Chapter 1: The Message
270 Words
The rain fell relentlessly, drumming against Maya Carter's bedroom window like impatient fingers.
She hadn't slept properly in weeks.
Every creak in the old house made her heart race. Every passing car forced her to peek through the curtains.
It had been exactly six months since her older sister, Emma, disappeared.
No body.
No witnesses.
No answers.
The police had searched for months before quietly closing the investigation. Friends stopped asking questions. Neighbors stopped whispering.
Everyone wanted to move on.
Everyone except Maya.
She still kept Emma's room exactly the way she had left it.
The books remained on the shelves.
The perfume still sat on the dresser.
The bed was perfectly made, as if Emma would walk through the front door at any moment.
A sudden buzz broke the silence.
Maya glanced at her phone lying on the bedside table.
Unknown Number
Her stomach tightened.
She hesitated before opening the message.
I know what you did.
Her blood ran cold.
"What...?"
Her fingers trembled as she typed.
Who is this?
The reply came instantly.
You're looking for Emma in the wrong place.
The message disappeared a second later.
Deleted.
As if it had never existed.
Maya jumped from her bed and rushed downstairs.
"Dad!" she shouted.
But the house answered with silence.
The front door stood slightly open.
She was certain she had locked it.
A cold breeze drifted inside.
Then...
Footsteps.
Not inside the house.
Outside.
Someone was standing in the darkness, watching.
Maya held her breath.
The figure smiled.
Then vanished into the night.
She had one terrifying thought.
Emma wasn't the only one being hunted anymore.
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