The silence of the apartment was broken by a sudden, sharp sound.

The buzzer for the front door of the building rang.

It was loud, vibrating through the small hallway.

I froze, my coat half-on.

I looked at the clock on the wall.

It was 1:15 AM.

The buzzer rang again, a long, continuous press that sounded like a demand.

I crept to the intercom near the door, my heart pounding against my ribs.

I didn’t press the talk button.

I just stood there, watching the small green light flicker.

The buzzer stopped.

For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of my own breathing.

Then, my cell phone on the desk lit up.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

*I know you’re awake, Grace. Let me up, or we can talk out here in the rain.*

I walked back to the window and parted the curtain.

Standing on the wet pavement directly beneath my window was a woman in a long, dark trench coat.

She wasn’t holding an umbrella.

Her blonde hair was damp, clinging to her cheeks, but her posture was perfectly straight.