— Someone Is Watching
Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following her.
Ever since she found the photograph at the library, ordinary things had started to feel suspicious.
A car parked outside her house.
A stranger standing across the road.
A message arriving whenever she discovered something new.
She tried to convince herself it was all a coincidence.
But deep down, she knew better.
Someone was watching her.
—
The next morning, Lily arrived at school earlier than usual.
Amara was already waiting near the library.
“You look exhausted,” Amara said.
“I barely slept.”
“Because of the man?”
Lily nodded.
Amara lowered her voice.
“Did you tell your mother?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she already knows more than she’s telling me.”
Amara sighed.
“Then what are we going to do?”
Lily pulled the photograph from her bag.
“We find out who he is.”
They returned to the old newspaper archive.
For almost an hour, they searched through records about St. Mary’s Home.
Then Lily noticed a small article hidden between two pages.
FORMER VOLUNTEER QUESTIONS CLOSURE OF ST. MARY’S
The article was about a man named Daniel Cole.
Lily stared at the surname.
“Cole?”
Amara leaned closer.
“That’s Emily’s surname.”
Lily read the article carefully.
Daniel had volunteered at St. Mary’s Home around the time Emily disappeared.
But there was something strange.
The article said Daniel had left town shortly after the disappearance.
Lily’s heart began racing.
“Could he be the man in the photograph?”
Amara looked at the picture.
“He could be.”
Before they could continue, Lily’s phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
You are looking in the wrong place.
Lily’s fingers tightened around the phone.
Another message appeared.
Stop searching for Daniel.
Amara read it.
“Okay… that’s definitely not a coincidence.”
Lily typed:
Who are you?
The reply came almost immediately.
Someone who remembers what happened.
Lily’s heart pounded.
She typed again.
Then tell me the truth.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
No answer.
—
After school, Lily walked home alone.
Halfway down the street, she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
Nobody.
She continued walking.
The footsteps returned.
This time, faster.
Lily looked over her shoulder.
A dark car was moving slowly behind her.
She immediately crossed the road.
The car continued past.
Lily breathed out.
Maybe she had imagined it.
Then her phone vibrated.
A new message.
Don’t turn around.
Lily froze.
She slowly looked at the reflection of a shop window.
The dark car had stopped behind her.
Someone was sitting inside.
Lily didn’t wait.
She ran.
She reached her house, rushed through the gate and locked the door behind her.
Her mother was in the living room.
“Lily? What’s wrong?”
“Someone followed me.”
Her mother’s face changed.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Her mother rushed to the window.
The street was empty.
Then her mother noticed the envelope lying on the doorstep.
She picked it up.
Her hands began shaking.
Lily stared at her.
“What is it?”
Her mother opened the envelope.
Inside was a small key.
Attached to it was a note.
You promised you’d never tell her.
Her mother’s face went pale.
Lily took the note.
“Mom… what promise?”
Her mother sat down.
For the first time, Lily saw something she had never seen before.
Fear.
Not ordinary fear.
The kind of fear that comes from remembering something you desperately wish you could forget.
“I made a promise a long time ago,” her mother whispered.
“To whom?”
Her mother looked at Lily.
“To Emily.”
Lily’s heart stopped.
“What did you promise her?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked toward the key.
“That’s the key to the old records room at St. Mary’s.”
Lily stared at it.
“Why would Emily want me to have it?”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“Because she knew one day you’d come looking for her.”
Lily’s voice became quiet.
“Is Emily alive?”
Her mother looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
Then the lights suddenly went out.
The house fell completely silent.
Lily heard a sound outside.
A car door closing.
Her mother grabbed her hand.
“Don’t move.”
A shadow passed across the window.
Then someone knocked on the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Lily’s heart raced.
Her mother whispered:
“Whatever happens, don’t open that door.”
The knocking came again.
And then a voice spoke from outside.
A voice Lily had heard before.
“Sarah.”
Her mother froze.
Lily looked at her.
“Who is that?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
The voice came again.
“You can’t hide her forever.”
Lily stared at the door.
Then she heard the stranger say her name.
“Lily.”
She stepped backward.
Someone outside knew exactly who she was.
And suddenly, the mystery wasn’t about finding Emily anymore.
It was about discovering why Emily had been protecting Lily all these years.
END OF EPISODE 7
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