Chapter 20 - A Silent Shadow Lurks Beyond the Front Door
Midnight ticked quietly across the clock in Sarah’s new apartment while the city slept in peaceful darkness.
Sarah lay awake in her bedroom, listening to the soft, rhythmic breathing of Sophie sleeping soundly down the hall.
Everything felt secure, peaceful, and normal for the first time in over two agonizing years of legal warfare.
Suddenly, a sharp, metallic scratch echoed against the front door handle of the secure apartment building hallway.
Sarah sat up instantly in bed, her heart skipping a beat as she strained her ears to listen closer.
Footsteps padded softly across the outdoor concrete walkway outside her second-floor balcony window.
She crept out of bed silently, walking down the dark hallway toward the living room with cautious steps.
Through the sheer curtains of the balcony door, a dark silhouette stood motionless in the moonlight.
Before she could reach the phone to call security, a small envelope slid underneath the front entryway crack.
She picked it up with trembling fingers, pulling out a polaroid photo taken just ten minutes prior:
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It was a picture of her and Sophie sleeping, stamped with a red lipstick kiss.
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