spoken to him.
Never even learned his name.
But now Daniel remembered something else.
The man hadn't been watching the funeral.
He had been watching Daniel.
His phone buzzed.
Daniel looked down.
RUN.
Elena saw the message.
Her face drained of color.
“You need to stop reading those.”
“What do you know?”
Before she could answer, the man spoke.
“Daniel Reed.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Daniel felt a chill move through him.
“Who are you?”
The man stopped beside the road.
“You've been asking the wrong questions for seven years.”
Elena stepped in front of Daniel.
“Don't listen to him.”
The man smiled faintly.
Daniel looked from one of them to the other.
“Where is Maya?”
For the first time, the man’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Surprise.
“You still believe she's missing.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Elena whispered, “Daniel…”
But he stepped forward.
“What happened to my sister?”
The man looked toward the dark warehouses surrounding them.
Then back at Daniel.
“Your sister didn't disappear that night.”
Daniel felt the world go silent.
“She was running.”
“From who?”
The man looked directly at Elena.
Daniel slowly turned toward her.
Elena's eyes filled with panic.
“It's not what you think.”
Daniel's phone buzzed.
A final message appeared.
This time, there was no warning.
Only a name.
ELENA CROSS
And beneath it—
ASK HER ABOUT THE SECOND PHONE.
Daniel looked up.
Elena was already backing away.
“Daniel, please.”
He took one step toward her.
“What second phone?”
Elena stopped.
The silence gave him his answer.
Then, from somewhere behind the warehouses, a gunshot-like bang echoed through the night.
Everyone froze.
The man turned toward the sound.
Elena whispered one word.
“Run.”
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