ROOM 1108

Threatening Texts In Broad Daylight

Aria stared at her phone. Her reflection stared back from the dark screen, her pale was visible despite the screen’s inaccuracy. She struggled to breathe normally while the photograph remained open in front of her. At this point, keeping her job was the least of her problems. The situation’s threat level kept growing by the seconds. Going back to work pretending like nothing was wrong would only make things worse…her life was already at risk because of her curiosity. She had already broken the only rule that would have guaranteed her peace in the residence if she obeyed.

The entrance of Blackwood Residences was visible in the image taken minutes ago and right in the middle of it was Aria, whoever took it had been terribly close to the building.

A chill crawled up her spine, her eyes darted down the hallway, nothing felt normal anymore. The second message remained beneath the photo.

YOU SHOULD STOP LOOKING.

The words looked simple but they carried a terrifying warning. Someone knew where she had been and what she was doing, they knew about Room 1108. For the first time since her mother’s death, Aria felt genuinely afraid for her life.

Her phone vibrated again, Aria was so shook she nearly dropped it, she looked down at her screen. It was an unknown Number. There sat another message.

YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR MOTHER.

This time life was starting to drain from her face.

Why would someone go this far for a bunch of documents?

What were they truly hiding that was worth going through so much to keep under the rug?

whoever was texting her knew exactly who her mother was. The hallway suddenly felt too exposed, she looked around her in a panic, everything had become a suspect. Aria shoved the phone into her pocket and backed away from her apartment door, She felt the urge to leave. The bigger challenge was…she still didn’t have her keys.

“Damn it.”

Her voice shook. She hated feeling helpless. The worst part was… the one person she wanted to avoid right now was the same person who probably had her keys. Damien. For several seconds she argued with herself.

Call him. Don’t call him. Call him. Don’t call him.

Eventually, reality won. There weren’t many options, reluctantly she pressed his name. The phone rang while she waited.

Once. Twice. Three times. Then Voicemail.

Aria frowned. She tried again, but it was the same result.

She tried a third time but still got nothing. Now her fear was beginning to mix with her irritation, Damien was never one to ignore his calls, at least not like this. She’d stormed out on him earlier. Could he still be mad about it? Maybe not. The thought of heading back over taunted her but she rejected it each time. Another vibration from the phone interrupted her thoughts, her stomach gripped hard at her…Unknown Number, it had texted again. With trembling fingers she opened the message, this time there was no text, only a fresh photograph, taken seconds ago. Aria’s face reddened with fear. The picture showed her standing in the hallway looking at her phone. Exactly where she was in the moment, definitely the image had been taken from somewhere nearby.

Someone was watching her in real time. Aria spun around in a panic searching the hallway with her sight. The hallway was empty yet the feeling remained. Every second felt like her last on earth, like someone who had just discovered that a bunch of Sicarios were coming for her.

A soft ding echoed nearby, it was the elevator. The doors slid open, Aria jerked backwards in fear. An elderly woman stepped out carrying grocery bags, the woman blinked clearly surprised by Aria’s reaction.

“Dear, are you alright?”

Aria forced a smile.

“No. I mean…yes. Sorry.”

The woman looked unconvinced, but eventually continued down the hall. As soon as she disappeared, Aria moved quickly toward the elevator. She wanted to get away from the hallaway so badly. She quickly jumped in as she heaved a sigh of relief because the elevator was empty. The doors were beginning to close when a hand suddenly shot between them, the elevator jerked open again. Aria froze. Damien stepped inside breathing heavily, like he had run the entire way there.

For one brief moment relief flooded her mind, then she remembered she was angry with him. Damien took one look at her face and immediately knew something was wrong.

“What happened?”

Aria shoved the phone toward him, his eyes scanned the screen. He saw the messages, then the photographs. The change in his expression was instant. Gone was the calm, careful Damien she’d been arguing with. He was no longer the man trying to explain old photographs. His jaw tightened, and his expression darkened with rage. She had never seen him this furious.

“Where did you get these?”

“The number is blocked.”

Damien looked at the second photograph, the one showing Aria standing in the hallway moments ago. He grabbed her wrist…

“We need to go.”

Aria pulled back.

“Go where?”

“We need to leave Blackwood.”

“What?”

“Now.”

His voice carried a sharpness she’d never heard before, and Aria realized something. Damien wasn’t worried about the message but the person who sent them, he knew exactly what they meant.

The elevator doors closed and began it’s descend, neither spoke to each other. It was a different kind of silence.

Finally Damien broke the ice quietly when he said…

“I thought we had more time.”

Aria’s gut twisted as she turned to look at him. More time for what? Before she could ask, her phone vibrated again. Both of them looked down at her phone, it was another message…Unknown Number. They stared at each other in horror. Damien quickly snatched the phone and clicked on the notification. One sentence stared right back at him…

TOO LATE…