Chapter 4 The Man at My Door

I didn't move.My hand tightened around the kitchen knife."Open the door, Scarlett."

The man's voice came again.

Calm.Almost polite.

That frightened me more than shouting would have.I glanced toward the window.

The two men were still standing near the black SUV.One had his hands in his pockets.

The other was looking around the property.

They weren't acting like ordinary security guards.They looked like they had come prepared.I took one silent step backward.Then another.

How did they know my name?I had only been awake for a few hours.I hadn't told anyone about my plans.I hadn't even told Adrian.

The only people who knew about my inheritance were the lawyer and me.Unless...My phone.

I looked at the screen.The last message was still there.

They aren't here for the property.

My heart was hammered.Someone had been watching me long before I realized it.I moved toward the back door.

Maybe I could escape through the trees.I had just reached for the handle when the front door opened.

I froze.I hadn't unlocked it.A man stepped inside.

He was tall, perhaps in his early forties, wearing a dark jacket.He didn't carry a visible weapon.That didn't make me feel safer.

His eyes immediately found mine."Scarlett Vale."I raised the knife."Don't come any closer."

He stopped.

"Good."

I frowned."What?""You should always assume a stranger is dangerous."His gaze moved toward the knife."Especially now."I almost laughed.

"Now?"

He looked around the empty house."You bought this property because you think something is coming."My stomach tightened.

"Get out.""You don't have much time.""How do you know what I bought?""I know more than you think."I raised the knife higher.

"Who are you?""My name is Daniel."

"Daniel what?"

"Daniel Reed."The name meant nothing to me."Why are you here?"

He looked at me for several seconds.Then he said something that made my blood freeze."Because you died."

The knife nearly slipped from my hand.Daniel continued."Thirty-one days ago."

I stared at him.

"What did you say?"

"You died thirty-one days ago."

My breathing stopped.That couldn't be true.I had died during the apocalypse.I knew exactly when.

I remembered it.Hadn't I?

Daniel stepped forward.

I immediately pointed the knife at him."Stay there."He stopped.

"You remember the evacuation shelter," he said.My throat tightened."You remember Adrian leaving."

I couldn't speak."You remember the infected reaching you."My fingers began trembling.

"How do you know?""Because I was there."My heart pounded.

"Who are you?""I already told you."

"No."

I shook my head."That's not what I mean."I took a breath."How do you remember?"

"How?""I don't know.""That's not an answer.""It's the only one I have."

I studied him.Maybe he was lying.Maybe someone had discovered information about my first life.Maybe this was some kind of trap.I refused to trust him.

"Tell me something."

He waited."What happened on the fourth day?"His expression changed.I knew immediately that I had chosen the right question."The fourth day?"

"Yes."

He looked toward the window."The northern highway was supposed to be evacuated."I said nothing.

"It wasn't."My heartbeat quickened."Why?""Because the evacuation route had already been compromised."

He looked back at me."More than twelve thousand people were sent toward the infected zone."

I swallowed.

I remembered.

That had happened.But I didn't know the number.

Daniel continued.

"At 7:40 that evening, the military blocked the southern road."My eyes widened.That was correct."At 8:15, the first emergency shelter was abandoned."

Correct again."At 9:00..."

His voice became quieter."The power grid failed."

I slowly lowered the knife.He knew.

He actually knew.

Daniel watched me carefully."I don't expect you to trust me."

"Good."A faint smile touched his face."You shouldn't."That answer surprised me.

Most people trying to convince me they were trustworthy would say the opposite.Daniel didn't.

He walked toward a chair and sat down."I came because I need to warn you.""About what?"

"The outbreak."

I stiffened."I already know."

"No."

He shook his head.

"You know the outbreak you remember."His words hit me like a punch."What does that mean?""The future is changing."

I stared at him.He continued.

"You've already changed things.""How?""You're buying property."I didn't answer."You're moving money."Still nothing."You're stockpiling supplies."My stomach tightened.

"And you're investigating Helix Biotech."

The knife rose again."How do you know that name?"Daniel didn't answer immediately.Instead, he reached into his jacket.

