Chapter 10 - THE LAST MESSAGE
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
He stood there, waiting. Like he had all the time in the world.
"Why are you here?" I finally asked.
"Because you need to finish what you started."
"I don't... I can't..."
"You can. You just have to remember."
He reached into his pocket. Pulled out a phone. My phone. The one sitting on the desk in front of me.
"Check your messages, Jack."
I looked down. The screen was lit up. A new message.
From a number I didn't recognize.
She's not alone in there.
I looked up. The man was gone.
But the elevator was moving. Going up. Floor by floor.
I grabbed my flashlight. My keys. My phone.
And I followed him.
EPILOGUE: 7BThe door was open.
I walked in. The apartment was the same. Clean. Empty. Quiet.
But the bathroom door was closed.
I stood there. My knee throbbing. My heart pounding. The phone buzzing in my pocket.
I opened the door.
Elena was on the floor. Beaten. Broken. Barely breathing.
She looked up at me. Her eyes wide. Her lips moving.
"He took my daughter. Please... find her."
I knelt beside her. Took her hand.
"I will," I said. "I promise."
The phone buzzed one last time.
You're too late.
I looked at the screen. The message was from my own number.
And in the reflection of the dark glass, I saw him. The man in the coat. Standing behind me.
May you like
Smiling.
But you already knew that, didn't you, Jack?
