And then, it began to ring.

The name on the screen was one I had never expected to see again.

Ethan.

I swiped the screen and put the phone to my ear, my heart pounding in the quiet space.

“Ethan?” I whispered.

There was a long pause, and then the sound of a heavy breath.

“Evelyn,” his voice said, muffled and distant.

“Don’t go to the house.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it’s not empty,” Ethan said.

The line went dead.

I stared at the black screen, the cold wind blowing through the crack in the door.

And the shadow at the end of the hall began to move toward us, its footsteps heavy on the tile.

I pulled Lauren closer, the flashlight beam fading to a dull, yellow glow.

The door to the street was locked.

The stairwell was dark.

And the man in the wet coat was coming back.

I held my breath and waited for the light to die completely.

And in the final second of glow, the face in the dark became clear.

It was not Vance.

It was not Brenner.