In the evening, while Céline was getting ready for bed, she caught sight of something on her window. She took a deep breath and moved closer, slowly. When she reached it, she found a dried flower tied with a thin string and a small card that read in tiny handwriting: "We're watching you. If you interfere, you'll have no one to blame but yourself."
Céline slipped the card between the pages of her journal and shut the window tightly. Her heart was pounding violently, but she knew for certain that whoever was following her wasn't playing games and that they were willing to do far more than just threaten. Even so, that wouldn't make her back down. Her resolve would remain like a towering fortress, unshaken.
The next day, while she was at school, she received a message through an unknown app she didn't remember downloading. The message contained a short video, only fifteen seconds long. Without paying attention to anyone, she opened it. In the clip, Lilia appeared playing in front of the house, followed by a shot of a hand picking up a stone from the ground and slowly crushing it. That was all. The face behind the hand never appeared, and the message contained no name, no threat, only the title: "The countdown has begun."
Céline felt her heart contract so tightly it could burst. She stood up without asking the teacher's permission, rushed out of the classroom, and ran toward home as if fleeing from fire. When she arrived, she found Lilia indeed playing in front of the garden just like in the video.
Céline ran to her and held her tightly, as though saving her from death. Her hands were trembling, and she couldn't find any words to say. Fear was coursing through her, but she tried her best not to show it, so her little sister wouldn't worry.
To be continued...