“Behind the Closed Door”

“Behind the Closed Door”
The next morning, Alisha walked into the ABC News building with a stomach full of nerves. She had barely slept, her mind replaying the message she had received the night before and the strange presence she swore she felt in the empty newsroom. Joel and Sam had both called her this morning, worried about her, and insisted they’d walk in with her. Their presence steadied her steps, but the unease still clung to her like cobwebs.
As they passed the glass walls of the conference rooms, whispers followed them again. Reporters lowered their voices and cast furtive glances toward Alisha, as if she were carrying some invisible curse. She tried to ignore it, but the tension pressed heavier with each step.
Then Keira David emerged from her office, sharp in a black suit, her expression unreadable. She didn’t acknowledge anyone else. Her eyes locked only on Alisha.
“Miss Murphy,” Keira said, her tone cutting through the room like ice. “I want to see you. Privately. Now.”
Joel straightened, exchanging a quick look with Sam. “We’ll come too,” he said firmly, as though his presence could shield Alisha.
But Keira’s gaze turned to him with disdain. “No. Only Alisha.”
Sam frowned, his jaw tightening. “If it concerns the case—”
“It does not concern you,” Keira interrupted, her voice final, leaving no room for argument. “Stay here. This is between me and her.”
Alisha hesitated, but she knew refusing wasn’t an option. She forced herself to nod, her voice steady though her throat felt tight. “Alright.”
Joel touched her arm gently before she moved. “If anything feels off, text me,” he whispered.
She tried to smile but couldn’t. With heavy steps, she followed Keira down the hall. The other reporters returned to their screens, but their eyes lingered with curiosity and pity.
Keira’s office door shut with a soft but final click.
The room was sleek, overly polished, with a large window that looked out over the city. But the blinds were half-drawn, letting only slivers of pale light cut through. It made the room feel more like a waiting chamber than a workplace.
Keira gestured to the chair opposite her desk. “Sit.”
Alisha obeyed, the leather chair cold against her back. Keira remained standing for a moment, watching her, almost as if she were studying an insect caught in a jar. Finally, she walked around and sat behind the desk.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the polished wood. “You know, Miss Murphy,” she began, her voice deceptively calm, “I’ve been reviewing everything about you. Your cases. Your methods. Your results.”
Alisha clasped her hands on her lap, her knuckles tight. “I’m dedicated to the truth. To finding answers. That’s what matters.”
Keira tilted her head slightly. “Dedicated. Yet you’ve allowed this case of missing women to spiral into chaos. And now one of your supposed suspects is dead. Tell me, doesn’t it bother you that everything you touch seems to decay?”
The words stung, but Alisha kept her chin high. “What bothers me is how easily people point fingers without looking deeper. Archie’s death might not be what it seems. There are bigger forces at play.”
Keira’s lips curved faintly, though it was not a smile. More like a predator amused by its prey. “Forces. Interesting choice of words. And what do you imagine these… forces are?”
Alisha hesitated. Should she tell her about the messages? The reflection she saw? No, not yet. She couldn’t trust Keira—not when the woman seemed eager to see her fail.
“I don’t imagine,” Alisha replied carefully. “I investigate. That’s my job.”
Keira leaned forward, her elbows resting on the desk, her eyes piercing. “And yet, here you sit with nothing but corpses and unanswered questions.”
Alisha frowned, anger sparking in her chest. “Do you have a point, Miss David? Or did you call me here just to humiliate me in private after doing it in public yesterday?”
Silence stretched between them. Then Keira slowly rose from her chair, circling the desk. Her footsteps were soft against the carpet, but each one made Alisha’s pulse quicken.
Keira stopped just behind her. “You think I want to humiliate you,” she said, her voice low, close enough that Alisha could feel her breath against her hair. “But humiliation is too small a word for what you deserve if you continue down this path.”
Alisha stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
Keira leaned closer, whispering now. “There are things in this city you do not understand. You keep poking at them, and they will devour you. Just like they devoured Archie.”
Alisha turned sharply in her chair, but Keira was already stepping back, her expression smoothed into cold composure again.
“Consider this a warning,” Keira said, returning to her seat. “Drop this case. Focus on something else. Something safer.”
Alisha’s heart raced, but she forced her voice to stay steady. “Are you threatening me?”
Keira’s lips twitched again into that ghost of a smile. “No. I am giving you advice. Whether you take it… that is up to you.”
The blinds rattled suddenly, though the window was shut. Both women glanced toward it, but Keira’s face remained unreadable.
Alisha rose to her feet. “If you think you can scare me into abandoning this, you’re wrong. I’m not afraid of you. And I’m not afraid of the truth.”
Keira stood as well, her eyes narrowing, though her tone stayed almost playful. “Not afraid? That’s admirable. But fear always comes… eventually.”
The office felt smaller, darker, like the walls themselves were listening.
Alisha turned and walked out, refusing to show how shaken she was. Joel and Sam jumped to their feet the moment they saw her emerge, both reading her pale face and tense shoulders instantly.
“What happened?” Joel asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Alisha muttered, though her voice cracked slightly.
Keira appeared in the doorway behind her, smiling politely at the newsroom. “Miss Murphy and I had a productive discussion,” she announced smoothly, though her eyes never left Alisha’s back.
Sam leaned close as they walked away. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
Alisha swallowed hard, her gaze fixed ahead. “Not a ghost. Something worse.”
But even as she tried to push the encounter out of her mind, her phone buzzed again.
Another message. Same unknown number.
“She knows.”
Her blood ran cold. She didn’t need to ask who the sender meant.
And when she dared glance back, Keira was still watching her, smiling faintly, as though she already knew what the message said.