Chapter 15: Unsettling familiarity
559 Words
Edwin never gets distracted easily.
In fact, He prided himself on it.
Focus was his strength, Control was his nature.
So when something disrupted that, he noticed.
And right now, Something was.
“…Edwin?”
Andrew’s voice cut through the silence of the office.
Edwin didn’t respond.
He sat at his desk, a file open in front of him, Untouched.
“…Edwin.”
This time, louder.
Edwin blinked slightly, finally looking up.
“What?”
Andrew raised a brow. “I’ve been talking to you for the past two minutes.”
A pause.
“That sounds like a you problem,” Edwin replied calmly.
Andrew let out a short breath.
“Right. Except you’re the one not listening.”
Silence.
Edwin leaned back slightly, his gaze drifting just for a second.
“…Ethan.”
The name slipped out before he could stop it.
Andrew frowned. “Who?”
Edwin didn’t answer immediately.
Because he didn’t know how to explain it.
Didn’t even fully understand it himself.
“A child,” he said finally.
Andrew blinked. “Since when do you think about children?”
Another pause.
Edwin’s jaw tightened slightly.
“I don’t,” he said.
But that wasn’t true.
Not anymore.
Across the city,
Alice closed the door behind her, her shoulders dropping slightly the moment the lock clicked.
Safe, at least for now.
“Mom, can I show you something?” Ethan asked, already running toward his room.
Alice forced a small smile. “Of course.”
She followed him, her steps slower, her mind still elsewhere.
Still with him.
“You were quiet,” Audrey’s voice echoed in her head.
Too quiet.
Because she knew what this was.
Not a coincidence, not curiosity.
But Something more.
And that was exactly what she couldn’t afford.
“Look!”
Ethan held up another drawing.
Alice took it gently, her eyes scanning it.
Three figures again.
Herself, Ethan.
And—
Him.
This time, More is defined.
“T-that’s new,” she said softly.
Ethan smiled. “I made him taller this time.”
Her fingers stilled.
“Why?” she asked carefully
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just felt right.”
Alice swallowed.
Because children didn’t always understand what they felt.
But sometimes, they saw more than they should.
Back at the office,
Edwin stood by the window again.
Same position, Same view.
Different thoughts.
He replayed the moment.
The way the child had spoken.
The way he had looked at him.
And then, his eyes.
Edwin’s expression darkened slightly.
“…No.”
The word came out quietly.
Dismissive, it didn’t make sense.
It couldn’t.
And yet—
“Run a background check again,” he said suddenly.
Andrew looked up from his tablet. “On who?”
Edwin didn’t hesitate this time.
“Alice Clerk.”
A pause.
“And the child.”
Andrew stilled.
Something in Edwin’s tone had changed.
“This is getting serious,” Andrew said carefully.
“It already is.” Edwin finished
Alice stood by her window, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
She could feel it, the shift.
The pull.
The danger is getting closer.
“He’s not going to stop,” she whispered.
And that,
Was the problem.
Because if Edwin Gulter kept looking.
He would find the truth.
And when he did,
Nothing would stay the same.
- Writer
