Avery's heart throbbed in her head as she gazed at the message on her phone screen. It was plain. Direct. And it gave her cold chills clear down to the bone.
"The price of being curious is so much more expensive than you ever dreamed, Avery. If you keep poking around, you might not like what you find out."
Her hands trembled, but she was unable to avert her gaze. For the first time in years, walls she had built with such tender care around the truth about herself began to weaken, old familiar terror climbing her throat.
Everything she had managed to delude herself that she knew was eluding her fingertips.
A rapping noise sliced through the silence of her flat. Avery jumped. There could be no uncertainty about who it was.
Reed.
She put her phone down on the table, taking a deep breath. She did not want to see him; it was that she was afraid of what was going to happen next. She could not quite put her finger on it, but when he edged into her space, the shadows of her past felt more suffocating. As if he was pushing the veil that she had thrown over herself to hide.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the door.
"Reed," she answered, her tone strained, as she pushed open the door.
"Avery," he answered, his eyes slanted and serious. "We need to talk."
She stepped back, letting him in, but the tension between them felt more oppressive than ever. Reed had that look on his face—the one that showed he had already decided something, but was waiting for her to catch up.
"Do you know anything about the cipher?" he asked, before she could even close the door behind him.
Avery frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "What cipher?"
He pulled out a piece of paper from his coat pocket and shoved it down the length of her kitchen table. "We found this on Lillian Green's body. It's not a riddle. It's something else."
Avery's fingers brushed against the paper. Her gaze swept the line of symbols—a mix of letters, numbers, and shapes. There was a cadence to it, something she recognized, but she couldn't quite place.
"What is this?" she said, her tone low, not wanting to acknowledge the discomfort growing in her chest.
"A code," Reed said, leaning in. "We think the killer's using it to hide messages. Not riddles. Real messages.".
Her heart skipped a beat. "Messages for whom?"
"For us," Reed replied, his gaze locking onto hers. "For you."
Avery stepped back, a chill creeping over her skin. She looked at the cipher again. "Why for me? How do you know it's for me?"
Reed's jaw tightened. "We think this killer has been following you longer than we thought. This cipher—it's not random. It's been tailored. And I don't think it's an accident."
Avery sat back in her chair, her mind reeling. Tailored. The word echoed in her brain, returning her to her father's ancient notebooks—the ones she'd jammed to the depths of her closet and attempted to conceal from view. The ones containing strange codes, unsolved mysteries, and mysterious messages. Could it be that he'd had some clue? That he'd been secretly a part of this twisted game all along?
I must crack it," she said, her voice firm even as the maelstrom of thoughts rushing in her head. "I have to know what it says."
Reed nodded slowly. "I knew you'd say that."
She stood up, pacing, and ran her fingers through her hair. "But why now? Why are they pursuing me again? It's been years. Why not leave me be?
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Reed said, his voice clipped. "But we do know this: whoever did it, they're close. And they're watching."
Her heart skipped a beat. Close.
Her eyes darted to the window, a shiver running down her spine as she imagined the night beyond her apartment. Had they been there all along? Watching all along?
"Reed, we need to get to the bottom of it," she snapped, her voice suddenly sharp. "But you can't always protect me. You don't have a monopoly on this history. My sister—"
"Avery," Reed interrupted, stepping closer to her, his tone soft but firm. "I understand. I know what you went through with your sister. But we can't do this now. We're not talking about the past. We're talking about a murderer who's still out there. And we need to stop them before they kill again."
The words hit her like a blow to the chest. It was true. She couldn't allow her sister's disappearance blind her to the reality of what was happening now. The killer wasn't messing around anymore—they were sending messages. Sending riddles. And Avery was involved.
But who else?
***
Hollowbridge City – 1:00 PM
Reed stood outside Avery's apartment building, watching the cars go by, his head spinning. He wasn't a superstitious man, but there was something about this case that made him think the universe itself was getting involved. Every clue brought him back to Avery—her father's puzzles, her sister's disappearance, and now this strange cipher.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, bringing him out of his reverie. It was Malone.
"Detective," he replied, his voice even.
"Reed, we've got a problem," Malone's voice came through the line. "The cipher you sent in—it's been decoded. But the message…"
Reed's heart beating faster. "What does it say?"
"It's a threat," Malone whispered, the tension in her voice straining through every word. "Avery's name… it's included. The message concludes with… 'The final puzzle will tell you who you truly are, Avery, and the truth will burn you alive."
Reed's gut twisted. He could hear the words repeating themselves in the recesses of his mind. The truth.
The final puzzle.
Burn you alive.
***
Avery's Apartment – 2:15 PM
Avery was mid-way through deciphering the cipher when the door knock arrived once again. No dawdling. This time, she had not anticipated it. Reed.
But when she went to open the door, there was no Reed waiting for her.
There was someone else.
A tall man, wrapped in shadows, his face obscured by the darkness of the corridor. But the same old familiar fear built in her chest when he uttered a single word.
"You don't know who's watching you, do you, Avery?"
Her breath was caught in her throat.
No. Not now.
"Who are you?" she asked, retreating into the apartment. "What do you want?"
The man stepped forward, his tone low and menacing. "The game is only just beginning."