Chapter 9 - THE OFFICE DOOR
Mia texted Emma the next afternoon.
Mia: he has a locked file cabinet in the office
Mia: and he changed the camera angle in the hallway after i went in there yesterday
Mia: i think he noticed
Emma’s fingers went cold.
Emma: don’t do anything reckless
Mia: too late. i already am reckless
They met that evening in the park two blocks from Hawthorn Court, where the tennis courts stayed noisy enough to make conversation feel private. Mia handed Emma a folded sheet of paper.
“I found this in the printer tray.”
It was a page of typed addresses and names. Most were crossed out. A few had handwritten notes beside them.
One of the names was Laura Parker.
Beside it: daughter — Emma — school pickup varies.
Emma stared at the line, nausea rising.
“This is recent.”
Mia nodded, face pale. “There were more sheets, but I heard him coming.”
Emma gripped the paper so hard it creased. “Why would he have this?”
Mia’s laugh came out brittle. “I was hoping you’d tell me.”
For a moment both girls stood very still under the fading orange sky.
Then Emma said, “We need to tell my mom.”
Mia looked away. “If I do that, and she’s right about him…” She trailed off. “Then I’ve been living with somebody I don’t know.”
Emma softened. “Mia.”
“My mom left because of him,” Mia whispered. “What if she was right and I just kept making excuses because it was easier?”
Emma had no answer.
That night Laura didn’t need convincing. The moment she read the paper, she reached for her keys. Emma had never seen her move so decisively.
“We’re going to the police,” Laura said.
But before they could leave, Emma’s phone lit up with a message from Mia.
Mia: he knows i took something
Mia: he’s checking my room
Mia: Emma i think he’s been watching us
Then, before Emma could respond, another message came.
Mia: don’t come here
May you like
The dots vanished.
Emma looked at Laura, and both of them understood at once that waiting until morning was no longer an option.
