Blood at the Doorstep
861 Words
Amelia stared at Dante, certain she had misheard him.
"They've found my aunt?"
Her voice came out as little more than a whisper.
Dante's expression remained unreadable.
"My men intercepted a message less than a minute ago."
"No..."
Amelia shook her head repeatedly.
"No, she was at home. She doesn't know anything about Victor or the file."
"That doesn't matter."
"It matters to me!"
She took a step toward him, her eyes glistening.
"You have to take me to her."
Dante was silent.
"I have to know she's safe."
"You'll be walking into a trap."
"I don't care."
"I do."
His answer only fueled her anger.
"You don't get to tell me what to do!"
"And you don't get to throw your life away."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
The rain continued to fall, tapping softly against the stone courtyard.
Finally, Dante sighed.
"Prepare two vehicles."
One of his guards nodded.
"Yes, Boss."
Amelia blinked.
"You're taking me?"
"I'm making sure you don't get yourself killed."
Twenty minutes later, two black SUVs rolled through the quiet streets.
Amelia sat beside the window, nervously twisting the ring on her finger.
It had belonged to her mother.
Whenever she was frightened, she touched it without thinking.
Dante noticed but said nothing.
The city looked different after midnight.
Empty.
Dark.
Every passing shadow made Amelia's heart race.
"What if we're too late?" she asked quietly.
"We won't know until we get there."
His calmness irritated her.
"Do you ever panic?"
"No."
"You don't seem human."
A faint smile appeared on his face
"I've been called worse."
After that,the journey to Aunt Claire's house was suffocatingly quiet.
Rain drummed against the windows of the SUV while Amelia stared at the blurred city lights. Victor's warning echoed endlessly in her mind.
Don't trust the police.
Then another thought crept in.
Can I trust Dante?
He sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed ahead, as though he already knew what they were about to find.
That frightened her more than the men with guns.
"How did you know they were coming after me?" she finally asked.
Dante didn't look at her.
"I'll answer that when the time is right."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Amelia clenched her jaw.
"You expect me to follow a stranger who refuses to tell me the truth?"
"I expect you to stay alive."
The SUV slowed.
"We're here, Boss," the driver announced.
Amelia's heart lurched.
Her aunt's house stood at the end of the quiet street.
Every light was off.
No television flickered through the windows.
No porch light glowed.
The house looked... abandoned.
Before Amelia could open the door, Dante caught her wrist.
"Wait."
"My aunt could be inside."
"Exactly."
He stepped out first, followed by two guards.
They searched the yard in silence.
One guard crouched beside the flower bed.
"Boss..."
"What?"
"There are footprints."
Dante's expression hardened.
He motioned Amelia forward.
"Stay close."
The front gate creaked as they entered.
Amelia noticed something strange.
Her aunt always watered the flowers before sunset.
Tonight, the watering can lay on its side, water still dripping into the soil.
As if someone had interrupted her.
"Aunt Claire?" Amelia called.
Nothing.
Only the wind.
She climbed the porch steps.
The front door wasn't broken.
It was slightly open.
Her stomach twisted.
She pushed it gently.
The door swung inward with a long, haunting creak.
Darkness greeted them.
The air smelled of cold tea... and something metallic.
Dante lifted a flashlight.
Its beam swept across the living room.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
The cushions were neatly arranged.
Books sat perfectly on the shelves.
A half-finished crossword puzzle rested on the coffee table beside a pair of reading glasses.
Amelia frowned.
"She wouldn't leave her glasses behind."
Dante didn't reply.
His flashlight stopped on a teacup.
He touched it.
"It's still warm."
Amelia's pulse quickened.
"She was here..."
"Not long ago."
A loud thud echoed upstairs.
Everyone froze.
One of the guards reached for his weapon.
Another sound followed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking across the second floor.
Amelia instinctively took a step toward the staircase.
Dante blocked her path.
"No."
"My aunt is up there."
"Or someone wants you to think she is."
The footsteps stopped.
Silence swallowed the house once again.
Then...
A phone began to ring.
Its ringtone echoed from upstairs.
Amelia's eyes widened.
"That's her phone."
She knew the melody.
She had chosen it for her aunt months ago.
Ignoring Dante, Amelia ran up the stairs.
"Amelia!"
His voice chased after her, but she didn't stop.
She reached the bedroom and pushed the door open.
Empty.
The ringing continued.
She followed the sound to the wardrobe.
Hands trembling, she pulled the doors apart.
Inside, on the floor...
lay her aunt's phone.
Still ringing.
The caller ID simply read:
UNKNOWN.
The ringing stopped.
A text message appeared on the screen.
Amelia opened it.
There were only six words.
LOOK BEHIND YOU, LAWYER
Her breath caught.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
She turned around.
The bedroom door, which she had left wide open...
was now closed.
And someone...
was standing on the other side of it.
- Writer
