Chapter Two
1075 Words
The rain had stopped by the time Elena stepped out of the Tribune building.
The city still glistened from the storm, every streetlight reflected in puddles scattered across the sidewalks. Cars rolled past with tires hissing against wet pavement, and a cool breeze drifted through the streets carrying the scent of rain and asphalt.
Normally, Elena loved nights like this but tonight, she couldn't stop looking over her shoulder.
The messages sat heavily in her mind as she crossed the street toward the small parking lot where her car waited.
"Stop digging."
"Walk away."
"Some stories aren't worth dying for."
The words replayed over and over in her head. She told herself not to be dramatic. Journalists received threats all the time. It came with the job.
Most were empty attempts to intimidate people into dropping stories. But something about those messages felt different.Personal. Like the sender knew exactly how much she had uncovered. And that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
She unlocked her car and quickly climbed inside. The moment the doors locked, some of the tension left her shoulders. The drive home took twenty minutes. Usually she spent it listening to music.
Tonight the radio remained off. Her thoughts were loud enough. Every red light seemed longer than usual. Every car behind her felt suspicious.
By the time she reached her apartment building, she was irritated with herself. She was acting paranoid. The messages had gotten under her skin. That was all. Nothing more. Nothing less. She grabbed her bag and headed inside.
The building was old but well maintained. Not luxurious by any means, but comfortable enough for someone living on a journalist's salary.
As she climbed the stairs to the third floor, her phone buzzed.
Her younger sister. Sofia.
Elena smiled despite herself.
She answered immediately.
"Hey."
"There you are."
Sofia sounded annoyed.
"I've been calling for hours."
"I was working."
"You are always working."
"That's because some of us have careers."
"And some of us know how to enjoy life."
Elena laughed softly.
Sofia had always been the exact opposite of her. Where Elena was cautious, Sofia was impulsive. Where Elena spent her nights chasing stories, Sofia spent hers making memories. They balanced each other.
"What do you want?" Elena asked.
"Mom wants to know if you're coming for dinner Sunday."
Elena groaned.
"Why doesn't she ask me herself?"
"Because she knows you'll ignore her calls."
"I do not ignore her calls."
"You absolutely do."
Elena unlocked her apartment door.
"Fine. I'll come."
"Good."
A pause followed.
Then Sofia's voice softened.
"You sound tired."
"I am tired."
"Everything okay?"
Elena hesitated.
She almost mentioned the messages.
But she already knew what Sofia would say. Drop the story. Be careful. Don't take risks. And Elena wasn't ready to hear any of that.
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Elena smiled.
"Goodnight, Sofia."
"Love you."
"Love you too." She ended the call and tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter. The apartment felt quiet. For a moment she simply stood there. Listening. Nothing. Just silence. Eventually she shook her head and moved toward her desk.
Her laptop waited exactly where she'd left it that morning. Within minutes she was working again. Most people would have gone to sleep. Elena couldn't.
Not after those messages. The warning had only confirmed what she'd already suspected. There was something important hidden inside those records. Something somebody desperately wanted protected. The question was why.
Hours passed.
Outside, the city grew quieter. Inside, Elena continued searching. Cross-checking names. Comparing transactions. Building connections. And then she found something.
A company. One she'd seen before. Her eyes narrowed. The name appeared in multiple financial records. Different dates. Different accounts. Same company. She opened another document. Then another. The company appeared again. And again. And again.
A slow thrill moved through her.
This was it. A real lead. Something tangible. Something worth investigating.
She quickly reached for her notebook and began writing. Halfway through a sentence, her phone rang. The sound nearly made her jump.
Elena looked at the screen.
Unknown Number.
Her pulse quickened. For several seconds she simply stared.
Then she answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
The same silence as before.
A chill crept down her spine.
"Who is this?"
Nothing.
Then—
A click.
The line disconnected.
Elena slowly lowered the phone. Her heart was racing now. This wasn't coincidence anymore.
Someone was doing this deliberately. Someone wanted her nervous. Someone wanted her afraid. The question was whether they would stop at threats.
Her gaze drifted toward the window. Darkness greeted her. The neighboring buildings stood silent beneath the night sky. Nothing moved. Yet suddenly she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching. She hated that feeling. Hated how it made her second-guess herself. Hated how it made her question every shadow.
Every sound.
Every movement.
Determined to clear her head, she stood and walked to the kitchen. A glass of water would help. Maybe sleep too.
She filled a glass and glanced toward the window above the sink. Then froze.
Across the street, a black car sat parked beneath a streetlamp.
Maybe it had been there all night. Maybe it hadn't. She wasn't sure but what caught her attention wasn't the car. It was the person inside.
Someone was sitting in the driver's seat. Watching her building. The realization sent ice through her veins. She stepped back from the window immediately. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
No.
No.
Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe they were waiting for someone. Maybe—
Her phone vibrated. The sound nearly made her drop the glass. A new message appeared. Unknown Number.
Elena opened it.
Three words.
"Look outside again."
The glass slipped from her hand. It shattered against the kitchen floor. For one terrifying second, she couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't move. The sender knew exactly where she was. The sender knew she had looked outside. Which meant only one thing.
They weren't guessing. They were watching her directly. A cold wave of fear washed through her body. This wasn't about intimidation anymore. This wasn't some anonymous threat sent from behind a screen.
Whoever was doing this was close. Close enough to see her. Close enough to know exactly what she was doing. And suddenly, for the first time since the messages began, Elena realized something she should have understood hours ago.
She wasn't chasing the story anymore. The story had started chasing her.
- Writer
