Chapter 5: The Warning
536 Words
My hands trembled as I stared at the photograph.
It had been taken from across the street.
Someone had followed me.
Someone had watched me visit Elsa.
And somehow, they knew exactly what I was investigating.
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
I quickly turned toward the driveway.
The black SUV was gone.
As if it had never been there.
"What the hell is happening?" I whispered.
Behind me, Nathan appeared.
The moment he saw my face, his expression darkened.
"What happened?"
Without a word, I handed him my phone.
He read the message.
The color drained from his face.
"Damn."
My heart skipped.
"You know who sent it."
It wasn't a question.
Nathan looked away.
That was answer enough.
---
Twenty minutes later, we sat inside his room.
For the first time since meeting him, Nathan looked nervous.
Actually nervous.
He kept glancing toward the door as if someone might walk in at any moment.
"You need to tell me the truth."
He rubbed a hand across his face.
"It's not that simple."
"Then make it simple."
Silence.
Then Nathan sighed.
"My father knew your father."
I froze.
The room went silent.
Finally.
A real answer.
"What?"
"They worked together years ago."
My pulse raced.
"Then why did everyone pretend they didn't know each other?"
Nathan looked uncomfortable.
"Because whatever happened between them destroyed everything."
The words sent a chill down my spine.
Destroyed everything?
"What happened?"
Nathan shook his head.
"I don't know the full story."
I wasn't sure whether to believe him.
"But I know your father's death changed my father's life."
My heart pounded.
This was bigger than I thought.
Much bigger.
---
That night, after everyone went to bed, I couldn't sleep.
I kept replaying Nathan's words.
My father knew David.
The letter was telling the truth.
Someone had lied to us for thirteen years.
At around midnight, I heard movement downstairs.
Soft footsteps.
Careful footsteps.
I quietly left my room.
The hallway was dark.
At the bottom of the stairs, a light glowed beneath the study door.
David.
I moved closer.
The door wasn't fully closed.
Just enough for me to see inside.
David stood by the desk.
Holding something.
A photograph.
My photograph.
The one from my father's letter.
My breath caught.
How did he get it?
I had hidden it.
Suddenly, David spoke.
His voice was low.
Tired.
Almost broken.
"I warned you this day would come."
I froze.
He wasn't alone.
Someone else was in the room.
A shadow sat in the chair opposite him.
The man's face remained hidden.
"She's asking questions," David continued.
"Just like her father did."
The stranger laughed.
A cold, unpleasant laugh.
"Then maybe she'll end up like him."
My blood turned to ice.
I stepped backward.
The floorboard creaked.
The conversation stopped instantly.
Silence.
Then David's voice rang out.
"Who's there?"
My heart nearly exploded.
Footsteps rushed toward the door.
Fast.
Very fast.
I turned and ran.
But before I reached the stairs, a hand grabbed my wrist from the darkness.
I opened my mouth to scream.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
"Keep quiet."
It was Elsa.
And she looked terrified.
"Mirabelle," she whispered.
"I know who killed Dad."
- Writer
