Rebecca didn't move.
Not even a breath deeper than the last.
The file was still in her hands....Emily Carter staring back at her like proof she couldn't undo.
Upstairs, nothing no footsteps, no movement.
That was worse, because people move, people make noise...people don't just… stop.
Unless....Rebecca's chest tightened....
Unless they're listening.
Her fingers slowly tightened around the file.
"No," she mouthed silently.
Don't panic.
Think.
Her eyes flicked once more toward the window behind her.
Too far. Too exposed.
If she ran now and he was already on the stairs.....
No! Bad move.
Her gaze shifted to the door of the study.
Slightly open.
A thin line of darkness beyond it.
Hallway.
Stairs somewhere past that.
Another creak.
Not above her this time.
Closer.
Rebecca's heart slammed.
He's moving.
Slowly, carefully ,s he slid the file back into the cabinet.
Not all the way.
Not perfectly.
Just enough.
Her hands weren't steady anymore.
"Come on… come on…" she breathed under her breath.
The folder edge caught slightly.
A soft, almost invisible sound, but in the silence, it felt deafening.
She froze, waited.
Nothing.
Then astep outside the room.
Rebecca's entire body went cold.
He was downstairs now.
Right outside.
She didn't think anymore.
She moved.
Quick, but controlled.
She slipped behind the door just as it shifted slightly inward with a faint push.
The handle didn't turn.
The door just… opened....slow....Deliberate.
Like whoever was out there already knew it wasn't fully shut.
Rebecca pressed herself flat against the wall, hidden in the narrow space between the door and the frame.
Her pulse pounded so hard she was sure it would give her away.
The room stayed dark.
Then...; A silhouette filled the doorway.
Tall, still....watching.
Not moving forward.
Not speaking.
Just….... standing there.
Rebecca held her breath completely now.
Her lungs burned almost instantly.
Seconds stretched.
Too long, way too long.
Why isn't he turning the light on?
The thought hit sharp and sudden.
Because he doesn't need to.
Because he already knows the room.
Because...
Her stomach dropped.
Because he's listening.
A faint shift.
The figure stepped inside.
One step then another...slow and measured
Rebecca squeezed her eyes shut for a split second.
Don't move.
The floor creaked under his weight.
Closer now.
Near the desk.
Near the cabinet.
Rebecca's fingers dug into her sleeve.
If he checked the files, if he noticed..
Another step.
Then silence again, right in the middle of the room.
Rebecca's ears strained she could hear it now.
Breathing but not hers.
His...it was calm, controlled.
Like he wasn't surprised, he wasn't rushed.
Perhaps she was expected
Was expected!!!
Her chest tightened painfully.
He knows.
The thought came fully formed this time.
Clear and cold.
He knows someone's here.
A soft sound, a paper.
Rebecca's eyes snapped open slightly.
Just enough to see.
Through the thin crack between the door and the wall.....
The figure stood by the cabinet.
One hand resting lightly against it.
Still, not opening it.
Just….touching it and waiting.
Rebecca's stomach twisted.
He's checking if something's been moved.
Her pulse spiked, the file... Rebecca gasped.
She hadn't put it back properly.
A second passed.
Then another then, he opened it.
Slowly....
Rebecca's throat went dry.
Folders shifted, quiet and precise.
Not rushed.
He was going through them.
One by one.
Rebecca felt her entire body tense, ready for something,anything.
A reaction, a shout or even acall.
But none came, just silence.
And then a soft exhale.
Not relief but recognition.
He knew, he definitely knew.
The cabinet door closed.
Gently, too gently.
Rebecca's stomach dropped again.
That kind of calm wasn't normal.
It was worse, Alot worse.
Because it meant he wasn't guessing anymore.
He was certain a step closer to the door.
Rebecca's vision blurred slightly.
No. No no no another step.
Right there now on the other side of the door.
If he pushed it fully open if he moved it just a little, he would see her.
Rebecca's hand slowly curled into a fist.
Not to fight just something to hold onto.
The handle moved.
Just slightly Rebecca's heart stopped.
The door shifted an inch.
Light from the hallway barely touched the edge of her shoe.
Another inch, then her phone buzzed.
Loud, sharp, violent in the silence.
Rebecca's blood ran cold.
"No too late.
The screen lit up in her pocket.
The sound cut through everything.
The figure stopped.
Completely then slowly, the head turned.
Not toward the room.
Toward the door, toward her.
Rebecca didn't think, she moved fast.
She shoved the door hard, slamming it into him with a sudden crack, and ran.
Out of the study into the hallway.
Her shoes slipping slightly on the wooden floor behind her.
A sharp grunt, then movement so fast.
No more careful steps.
He was running now.
Rebecca didn't look back.
She couldn't.
The hallway stretched too long.
The front door locked.
Of course it was locked.
"Shit!!!"
Her hands fumbled with the latch—
Wrong way, then right.
It clicked behind her footsteps, close,too close.
The door flew open cold air hit her face
She ran out into the night.
Into the rain, into the dark.
She didn't stop, didn't slow, didn't think.
Not until she was halfway down the street.
Her breath gone, chest burning, legs shaking.
Only then did she turn, Daniel's house stood behind her.
Dark again,still.
Like nothing had happened.
Like no one had been there at all.
Rebecca bent slightly, hands on her knees, trying to breathe.
Her phone buzzed again.
She flinched hard this time.
Slowly, she pulled it out.
Unknown Number.
Of course.
Her thumb hovered.
Then tapped.
The message opened.
"Now you're asking the right questions."
Rebecca stared at the screen, rain dripping down onto it.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly.
"Who are you…" she whispered.
No reply.
Just the rain.
And the quiet, horrible certainty settling in her chest
This wasn't over, not even close.