Chapter 6: The Midnight Visitor
1094 Words
The Midnight Visitor
The silver necklace slipped from Aurora's trembling fingers.
It landed softly on the table.
She looked at the necklace around her own neck.
Then at the identical one inside the evidence bag.
Her breathing became shallow.
"No..."
"This isn't possible."
The police officer looked between Aurora and Damien.
"You know something, don't you?"
Neither of them answered.
Damien stared at the necklace as though it had awakened a nightmare he had spent years trying to bury.
His jaw tightened.
"Who was the victim?" he finally asked.
The officer opened his notebook.
"Male."
"Approximately fifty years old."
"No identification."
"But..."
He hesitated.
"We found this in his pocket."
He handed Damien a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a small hotel room key.
Attached to it was a faded paper tag.
Room 1313.
Aurora frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Damien's face darkened.
"There isn't a Room 1313 in this hotel."
The officer nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
---
Outside the hotel...
Rain poured harder than ever.
Police lights painted the wet streets in flashes of blue and red.
Journalists crowded behind security barriers, shouting questions no one answered.
Aurora stood beneath the entrance canopy, hugging herself.
She suddenly felt exposed.
Like invisible eyes were watching her from every direction.
Damien walked toward his waiting car.
Before getting inside, he turned back.
"You shouldn't go home tonight."
Aurora looked at him.
"I don't even know if I can trust you."
"I know."
"But someone tried to get that folder to you."
"And someone else tried to stop it."
His voice dropped.
"If they're willing to kill in a room full of witnesses..."
"They won't hesitate to come for you again."
Aurora wanted to argue.
Instead...
She remembered the words written on her bedroom mirror.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO RETURN.
A shiver crawled down her spine.
"I'll be fine."
Damien looked disappointed.
"No..."
"You won't."
He stepped into his car.
The convoy disappeared into the rain.
Aurora watched until the last taillight vanished.
She had the strange feeling...
This wasn't goodbye.
It was a warning.
---
That night...
Aurora couldn't bear returning to her apartment.
Instead, she checked into a small hotel on the edge of the city.
She paid in cash.
Used only her first name.
And chose a room on the third floor.
She wanted no one to find her.
The receptionist smiled politely.
"Room 309."
Aurora thanked her and went upstairs.
The room was simple.
A bed.
A wardrobe.
A desk.
Nothing unusual.
She locked the door twice.
Pulled the curtains shut.
Then sat on the edge of the bed.
Silence.
For the first time all day...
She allowed herself to cry.
Everything she believed about her life was falling apart.
Someone knew her.
Someone feared her.
Someone wanted her dead.
And somewhere in the middle of it all...
Was Damien Blackwood.
Who was he really?
A stranger?
An enemy?
Or the only person telling the truth?
---
Just after midnight...
Aurora woke suddenly.
Someone had whispered her name.
"...Aurora..."
She sat upright.
The room was dark.
Only the faint glow of the city lights filtered through the curtains.
She listened carefully.
Nothing.
"It was just a dream," she whispered.
She lay back down.
Then she heard it.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Three slow knocks on the door.
Aurora held her breath.
"Who is it?"
No answer.
She looked through the peephole.
The hallway was empty.
Her heartbeat slowed.
She almost laughed at herself.
Then...
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
This time...
The sound came from inside the room.
Aurora spun around.
The wardrobe door slowly creaked open by itself.
She stared at it.
Frozen.
The room was completely still.
A cold breeze drifted across her face.
But the windows were locked.
Very slowly...
She reached for the bedside lamp.
Click.
Nothing.
The light wouldn't turn on.
Then...
Her phone vibrated.
One new message.
DON'T OPEN THE WARDROBE.
Aurora's eyes widened.
Another message arrived immediately.
HE'S STILL INSIDE.
She couldn't breathe.
Her gaze remained fixed on the wardrobe.
The door opened another inch.
Creeeeak...
Something moved inside.
A shadow.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching her.
Aurora's hands trembled so violently she almost dropped her phone.
Another message appeared.
Run.
Without thinking, she rushed toward the door.
She pulled it open—
And crashed into someone standing outside.
She screamed.
Strong hands caught her before she fell.
"Aurora!"
She looked up.
Damien.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'll explain later."
His eyes searched her frightened face.
"What happened?"
She pointed toward the room.
"Someone's inside."
Damien immediately stepped past her.
He switched on his phone's flashlight.
The beam cut through the darkness.
The wardrobe door stood wide open.
Empty.
No one.
The bathroom.
Empty.
Under the bed.
Nothing.
Damien frowned.
"Are you sure?"
"I saw someone."
He believed she believed it.
But there was no one there.
Then his flashlight landed on the wall above the bed.
He froze.
Fresh words had been written in black ink.
Neither of them had noticed them before.
YOU'RE TOO LATE AGAIN, DAMIEN.
For the first time...
Aurora saw genuine fear in Damien Blackwood's eyes.
He whispered almost to himself,
"He's back..."
Aurora turned toward him.
"Who?"
Damien didn't answer.
Instead, he slowly reached into his pocket and removed a pistol.
Aurora stared at him in shock.
"You carry a gun?"
"I was hoping I'd never need it again."
Before Aurora could ask what he meant—
A loud crash exploded from the hallway.
Someone was running.
Fast.
Damien rushed out.
Aurora followed.
At the far end of the corridor...
A figure dressed completely in black disappeared around the corner.
Damien sprinted after him.
The stranger reached the emergency exit.
He stopped for just one second.
Long enough to turn and look directly at Damien.
Even from a distance...
Aurora could see one terrifying detail.
The stranger wore a porcelain white mask with no expression.
Only two hollow black eye holes.
He slowly lifted one gloved hand.
Not to wave...
But to point directly at Aurora.
Then he dragged one finger across his own throat.
A silent promise.
You're next.
The masked man disappeared down the stairwell.
Damien chased after him.
Aurora stood frozen in the empty hallway.
A soft vibration came from her phone.
One final message.
This time there was no unknown number.
Only a photograph.
It had been taken seconds ago.
From the ceiling of her hotel room.
It showed Aurora asleep in bed...
With the masked man standing beside her.
Watching her.
At the bottom of the picture were six chilling words.
I was never hiding from you.
I was waiting.
- Writer
