CHAPTER 31MIRAMira sat cross-legged on the living room couch, her sketchbook open on her lap, pencil hovering over a half-finished drawing of her mom’s old garden. The house was quiet, the afternoon light filtering through the curtains, casting soft patterns on the hardwood floor. Dad was at work, and Miss Katy was out running errands, leaving Mira alone with her thoughts—a dangerous place to be these days. The latest anonymous message, “Family time won’t save you. I’m closer than you think,” had kept her up half the night, her mind spinning with images of the guy in the black hoodie—Jake—lurking outside her window. The pizza outing with Dad and Katy last night had been a brief escape, their laughter a warm shield, but the message had shattered that fragile sense of normalcy.She traced the outline of a rose in her sketch, her hand trembling slightly. The party last summer, Sofia’s sweet drink, the blur of The guys shadow—it all felt like a weight she couldn’t shake. She’d promised
Last Updated : 2025-07-16
