Amy didn't tell Jamie and Chloe everything straight away.
Only the important parts.
The title.
Echo.
The message telling her she was asking the wrong question.
She left out the way Rowan had looked when she mentioned someone telling her to ask.
Afraid.
That part felt fragile.
Back home, Mrs Carter was in the kitchen, humming softly while stirring something on the stove.
"You're early," she said.
"Writing club didn't run long," Amy replied.
Mrs Carter smiled. "Good. I like knowing you're five minutes away."
Five minutes.
Close enough to feel safe.
Close enough for someone else to feel close too.
Amy forced a smile and went upstairs.
Jamie was already waiting in the hallway.
"You got that look again," he said.
"What look?"
"The one where you've found something."
Chloe appeared behind him. "Or something found you."
Amy exhaled slowly and handed Jamie her phone.
He scrolled.
His jaw tightened.
"Echo," he murmured.
"That's what he said the original title was," Amy replied.
Chloe blinked. "The file you got sent was called Echo_Draft."
"I know."
Jamie frowned. "Time stamp?"
Amy checked.
6:02 p.m.
Two minutes after writing club ended.
Two minutes after Rowan had stayed behind to talk to Sarah.
"Could he have sent it that quickly?" Chloe asked.
"Easily," Jamie said. "If it was scheduled."
Amy's stomach twisted.
"Or," Jamie continued, "if someone else was waiting."
Her phone buzzed again.
All three of them froze.
Another attachment.
No message this time.
Just a photo.
Amy opened it carefully.
The image loaded slowly.
A grainy picture. Slightly tilted.
Rowan — younger. Maybe thirteen or fourteen.
Sitting on the low brick wall outside the community centre.
Next to him—
A girl.
Dark hair tied back. Sleeves pushed up. Notebook open on her lap.
Amy leaned closer.
The setting was unmistakable.
Same wall she passed every week. Same faded graffiti near the drainpipe.
Writing club.
"Zoom in," Chloe whispered.
Amy pinched the screen.
The girl's face came into focus.
Ordinary. Calm. Not dramatic. Not mysterious.
Just a girl.
But something about her posture made Amy's chest tighten.
She was leaning slightly away from Rowan.
Not far.
Just enough.
Jamie pointed. "Look at the notebook."
On the front cover was a white sticker.
Two letters written in black ink.
A.W.
Silence filled the room.
"A.W.," Chloe repeated. "That's not Rowan."
"No," Jamie said slowly. "It's not."
Amy's mind raced.
Rowan West.
R.W.
But this—
A.W.
"Maybe that's her," Chloe said quietly.
"His sister? I'm pretty sure he said her name is Ayla" Amy asked.
Jamie shook his head. "If his surname's West, she'd be W too."
Unless—
Unless she wasn't his sister by name.
Unless—
Amy's breathing slowed deliberately.
The photo wasn't recent.
The lighting suggested late autumn. The trees in the background were nearly bare.
There was a date stamp in the corner.
Three years ago.
"Why send this now?" Chloe asked.
As if in response, another notification appeared.
This time, just text.
She thought he was helping.
Amy's pulse spiked.
He.
Not she.
"She thought he was helping," Jamie read aloud.
"Who's he?" Chloe whispered.
Amy felt something shift.
All this time they'd been circling Rowan.
Watching him.
Measuring him.
But the message—
It didn't accuse him.
It described someone else.
Her phone buzzed again.
A final message.
Ask him why she stopped coming.
Amy's stomach dropped.
Stopped coming.
Not left.
Not moved.
Stopped.
Amy looked back at the photo.
At the girl's face.
At the slight distance between her and Rowan.
And for the first time, she noticed something else.
In the background of the image —
Through the reflection in the community centre window —
A third figure.
Blurry.
Standing inside.
Watching them.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Jamie leaned closer. "Can you enhance that?"
"It's too distorted," Amy said quietly.
But she didn't look away.
Because whoever had taken the photo—
Hadn't just captured Rowan and Ayla.
They'd captured the watcher too.
And maybe—
That had been the point.