Chapter 9: The Missing Piece
250 Words
Lina didn’t sleep at all that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing.
The figure.
Standing at the edge of her vision.
Watching.
Waiting.
By morning, she made a decision.
“I need proof,” she said quietly.
Not feelings.
Not memories.
Proof.
She went back to her room and started searching everything.
Old messages.
Deleted photos.
Anything from the time before Maya died.
Her hands moved faster the longer she searched.
Frustration building.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Everything felt scattered.
Like pieces of a puzzle that didn’t want to fit.
Then she found it.
A hidden voice recording.
Saved months ago.
No name.
No label.
Just a date.
Her breath slowed.
She pressed play.
Static.
Then voices.
Maya’s voice first.
“…Lina, please just tell me what you saw.”
A pause.
Then Lina’s own voice.
“I didn’t see anything.”
Maya again, softer now.
“You’re lying…”
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Running.
A scream.
Cut off suddenly.
Lina dropped the phone.
“No…” she whispered. “That’s not real…”
But it was her voice.
It was her.
Her hands shook violently.
Because the recording didn’t end there.
A second voice came through.
Not Maya.
Not Lina.
A third person.
Calm.
Close.
"She won’t tell anyone."
Lina stepped back from the phone like it was burning.
Her breathing broke.
“Who… was that?” she whispered.
The phone lit up again instantly.
Unknown Number.
One message:
"Now you’ve heard me."
- Writer
