Chapter 4: The Broken Sanctuary
534 Words
Khalid slammed the SUV back into gear, his expression grim. "I'm not dropping you off at your apartment, Audrey. If he knows your locker number and my car, he knows exactly where you live. My building has 24-hour gated security and a doorman. You’re staying there until we get the police involved."
"No," Audrey said instantly, her voice sharper than she intended. She gripped her tote bag tightly against her chest. "Absolutely not, Dr. Khalid. I appreciate the concern, but I am not hiding out at a colleague's apartment. I just want to go to my own home, lock my door, and figure this out."
"Audrey, be rational—"
"I am being rational," she cut him off, her amber eyes flashing with a sudden spark of stubbornness. "If he's watching us right now, running to your place just makes us look guilty of whatever twisted game he thinks we're playing. Take me home. Please."
Khalid stared at her for a long moment, evaluating her resolve. Finally, he let out a harsh sigh and shifted the car back into drive. "Fine. But I’m walking you to your door."
Ten minutes later, the SUV pulled up to the curb outside Audrey’s apartment complex—a quiet, brick building surrounded by manicured hedges. To her immense relief, the street looked completely normal. The morning sun was fully up now, casting a bright, deceptive warmth over the neighborhood.
Khalid climbed out and met her at the passenger side, his eyes scanning the windows and the tree line as they walked up the concrete steps to the front entrance.
Audrey led the way up to the third floor. The hallway was dead silent, the smell of carpet cleaner and morning coffee lingering in the air. She reached her door, her heart rate finally starting to slow down. Safe.
She dug into her bag, pulled out her keys, and reached for the doorknob.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
The brass doorknob wasn't just unlocked—it was slightly sticky. Shifting her gaze down, she noticed something tied tightly around the handle.
It was a thick, dark silk ribbon.
And pinned to the center of the ribbon, pierced right through the fabric, was a small, clinical piece of metal. Audrey leaned in, her vision blurring with a sudden wave of nausea as she recognized it.
It was the silver name badge she had lost three weeks ago in the hospital parking lot. The one with Audrey, RN printed on the front.
Right below it, slipped under the crack of the door, was a heavy cardstock envelope.
Khalid stepped up behind her, his breath catching as he saw the ribbon. Before Audrey could reach for it, he stepped in front of her, his hand blocking her path. "Don't touch it. Let me."
Using the edge of his pen, Khalid carefully hooked the envelope out from under the door and flipped it over. Written in the same elegant, precise black ink was a single sentence:
“Welcome home, Audrey. I told you he shouldn't follow you here. Now I have to punish him.”
- Writer
