It started with the call.
Not a message.
Not a warning.
A call.
Elara stared at the screen as it vibrated in her hand.
AARON
Not UNKNOWN anymore.
That alone—
was wrong.
She answered anyway.
"…What?"
No greeting.
No hesitation.
On the other end—
silence.
Then—
"You need to come outside."
Her chest tightened.
"I'm not—"
"You have seven minutes."
The line went dead.
No explanation.
No context.
Just—
time.
Elara stood still.
Seven minutes.
Behind her—
Liam's voice, strained now.
"Elara…"
She turned.
And her heart dropped.
He was worse.
Not gone.
But—
fading.
Not visually.
Not completely.
But his presence—
felt thinner.
Like the world was forgetting how to hold him.
"We're not waiting," she said.
Her voice was sharp now.
Focused.
Different.
"What?" Liam asked.
"We're going out."
"Out where?"
She grabbed her jacket.
"To where this started."
Liam stared at her.
"…You mean the body?"
She didn't answer.
Because yes.
Exactly that.
7:00
Rain hit harder outside.
The moment they stepped out—
it felt real again.
Too real.
Police lights still cut through the night.
But there were more now.
More officers.
More tape.
And something else.
A van.
White.
Marked.
FORENSIC UNIT
Elara slowed.
Her breathing uneven.
This was no longer distant.
This was—
active.
"Stay behind the line!" someone shouted.
An officer stepped forward.
Blocking them.
"Area's restricted."
Elara didn't stop.
"I know," she said quickly. "I just need to—"
"No," he cut in.
Firm.
Final.
Then—
another voice.
"Let her through."
Elara froze.
That voice—
she knew.
Detective Aaron Cole stepped into view.
Badge clipped.
Expression calm.
Too calm.
The officer hesitated—
then stepped aside.
Elara's pulse spiked.
Liam moved closer to her.
Subtle.
Instinctive.
Aaron's eyes flicked to him.
Just for a second.
Something unreadable passed.
Then gone.
"You came," Aaron said.
Elara didn't respond.
"Seven minutes," she said instead.
Aaron nodded slightly.
"You made it."
That wasn't reassurance.
That was—
confirmation.
5:12
The body wasn't covered anymore.
That was the first thing she noticed.
The tarp had been pulled back.
A forensic photographer crouched nearby.
Flash.
Flash.
Each burst of light—
too bright.
Too clinical.
Too real.
Elara stepped closer.
And then—
she saw the face.
Her breath stopped.
"No…"
Liam's hand tightened slightly on her arm.
"You know him?"
Elara didn't answer.
Because she did.
But not from here.
Not from this moment.
From—
later.
Or earlier.
She didn't know anymore.
But she knew his name.
"…Daniel."
The word slipped out.
Aaron's gaze sharpened.
"You recognize him?"
Elara's chest tightened.
That was wrong.
That question—
was wrong.
Because—
Daniel wasn't supposed to be dead.
Not yet.
4:03
"Male, mid-twenties," a voice said nearby.
Calm.
Measured.
A forensic examiner.
Gloved hands.
Precise movements.
"Time of death—approximately thirty minutes ago."
Elara's pulse spiked.
Thirty minutes.
Inside the gap.
Again.
"No visible defensive wounds," the examiner continued.
"Cause of death likely internal trauma."
He paused.
Then—
"That doesn't match the external presentation."
Aaron stepped closer.
"Explain."
The examiner gestured toward the body.
"There's minimal surface damage," he said."But internally—massive collapse. Like—"
He hesitated.
"Like pressure."
Elara's breath caught.
Pressure.
Not impact.
Not violence.
Something else.
3:15
"Not the first one," Aaron said quietly.
Elara turned.
"What?"
He met her gaze.
"There have been others."
Her heart dropped.
"How many?"
Aaron didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"Ten."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Elara felt the ground shift under her.
"Ten?" she repeated.
Aaron nodded.
"Different locations. Same pattern."
Her breathing grew shallow.
"What pattern?"
Aaron looked at the body.
Then back at her.
"They're all connected."
A pause.
"To you."
Aaron spoke quietly.
"First— a woman. Office worker. You consulted on her case."
Elara's mind flashed.
A memory.
"Yes…"
"Second— a man from the subway incident. You were there."
Her stomach dropped.
"I didn't—"
"Third," Aaron continued,"A neighbor. Same building."
Her pulse spiked.
"Fourth. Fifth. Sixth."
Each one—
closer.
More personal.
"By the seventh," he said,"you started noticing the pattern."
Elara's hands trembled.
"Eighth—you tried to intervene."
Her breath shook.
"Ninth—you called me."
Silence.
Her chest tightened.
"And the tenth?" she whispered.
Aaron didn't look at her.
He looked at the body.
"This one."
Daniel.
2:02
"This isn't random," Elara said.
Her voice was shaking now.
"This is controlled."
Aaron nodded slightly.
"Yes."
"By who?"
Aaron didn't answer.
Because—
he didn't need to.
Elara already knew the answer she didn't want.
1:30
Liam shifted beside her.
She felt it immediately.
That instability again.
Stronger now.
"Elara…"
His voice—
fading.
Not quieter.
Just—
less present.
She turned.
And this time—
it was obvious.
His outline flickered.
Longer.
More unstable.
"No," she said.
Not again.
Not now.
0:58
"You're running out of time," Aaron said.
Her head snapped toward him.
"For what?"
He met her gaze.
"For the next one."
Silence.
Dead silence.
0:40
"Who?" she demanded.
Aaron didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because Liam's hand—
slipped from hers.
Not fully.
But enough.
Her breath broke.
"No."
0:22
Elara turned back to the body.
Daniel.
Then—
she saw it.
Near his hand.
A mark.
Not blood.
Not injury.
A symbol.
Drawn.
Faint.
But deliberate.
She crouched.
Closer.
And her heart stopped.
Because—
she recognized it.
It was hers.
Her pattern.
Something she used—
in her notes.
In her cases.
0:10
"This isn't someone targeting me," she whispered.
Aaron said nothing.
Because he already knew.
0:05
Her breath trembled.
"This is someone using me."
0:00
Liam disappeared.
Not slowly.
Not fading.
Gone.
Just—
gone.
Elara screamed.