Elise stood in the cold darkness of Langford Heights, her breath misting in the air. The city felt distant from here—detached, like it wasn't real. Everything felt muted, the world pressing in on her. She had come back to the place where it all began, where Mia Rutherford had lived, where the pattern started. She didn't know why. Maybe it was the letter. Maybe it was the feeling that the past was pulling her under. But the more she stood here, the more the weight of it all grew unbearable.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Elise hesitated before pulling it out. She couldn't ignore it anymore. It was the same unknown number, the one that had contacted her before.
"It's not over yet. Meet me where it all began."
She knew where that meant. The Rutherford house. The one place she had avoided—her mind had been so consumed with the idea of finding answers that she hadn't stopped to consider the one thing that had been staring her in the face. The Rutherford family wasn't just a part of the case; they were part of her own journey.
She walked back to the Rutherford house, her footsteps slow and deliberate. The house looked abandoned now, the lights off, the windows dark. She stood outside for a moment, waiting, as if she were listening for something, anything to give her a clue.
As she reached for the door, a voice broke the silence.
"Elise."
It was a whisper, barely audible, but it was enough to make her freeze. She turned, heart hammering in her chest. The figure was standing there, just out of reach, their face obscured by shadow.
"You've come too far," the figure said. "You're not ready for what's inside."
Elise swallowed hard, her mind spinning. "Who are you?" Her voice was shaky, her grip on the door tightening as if it might anchor her to reality.
The figure didn't answer. Instead, they stepped closer, their presence overwhelming. The faint outline of their face became clearer, and Elise's breath caught in her throat. It was someone she knew—a face she hadn't expected, not in a million years.
"Mia?" she whispered, though the name felt wrong on her tongue.
The figure smiled, but it wasn't Mia's smile. It was something darker, something twisted.
"This is where it ends, Elise," they said.
The world around Elise seemed to collapse. The walls closed in, and she felt her grip on reality slipping. Her mind raced. She didn't know who or what to trust anymore. Was this real? Or had she finally lost herself in the madness of the case?
The line between truth and delusion was blurring. And for the first time, Elise wasn't sure if she was chasing a ghost—or if the ghost was chasing her.