THE GIRL WHO LEFT NO SHADOW

THE GIRL WHO LEFT NO SHADOW

Chapter One — The Stranger at Midnight At exactly 12:07 a.m., Emily Carter received a text message from a number that did not exist.She was sitting alone in her bedroom, staring at the rain sliding down the window, when her phone vibrated.UNKNOWN NUMBEREmily almost ignored it.Then another message appeared.«Don't open your bedroom door.»Her fingers froze above the screen.For several seconds, she simply listened.Rain.The low hum of her air conditioner.The ticking clock on her desk.Nothing else.Then came three slow knocks.Knock.Emily's heart jumped.Knock.She stared at the bedroom door.Knock.Her phone vibrated again.«I told you not to open it.»Emily swallowed."Mom?"No answer.Her mother had gone to bed nearly two hours earlier.Emily slowly stood.She was eighteen, but suddenly she felt like a little child again.The knocking stopped.She took one careful step toward the door.Then another.Her phone vibrated.This time, the message contained only four words.«Look under your bed.»Emily's breathing stopped.She looked down.The darkness beneath the bed seemed deeper than it should have been.She didn't move.The phone vibrated again.«He's already inside.»Emily backed away.Then the bedroom light went out.---Chapter Two — The Boy at the Bus Stop Six months earlier, Emily had believed her biggest problem was choosing a college.She had never imagined disappearing people, secret photographs, locked rooms, or a boy who seemed to know things about her that nobody should know.It began on an ordinary Monday afternoon.Emily was standing at a bus stop outside the downtown library when she noticed him.He was leaning against a black motorcycle.His name, she would later learn, was Noah Bennett.At first, she assumed he was waiting for someone.Then he looked directly at her.Not glanced.Looked.As though he had been waiting specifically for her.Emily frowned."Do I know you?"Noah shook his head."No.""Then why are you staring at me?""Because you look exactly like someone I've been searching for."Emily laughed nervously.

"That's probably the strangest introduction I've ever heard.""I know."There was something unusual about him.Not dangerous.Not exactly.Just... mysterious.His dark jacket was soaked from the rain, but he didn't seem to care. A small scar crossed one eyebrow, and his expression carried the exhaustion of someone much older than he looked.Emily looked away.When she looked back, he was still watching her."What do you want?" she asked."Nothing.""Then why are you here?"Noah hesitated."Because if I don't talk to you today, someone else will."Emily stared at him."What does that mean?"Before he could answer, a bus pulled up.Emily stepped toward it.Noah suddenly caught her attention again."Emily."She stopped.She had never told him her name.Slowly, she turned around."How do you know my name?"Noah's face changed.For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes."I don't."Emily's stomach tightened."You just called me Emily.""I know.""How?"Noah looked toward the street.A silver car was parked across from them.Its windows were tinted black.He lowered his voice."Because someone told me.""Who?"Noah looked back at her."Your father."Emily went completely still.Her father had been dead for eleven years.---Chapter Three —The Photograph Emily didn't get on the bus.She followed Noah.She wasn't sure why.Maybe it was curiosity.Maybe it was the strange confidence in his voice.Or maybe it was because nobody had mentioned her father in years.Her father, Daniel Carter, had died in a boating accident when Emily was seven.At least, that was what her mother had always told her.Noah walked into the library.Emily followed.He went downstairs, through a narrow corridor, and stopped beside an old storage room."This is where I found it."He pulled a photograph from inside his jacket.Emily stared at it.The picture showed a young man standing beside a lake.Her father.Emily's hands began shaking."Where did you get this?""Your father gave it to someone.""Who?"Noah didn't answer.Emily looked closer.There was another person standing beside Daniel.A woman.Her face had been scratched away.But Emily recognized the necklace around her neck.She wore it every day.Emily touched the small silver pendant beneath her shirt."No."Noah watched her carefully."You recognize it.""My mother gave this to me.""Emily...""No."She stepped backward."My father died.""That's what everyone was supposed to believe."The library lights flickered.Noah immediately turned toward the staircase."What?"He grabbed the photograph."We need to leave.""Why?""Because we're not alone."A sound came from the corridor.Footsteps.Slow.Measured.Someone was walking toward them.Emily whispered, "Who is that?"Noah pulled her behind the storage-room door footsteps stopped.Silence.

Then a man's voice echoed through the hallway.

"Emily?"

She covered her mouth.

The voice belonged to her mother.

Chapter Four — The Lie

They escaped through an emergency exit.

Emily didn't speak until they were there