Chapter 10 - The Shadow Returns
The glass of water slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
The sound echoed loudly in the quiet kitchen.
I stared at the handwriting on the note until my vision blurred.
It was Mark’s exact handwriting.
The looping ‘S’ and the sharp ‘R’ were unmistakable.
Panic flooded my veins like ice water.
Mark was supposed to be dead.
If he wasn't dead, why had he let us suffer for three years?
Why did he wait until I finally found peace to reveal himself?
I scrambled to the kitchen window and peered out into the dark street.
There was no one on the sidewalk below.
The streetlights flickered against the empty pavement.
I checked the locks on the front door; they were completely secure.
Whoever left this note had a key.
I ran to Lily’s room and threw the door open.
She was still sleeping soundly, clutching her new fluffy rabbit.
But sitting at the foot of her bed was something else.
It was the silver pocket watch.
The same pocket watch Dominic had shown me at the restaurant weeks ago.
Dominic had locked that watch in an FBI evidence vault.
There was no possible way it could be here.
Unless the man who broke into my house was a ghost.
Or a monster who had fooled everyone, including the FBI.
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and dialed Dominic’s number.
It rang three times before going to voicemail.
That had never happened before.
I tried to call Agent Carter, but the line was completely dead.
My Wi-Fi router in the hallway suddenly blinked off.
The power to the entire apartment abruptly cut out, plunging us into total darkness.
I heard the slow, heavy creak of the front door opening.
Footsteps echoed softly in the hallway.
They were walking perfectly in rhythm.
It was the exact way Mark used to walk down the hall.
I grabbed a heavy bronze lamp from the dresser and stepped in front of Lily’s bed.
May you like
A tall silhouette appeared in the doorway, blocking my only exit.
“I missed you, Sarah,” a familiar voice whispered from the shadows.
