HER DARK PATH

The watcher

Chapter 9

The Watcher

Nadia woke before sunrise, as she always did.

She opened her bedroom window and allowed the cool morning breeze to drift inside. For a few peaceful moments, she stood quietly, listening to the distant sounds of the city coming to life.

Those few minutes every morning belonged to her.

After that...

The day belonged to everyone else.

She freshened up, prepared breakfast, and packed lunch for her brother before checking on her father.

"Good morning, Dad."

He looked up from the newspaper resting on his lap.

"Good morning, my hardworking daughter."

"How are you feeling today?"

"Much better."

She smiled with relief.

"That's good to hear."

"You've been smiling more lately."

"Have I?"

"I think university is finally becoming enjoyable."

Nadia poured him a cup of tea.

"It's probably because our project is going well."

Her father gave her a knowing look.

"Is the project's name Ethan?"

"Dad."

She laughed, shaking her head.

"We're just classmates."

"If you say so."

By mid-morning, the university campus was full of life.

Students gathered beneath trees, revising for quizzes or catching up with friends before lectures.

Nadia found Ethan sitting on a bench outside the Faculty of Business.

His laptop was open, and several windows filled the screen.

"You've started working already?"

He looked up and smiled.

"I've been here for an hour."

"Doing what?"

"I've been thinking about those failed login attempts."

"Still?"

"They've been bothering me."

He turned the laptop slightly so she could see.

"I wrote a small program to monitor any unusual activity on my devices."

Nadia stared at the screen.

"You built that this morning?"

"I couldn't sleep."

She laughed.

"I don't know whether to admire you or worry about you."

"You can do both."

She shook her head.

"You're unbelievable."

Before they could continue, the bell rang.

"Come on," Nadia said.

"If we're late again, Professor Daniels won't be happy."

Ethan quickly closed his laptop.

"I definitely don't want to test his patience."

Together, they headed toward the lecture hall.

After class, students slowly made their way out of the building.

As Nadia and Ethan walked across the courtyard discussing their project, someone watched them from the second-floor balcony.

Vanessa.

She folded her arms tightly.

"They're together again."

Clara sighed.

"Maybe because they're partners."

"It's more than the project now."

"You don't know that."

Vanessa's eyes followed Nadia.

"I'll find out."

She reached into her handbag and removed a small flash drive.

Clara looked confused.

"What's that for?"

Vanessa smiled faintly.

"Just a little experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

"You'll see."

She slipped the flash drive back into her bag before walking away.

That evening...

The city glowed beneath the setting sun.

Inside Police Headquarters, Chief Inspector Adrian Cole stood before a wall covered in photographs, newspaper clippings, and maps.

Every piece of evidence pointed to the same mystery.

The Silent Killer.

"We're missing something," he said.

One of the detectives frowned.

"We've searched every crime scene."

"We've interviewed every witness."

"We still have nothing."

Adrian stared at the silver raven card pinned to the center of the board.

"Our killer isn't careless."

"They plan every move."

"They study every target."

"They leave only what they want us to find."

A young detective stepped forward.

"Sir..."

"What is it?"

"I compared the victims."

"And?"

"They all escaped justice through legal loopholes."

The room fell silent.

Adrian slowly folded his arms.

"So the Silent Killer isn't choosing victims randomly."

"No, sir."

"They're choosing people the law couldn't punish."

Adrian looked at the board once more.

"That makes this investigation even harder."

"Why?"

"Because somewhere out there..."

"...our killer believes they're delivering justice."

Outside the headquarters, the evening traffic moved as usual.

Hidden among the passing cars, a hooded figure sat on a motorcycle, visor hiding every feature.

The figure looked briefly toward the police building.

Then, with the quiet roar of an engine...

Disappeared into the night.