Leah Kate was alone. The house was quiet except for the hum of the heater and the faint clicking of her keyboard. She sat cross-legged on the floor, textbooks and notebooks spread around her like a fortress, trying to focus on homework. The phone buzzed beside her, but she ignored it. No one expected her to be alone tonight.

  A soft creak echoed from upstairs. Leah froze, listening. Probably the wind, she told herself. Old houses made old sounds. Her fingers hovered over her pen, heart ticking a little faster.

  Another creak. This time closer, from the front door.

  Leah’s stomach twisted. “Mom?” she whispered, though she knew the house was empty.

  The door handle rattled. Slowly, deliberately.

  Panic prickled at her skin. Leah scrambled backward, grabbing a chair as a barrier. “Who’s there?” Her voice cracked. Silence answered.

  The shadow fell across the doorway first. Then the figure stepped in. Tall, silent, deliberate. Leah’s heart jumped into her throat, and her breath caught.

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  “You shouldn’t have seen it,” a low voice said, barely above a whisper. The words carried an intent that made Leah’s blood run cold.

  “What… what do you want?” she stammered, pressing herself against the wall.

  The figure moved closer, methodical. Leah’s mind raced. She remembered — that day in the hall, the strange teacher she’d seen disappearing down the stairs, the fleeting glimpse of a face she hadn’t recognized… nothing concrete, but enough to make her curiosity fatal.

  “You ask too many questions,” the voice continued. “Some things are better left unseen.”

  Leah backed up instinctively, knocking over a stack of books. They spilled across the floor, the crash sounding enormous in the quiet house. The figure didn’t flinch. Didn’t pause.

  Her hands shook. She tried to think, to escape, but the front door was too far. The windows were locked. Every exit accounted for.

  The shadow was closer now, a faint outline against the dim light. Leah’s chest tightened. She opened her mouth to scream, but the sound never came.

  Silence.

  A sudden movement.

  And then, nothing.

  The notebooks lay scattered, the heater hummed, the wind rattled the window — and Leah Kate was gone.

  Somewhere, the presence lingered, watching the empty room. Eyes flicked toward the streets, toward Ravenwood High. Another target had already been marked. Bold. Reckless. Meddling too much. Next.