Chapter 33
Setting: It’s late at night, and Briar, Angelo, and Celeste are all back at their respective homes. Each of them is trying to process the events of the day. Just as they’re starting to feel like they have a moment to breathe, the mysterious caller strikes again—this time with a message that’s impossible to ignore.
Briar’s POV:
The silence of my apartment was oppressive. I could hear the clock ticking on the wall, every second dragging out longer than the last. My mind wouldn’t stop spinning—who was that voice? Why did they care so much about Angelo and me?
I tried to distract myself, flipping through channels on the TV, but nothing could pull me out of the haze of confusion and fear. Every little noise outside made me jump, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
Then, my phone buzzed.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked down at the screen. It was a blocked number. Again.
For a moment, I hesitated. I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want to hear that voice again. But something in me—a twisted curiosity, maybe—pushed me to swipe the call.
“Hello?” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.
There was a pause. Then, the distorted voice crackled through the line.
“You’ve waited long enough, Briar. It’s time to face the truth.”
I froze, my blood turning to ice. “Who are you?” I demanded, trying to keep the fear from creeping into my voice. “What do you want?”
The voice chuckled softly, the sound sending chills down my spine. “It’s not about what I want. It’s about what you need to know. Ask Angelo. He’s hiding something from you.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve said enough. But don’t wait too long, Briar. Time is running out.”
Before I could respond, the line went dead.
Angelo’s POV:
I was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. The whole day had been a nightmare, and the more I thought about that call, the more uneasy I felt. I knew I had to tell Briar and Celeste everything—about the dreams, about my past—but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not yet.
Just as I was drifting off, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
I grabbed it, thinking it was a message from Celeste or Briar. But when I saw the blocked number on the screen, a cold knot of dread formed in my stomach.
Not again.
I answered, my heart pounding in my chest. “Hello?”
“You can’t keep running from this, Angelo.”
The voice was the same. That same cold, mechanical distortion that had been called earlier.
“Who the hell are you?” I snapped. “What do you want from me?”
There was a long pause, and then the voice spoke again, this time slower, almost like they were savoring each word.
“You think you can hide from the past, but it will always find you. Tell her, Angelo. Before it’s too late.”
Before I could respond, the line went dead.
I stared at the phone, my mind racing. What were they talking about? Tell who what? Briar? Celeste?
What was I supposed to remember?
Celeste’s POV:
I was still awake, scrolling through my phone, trying to distract myself from everything that had happened. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that voice. What did they mean by “the truth”? What did Angelo need to tell me?
I glanced at my phone, half-expecting it to ring again. But there was nothing.
Then, just as I started to relax, the screen lit up. A message.
My stomach flipped as I read it. It was from an unknown number.
Unknown: You’re running out of time. Ask Angelo what he’s hiding. Or I’ll tell you myself.
I dropped the phone like it was on fire, my heart racing in my chest. What was going on? What was Angelo keeping from me?
And who was this person threatening to expose it?