THE FIRST MESSAGE

The rain had been falling for hours.

Emma Carter stood by the kitchen window, staring at the blurred glow of the streetlights outside. Water streamed down the glass in uneven trails, distorting everything beyond it. The world looked warped and distant, as though the storm itself was trying to hide something. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. The house was quiet. Too quiet. Some nights silence felt peaceful. Tonight it felt heavy, pressing down on her chest like an invisible weight.

Emma glanced at the clock on the wall; 9:47 PM. Daniel was still at work. That wasn't unusual his job at the law firm demanded long hours but tonight she wished he were home. Stormy nights always made her uneasy. Because storms reminded her of that night. Emma closed her eyes, but the memory crept in anyway. A dark road. Rain pounding against the windshield. The glare of headlights cutting through the darkness. And then ,she forced herself to inhale slowly.

Ten years; Ten years had passed since the accident. Ten years since the secret that tied four lives together in ways none of them had ever imagined. They had all agreed to move on, to forget, to bury the past where it belonged. But Emma had never truly managed to bury it. Some nights she still woke up with her heart racing, convinced she could hear the dull thud again, the sound that had changed everything.

She turned away from the window and walked back toward the kitchen counter. Her phone lay there beside a half-finished cup of tea. The screen suddenly lit up;

Buzz.

Emma froze. The sound startled her more than it should have. Her heart began to beat faster as she picked up the phone. A new message from an unknown number. Emma frowned slightly and opened it. The words on the screen made the air leave her lungs.

"I know what you did".

Her fingers tightened around the phone. For a moment, she simply stared at the message, as if the words might rearrange themselves into something harmless. They didn't. Her chest tightened.

No, that couldn't be right. Her breathing became uneven as she quickly typed a reply;

Who is this?

She hit send. The message delivered instantly but there was no response. Emma swallowed and set the phone down on the counter, trying to steady herself. It was probably a prank or a wrong number. People sent strange messages all the time. Still, the uneasiness inside her refused to fade. Her gaze drifted back to the glowing screen. Her mind whispered something she desperately tried to ignore;

What if it isn't a mistake?

Before she could stop herself, Emma picked the phone up again and reread the message.

I know what you did.

Her stomach twisted. Another buzz suddenly vibrated through the phone. Emma nearly dropped it. Another message. Her hands trembled as she opened it. This time there was a photo attached. Emma tapped the image. The picture loaded slowly. It was dark, taken at night, and slightly blurry but Emma recognized the location immediately.

Her blood ran cold, the road, the exact stretch of road where the accident had happened. The same narrow road surrounded by thick trees. The same broken street sign near the curve.

Emma staggered backward, bumping into the kitchen chair. Someone had been there. Someone had taken that photo. Someone knew.

The front door suddenly opened. Emma gasped. Daniel stepped inside, shaking rain from his coat.

“You’re still awake?” he asked casually, kicking the door shut behind him. He stopped when he noticed her expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Emma couldn't find her voice. Instead, she walked toward him slowly and held out the phone. Daniel took it, his brows knitting together as he read the message. For several seconds his face remained expressionless. Then something shifted; a flicker of tension passed through his eyes.

“Where did this come from?” he asked quietly.

“I don't know,” Emma whispered. “An unknown number.”

Daniel studied the photo again.The road. The rain-soaked pavement. The exact place they had sworn never to speak about again. He handed the phone back slowly.

“It’s probably nothing,” he said.

But his voice sounded too controlled. Emma shook her head.

“They sent a picture of the road, Daniel.”

The room fell silent. Daniel ran a hand through his hair.

“Did you tell anyone?” he asked.

Emma’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not!”

Daniel studied her face carefully before nodding.

“Good.”

Emma felt frustration spark inside her.“Good?” she repeated. “Daniel, someone knows what we did!”

Before he could answer, Daniel’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Both of them froze. Daniel slowly pulled it out. Emma watched his face as he read the screen. The color drained slightly from his expression. He turned the phone toward her. The same message glowed on the screen.

I know what you did.

Emma covered her mouth. “They sent it to you too?” Daniel nodded slowly. A cold silence filled the room.

“There are only two other people who know,” Emma said quietly. Daniel didn't respond immediately. But they both knew who she meant. Marcus and Lena. An hour later they were sitting in Marcus and Lena Reed’s living room. Marcus stood near the fireplace with his arms crossed, clearly annoyed.

“This better be important,” he muttered.

Lena sat calmly on the couch beside Emma, her sharp eyes moving between them. Emma held out her phone. Marcus took it reluctantly. His expression changed the moment he read the message.

“What the hell is this?”

“You tell us,” Daniel said evenly.

Marcus looked up sharply. “You think we sent this?”

“Did you?” Daniel asked.

Marcus let out a harsh laugh. “Why would we do that?”

Before anyone could answer, Marcus’s phone buzzed. The room went still. Marcus checked the screen. His face went pale. “They sent it to me too.”

Lena gently took the phone from him. She read the message carefully. Then she looked at the others. Her voice was calm almost too calm.

“Someone knows,” she said softly.Emma felt a chill crawl down her spine. Daniel shook his head.

“That’s impossible.”

Lena’s gaze darkened slightly. “No,” she said quietly. “It isn’t.”

Outside, thunder cracked through the night. And somewhere in the darkness, another message was already on its way.