Chapter 18

Lena had lived alone for three years.

By now, she knew every sound her apartment made.

The radiator clicked at 2 a.m.

The upstairs neighbor dropped something heavy every Thursday night.

The old refrigerator hummed louder before it shut off.

So when she heard a soft knock from inside her bedroom closet at midnight, she froze.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

She stared at the closet door from the couch.

Her first thought was ridiculous.

Maybe I trapped my cat in there.

Then she remembered she didn’t own a cat.

The knocking stopped.

Lena laughed nervously and called her best friend.

“It’s probably the pipes,” her friend said.

“Inside my closet?”

“Old buildings are weird.”

Lena wanted to believe her.

She opened the closet.

Shoes.

Winter coats.

Storage boxes.

Nothing else.

Embarrassed, she shut the door and went to bed.

At 3:14 a.m., her phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

She almost ignored it.

Instead, she opened the message.

You forgot to check under the clothes hanging on the left side.

Lena sat up so quickly she nearly fell off the bed.

Another message arrived.

You looked prettier when you wore your hair down.

Her bedroom door was open.

The closet sat in the darkness across the room.

The door was slightly ajar.

A third message appeared.

Don’t turn on the light.

Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the dark.

There, between the hanging coats she’d sworn weren’t moving before…

…she noticed the shape of someone standing perfectly still.

Watching to see if she had finally noticed him.