Chapter 12

Nicki"s fingers trembled as the door clicked shut, the house"s silence amplifying the pounding in her chest. The letter felt like lead in her hand, her name scrawled across the front in an unfamiliar hand. She traced the letters of her name, each stroke sending another shiver down her spine.

What is this? Her thoughts were a swirling maelstrom of confusion and fear.

She peered out the window, the fluttering police tape outside casting eerie shadows on the moonlit street.

Why now? In the dead of night? Nicki thought, her breath hitching. Who would do this?

Summoning courage she wasn"t sure she had, Nicki tore open the envelope with shaky hands. The single piece of paper inside seemed to weigh more than it should as she unfolded it, her eyes flitting over the two stark words printed there:

YOU KNEW.

"Knew what?" she whispered to the empty room, turning the paper over in search of more, but there was nothing else. Just those two accusatory words stared back at her and ignited a firestorm of questions in her mind.

A gust of wind rattled the windows, and Nicki jumped, her heart racing even faster. With an impulse to rid herself of the note"s heavy presence, she crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash can. She needed distance from that ominous message.

Her feet carried her upstairs on autopilot, every creak of the steps echoing loudly in the stillness of the night. Nicki slipped into bed beside Adam, who lay sound asleep, oblivious to the turmoil within her. She pulled the covers up to her chin, trying to quell the tremors that refused to subside.

As the hours ticked by, Nicki lay wide-eyed, staring at the ceiling, feeling Adam"s rhythmic breathing beside her. The darkness felt oppressive, filled with shadows and secrets. The cryptic message played on a loop in her head:

You knew. You knew.

But what did she know? What truth was lurking just beyond her grasp, taunting her?Did it have anything to do with what happened at the neighbor's house? With Sarah shooting Steven?

But what? How?

Her thoughts raced as she tried to piece together the truth that seemed just out of reach. The weight on her chest grew heavier with every passing moment, squeezing the air out of her lungs. She longed for morning to come and lift this suffocating darkness from her.

Each heartbeat was a reminder of the dread that had taken root in her chest, its tendrils wrapping tighter around her as the night dragged on.

As the first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room, Nicki realized she had spent the entire night tossing and turning, her mind a battleground between confusion and fear. As the light chased away the remnants of darkness, she sat up suddenly, her breathing quickening.

At that moment,the pieces clicked together like an unsolved puzzle, finally forming a clear picture. She clutched the bedsheet tightly, her knuckles turning white.

The realization hit her with the force of a tidal wave. The secret she had buried deep within her memory had been unearthed, thrust into her present in the most chilling way.

She realized at that moment her life was in great danger.