Chapter 14 - THE ESCALATION
Three days later, everything changed.
The police had been preparing to arrest Vanessa. They had gathered the evidence. They had the autopsy report. They had the sealed documents. They had Eleanor’s testimony. They had everything they needed to put her away for life.
But when they arrived at the address where she had been staying… she was gone.
She had vanished. No note. No trail. No credit card activity. No phone signals. She had simply disappeared.
The detective in charge called me late that evening. “Mr. Holloway, we believe she crossed state lines. She knows we’re closing in. She’s running.”
“Let her run,” I said. “But please… tell me she can’t come back here.”
“She knows the consequences if she does. But I would be lying if I said you shouldn’t be careful. She’s desperate. And desperate people make unpredictable choices. Stay inside. Lock your doors. Don’t let anyone in. And call us immediately if you see anything suspicious.”
I hung up and walked to the window. The street was quiet. Dark. Empty. But I had the terrible feeling that Vanessa was still close. Watching. Waiting. Planning her next move.
That night, Mia woke me up screaming.
I ran to her room. She was sitting up in bed, trembling, pointing toward the window.
“Mia? What happened?”
“I saw her,” Mia gasped. “Vanessa. She was standing outside. Looking in at me.”
I rushed to the window and pulled back the curtain. The yard was empty. The street was quiet. But carved into the wood of the window frame… was a single letter.
*V.*
Freshly cut. Still pale and raw.
She had been there. She had been standing outside my daughter’s window. Watching her. Leaving her mark.
I called the police immediately. They arrived within minutes. They searched the grounds. They found footprints beneath Mia’s window. Fresh. Recent. Leading away toward the woods at the edge of the property.
“She was here,” the detective said grimly. “She came back to threaten you. To let you know she can get to you whenever she wants.”
“Can you put a patrol car here?” I asked. “Just until she’s caught?”
“I’ll arrange it myself,” he said. “But Adrian… she’s getting bolder. And more dangerous. Stay alert. Every second of every day.”
May you like
I nodded. But as I looked at that carved letter… as I thought about Vanessa standing in the dark, watching my daughter sleep… I realized something terrible.
She wasn’t running. She was hunting.
