EpisodeTHREE:Nora couldn't sleep
952 Words
Nora did not sleep again that night.
She lay on the bed with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling while the house breathed around her. Every small sound felt louder than it should have been. Pipes shifting. Wind brushing against the walls. The faint hum of electricity running through the building like a pulse.
She kept replaying Ethan’s words in her head.
You were already marked.
The sentence refused to settle. It scratched at her thoughts, digging deeper every time she tried to push it away.
By morning, exhaustion sat heavy in her body.
When she stepped into the hallway, the door unlocked easily from the inside. That almost made it worse. It meant the lock had never been for her safety. It had been a reminder.
Breakfast was already set in the kitchen.
Ethan sat at the table with a tablet in front of him, his attention fixed on the screen. He did not look up when she entered.
“You locked my door last night,” Nora said.
“Yes.”
No apology. No explanation.
Her hands clenched at her sides. “You don’t get to do that.”
Ethan finally looked at her. His eyes were calm, but something hard lived beneath the surface.
“I do,” he said. “Because you’re not seeing the full picture.”
“Then show me,” she snapped. “Because right now, this feels less like protection and more like a cage.”
A flicker of something crossed his face. Regret, maybe. Or frustration.
“You wanted to disappear,” he said quietly. “This is what disappearing looks like.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
She turned away, suddenly afraid he could see too much. Afraid he could see how close he was to the truth.
After breakfast, Ethan left the house.
“I’ll be back before dark,” he said. “Don’t open the doors for anyone.”
“And if someone tries to come in?” Nora asked.
His jaw tightened. “They won’t.”
The door closed behind him with a soft, final sound.
Nora wandered through the house, restless. The walls felt closer today. The silence heavier. She tried to distract herself by cleaning, organizing shelves, wiping surfaces that were already spotless.
Around midday, the power flickered.
Just once.
Then again.
Her stomach tightened.
She moved to the living room window and looked out. The street was empty. Too empty. No cars. No pedestrians. No movement at all.
Her phone buzzed.
One message.
Did he tell you who you really are?
Her breath caught.
She typed quickly, her fingers trembling.
Who is this?
The reply came instantly.
Someone who knows what Ethan Cross is hiding from you.
A knock sounded at the front door.
Nora jumped.
The phone buzzed again.
Don’t answer it.
The knock came again. Louder this time.
Her heart raced. She backed away slowly, every instinct screaming at her to run, but there was nowhere to go. The windows barely opened. The doors were reinforced.
The knock stopped.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then the power went out completely.
The house fell into darkness.
Nora’s breath came fast and shallow. She stood frozen, listening. Footsteps moved outside. Slow. Deliberate. Someone circled the house, testing it.
Her phone lit up again.
This is your warning. He can’t protect you forever.
A sharp c***k echoed through the air.
Glass shattered.
Nora screamed as a window in the west wing exploded inward, shards raining onto the floor. An alarm blared instantly, piercing and loud.
She ran.
Her feet slipped on the polished floor as she sprinted toward the stairs, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might tear free from her chest.
Voices echoed from outside.
“Move. Now.”
“Check the side entrance.”
They were inside the perimeter.
Nora ducked into a storage room and slammed the door shut, pressing her back against it. Her hands shook violently as she tried to quiet her breathing.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway.
A heavy body hit the door once.
Twice.
“Open it,” a man’s voice demanded.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
The sound of gunfire shattered the air.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence followed, thick and ringing.
Then more shots. Precise. Controlled.
The door burst open.
Ethan stood there, gun raised, his expression cold and lethal. Behind him, a body lay motionless on the floor, blood spreading slowly across the carpet.
Nora stared, unable to move.
“Come here,” he said sharply.
She obeyed, her legs weak beneath her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, guiding her down the hallway.
“Who were they?” she whispered.
“People who should have stayed away.”
Another body lay near the front door. Another near the shattered window. The air smelled of smoke and metal.
Ethan ushered her into a car parked in the garage. The engine roared to life as soon as the doors closed.
They drove in silence.
Only when they were miles away did he speak.
“They know you’re here now,” he said.
Her voice broke. “Why?”
He hesitated.
Then, finally, he said it.
“Because you’re not just a witness, Nora. You’re evidence.”
She turned to him, horror flooding her face. “Evidence of what?”
He met her gaze, and for the first time since she met him, fear showed in his eyes.
“Of a mistake powerful people tried to erase,” he said. “And if they succeed, you won’t survive it.”
The car disappeared into traffic, leaving the burning question behind.
What had they tried to erase?
And why was she still alive?
- Writer
