Page 146 of Exposé

The handwriting, jagged and leaning hard to the right.

One address.

Not here...

I froze.

My pulse roared in my ears, drowning out everything else.

Anywhere but here...

A pit opened in my stomach, and bile coated my throat.

What can I possibly learn here?

Why here?

I dressed in record time, throwing my hair into a high, messy bun, my shoelaces loose and hazardous. The bathroom mirror caught my reflection—haggard and wide-eyed, like a ghost caught in the act of remembering who it once was. I grabbed my key and bag, my heart hammering as I sprinted out the door.

What if it's a trap?

What if Mr. Anonymous didn't send this?

What if it's some cruel joke?

The cool night air hit me like a slap. I fumbled to unlock the car. My hands shook, the keys jingling in the silence before I slid into the driver’s seat.

I stared at myself in the rear view mirror, my hair a raging mess. "You've never let your fear hold you back."

This is different.

I shoved the key into the ignition and twisted it hard. The engine growled awake with a peculiar rumble that sent vibrations through my seat. My hands wrapped around the steering wheel, and I sat staring at it, my mind racing in tandem with the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

It's not a big deal.

Knock on the door.

Find out who lives there.

Solve the mystery and take a nice long nap.

Forget this ever happened...

I yanked the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot, my focus glued to the road. The GPS spoke through the speakers, leading me toward a destination I'd avoided my entire adult life.

I skidded to a halt across from an apartment building that loomed like a block of forgotten time—sturdy but stripped of charm, its facade marred with graffiti that didn’t belong. The windows stared back at me, some dark, some glinting in the last light of the day.

No signs?

No logos?

What happened to this place?

I pulled the paper out of my pocket and stared down at the damning address with a different apartment number.

203.

An icy tide surged up my spine, dragging jagged hooks through my insides, each twist and pull a silent scream my body couldn’t release.

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