Chapter 2 - THE RED LIGHTThe little girl’s final words seemed to freeze the entire office.
“The one with the sad eyes.”
For several seconds, the tattooed boss did not move.
Outside the tall windows, rain slid down the glass of the Washington office building, turning the city lights into blurred streaks of gold and white.
He remained beside the mahogany desk, one hand resting against its polished edge.
His eyes stayed on the child.
“Sad eyes,” he repeated quietly.
The girl nodded.
She squeezed the plush bunny against her chest.
The boss crouched again, lowering his voice until it became almost a whisper.
“Sweetheart, I need you to tell me everything you remember.”
She looked toward the hallway.
Then toward the desk.
Then back at him.
“He wasn't sad because he was crying.”
The boss's expression changed.
“Then why?”
“Because he looked like he already knew something bad was going to happen.”
A faint electronic beep sounded beneath the desk.
Both of them stopped breathing.
The boss slowly turned toward the mahogany panel.
Another beep.
This time, closer.
His jaw tightened.
He reached underneath the desk and found nothing.
The girl pointed.
“Behind that.”
He followed her finger.
A tiny red reflection appeared beneath the rear edge of the desk.
The boss immediately pulled the girl backward.
“Stay behind me.”
His voice remained controlled.
But his eyes had changed.
The calm executive had disappeared.
Something much more dangerous had taken his place.
He reached for his phone.
No signal.
He checked again.
Nothing.
The girl noticed.
“Is that bad?”
He stared at the screen.
“Yes.”
A third beep sounded.
Then every light in the office flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then stabilized.
The boss looked toward the hallway.
Nobody was there.
Yet he knew someone was close.
He slowly moved toward the office door.
The little girl followed him.
He turned.
“Stay here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You need to listen to me.”
“My mommy told me never to stay alone when grown-ups look scared.”
The boss almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, he crouched in front of her.
“What is your mother's name?”
The girl hesitated.
Then whispered it.
The boss froze.
He knew the name.
Not personally.
From a classified report he had read three years earlier.
His eyes lifted.
“Where is your mother now?”
The girl looked down.
“She told me to find you.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“Why?”
“She said you were the only man who would believe me.”
The boss slowly stood.
A heavy silence filled the office.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message.
No sender.
Only six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE.
He stared at the screen.
The girl looked up.
“Who is it?”
He locked the phone.
“Nobody.”
Another vibration.
A second message appeared.
LOOK AT THE HALLWAY.
The boss didn't want to.
But he did.
At the far end of the corridor, a figure stood beneath the dim emergency light.
Motionless.
Watching.
The boss immediately stepped in front of the girl.
The figure disappeared.
He blinked.
Nothing.
Only the empty hallway remained.
Then came three soft knocks.
Not on the office door.
From inside the wall.
The girl whispered one word.
“That's him.”
The boss turned toward her.
“Who?”
May you like
“The man with the sad eyes.”
And beneath the desk, the tiny red light began blinking faster.
Related Stories