I tensed.He slowly pulled out a photograph.He placed it on the table.I walked closer.The photograph showed a laboratory.A group of people stood outside it.I recognized the building immediately.

Helix Biotech.But something else caught my attention.A woman stood among the scientists.I knew her.My face went cold."That's impossible."

Daniel watched me.

"You recognize her?" "Dr. Claire Morgan.""Did you know her?"

"No."

I paused.

"Not personally.""But you saw her in your first life?""Yes."

"Where?"I swallowed."At the evacuation center."Daniel nodded."That's what I thought."I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because Claire Morgan wasn't supposed to be there."

My skin prickled."What do you mean?"

"She disappeared three days before the outbreak.""How do you know?""I investigated her."

"Why?"

Daniel leaned forward."Because she contacted me."My heart skipped."When?""Before I died."I stared at him."What did she say?"

Daniel's expression darkened.

"She told me the outbreak wasn't going to happen the way the government claimed."I felt a chill move down my spine."Then what is going to happen?"

"I don't know."

For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.

"But I know one thing."

"What?"

"Whatever happened in our previous timeline has already started happening again."

I glanced toward the window.

The two men outside were still there.

"Are they yours?"

"No."

"Then who are they?"

Daniel stood.

"I don't know."

That was the first answer he had given me that truly frightened me.

Because if Daniel didn't know...

Then nobody did.

A sudden sound came from outside.

A car engine.

Then another.

I moved toward the window and looked through the curtain.

Two more black vehicles had arrived.

My stomach dropped.

"They're surrounding the property."

Daniel nodded.

"We need to leave."

I turned toward him.

"Why?"

"Because you aren't the only person who remembers."

Before I could respond, the front window shattered.

Glass exploded across the room.

I dropped to the floor.

A bullet struck the wall behind me.

"Get down!"

Daniel grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the sofa.

Another shot.

Then another.

My heart pounded violently.

"Who are they?""People who don't want you preparing for what's coming."

I stared at him.

"Why me?"He looked directly into my eyes.

"Because you changed something.""What?"

He hesitated.

Then he said:"The outbreak has already begun."

My blood turned cold.

"No."

"Yes.""That's impossible."

"It's not."

He pulled out his phone.

A news alert was flashing across the screen.MYSTERIOUS VIOLENT INCIDENT REPORTED AT CITY HOSPITAL.

I stared at the headline.My hands went numb.

"That's the hospital," I whispered.

Daniel nodded.

"The same one you visited today."I looked at him.

"How did you know I went there?"

He didn't answer.Instead, he grabbed my wrist.

"We have to go.""Wait."

I pulled my arm away."You've known about me all day."

"Yes."

"You knew I would go to the hospital."

"Yes."

"You knew these people would come."

"I suspected."

I stared at him.

"Then tell me the truth."

He looked at me for a long moment.

Then he said something I wasn't prepared to hear.

"I didn't find you, Scarlett."

My heart stopped.

"You found me."

The room went silent.

"What does that mean?"

Daniel looked toward the broken window.

Then back at me.

"It means someone wanted us to meet."

Before I could ask another question, the lights went out.

The entire house plunged into darkness.

Outside, something screamed.

Not a human scream.

A terrible, broken sound.

Daniel's expression changed.

He whispered:

"That's early."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"What?"

He looked toward the door.

"The first infected shouldn't be here yet."

Then something slammed into the front door.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The wood cracked.

I tightened my grip on the knife.

Daniel pulled a weapon from beneath his jacket.

Another impact shook the entire house.

And then I heard a voice from outside.

A familiar voice.

A voice that made my blood turn cold.

"Scarlett!"

Adrian.

"Open the door!"

I looked at Daniel.

He stared back at me.

Neither of us moved.

Because the voice outside sounded exactly like my husband.

But I knew something was wrong.

In my previous life, Adrian had never come looking for me this early.

And whatever was standing outside...

It was breathing far too heavily.

Then the thing outside whispered:

"Please."

My fingers tightened around the knife.

"Scarlett..."

A pause.

Then:

"Let me in."