CHAPT 12: A Shadow in the Dark

The air was thick with silence, the kind that lingered before a storm. Somewhere in the dimly lit space, a faint shuffle of movement disturbed the stillness. A soft exhale. A shift of weight.

Then, a whisper.

“Was it you?”

A woman’s voice, low and edged with restrained frustration. She was close, standing just beyond the faint outline of a crumbling wall. Her fingers lightly traced the cold surface, nails pressing into the rough texture as she spoke again.

“The flowerpot.”

The other figure remained still. The dim light barely revealed the silhouette of a man, his posture rigid, unreadable.

The woman exhaled sharply, her voice growing colder. “I told you not to act yet. And now she’s suspicious.”

A pause.

Then, finally, the man spoke. His voice was even, almost indifferent. “She was going to get suspicious anyway.”

The woman’s fingers curled against the wall. “That’s not the point.” A bitter edge crept into her tone. “You think I don’t know how this works? That house… it’s different. We can’t rush this.”

The man shifted slightly, his head tilting in her direction. “You’re afraid.”

A sharp breath. “I’m cautious.”

Another moment of silence stretched between them. Somewhere outside, the wind howled through the trees, rattling against unseen windows.

The woman spoke again, softer this time. “You saw her last night, didn’t you? She’s already looking for answers. If she keeps digging…” She trailed off, but the unfinished sentence was heavier than the words themselves.

The man didn’t respond immediately. Then, with a voice barely above a whisper, he said, “She doesn’t know anything yet.”

“But she will,” the woman snapped, stepping closer. “And when she does, it won’t just be her problem. It’ll be ours.”

The man let out a slow breath, the sound almost amused. “Then maybe you should’ve done something before she moved in.”

The woman’s fingers twitched. “I didn’t think she’d last this long.”

“Then you underestimated her.”

Her jaw clenched. He wasn’t wrong, and she hated that.

For a moment, she thought of the girl—alone in that house, trying to piece together a story she wasn’t meant to understand. She was getting too close.

And close was dangerous.

The woman straightened, regaining her composure. “No more reckless moves. No more warnings. We wait.”

The man didn’t argue.

But he didn’t agree either.

And for the first time in a long while, she wondered if they had already made a mistake.

The woman reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a folded stack of cash. She extended it toward the man without hesitation. “Take it. And remember—wait. No more reckless moves.”

The man took the money, his fingers brushing hers for the briefest moment. He didn’t thank her. He simply tucked the cash away and smirked.

“You don’t trust me?” he murmured, amusement laced in his tone.

The woman’s eyes darkened. “I trust you to follow orders. If you don’t…” She leaned in slightly, voice like ice. “You’ll regret it.”

The man let out a quiet chuckle, stepping back into the shadows. “We’ll see.”

And then, just like that, he was gone.

The woman exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers against her temple. The night was still. But something told her it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

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