Alessia stood frozen in her office, her mind racing as Zoey’s parting words hung heavy in the air. “I’ll see you soon, Alessia,” Zoey had said, her tone dripping with eerie calm. The sound of the door clicking shut behind her left an unsettling silence in the room.
Alessia’s chest tightened. The woman’s cryptic behavior, her veiled comments about Avery, and the way she had looked at Alessia—it all left her feeling like she had just stepped out of a psychological thriller. Shaking her head, she tried to brush off the unease, but the feeling of something being terribly wrong wouldn’t go away.
She reached for her phone, her fingers trembling slightly as she scrolled to Theo’s number. Just as her thumb hovered over the call button, her phone lit up with an incoming call—from Theo.
She quickly answered. “Theo?”
“Alessia,” Theo said, his voice sharp and urgent. “Where are you right now?”
“I’m at the office,” Alessia replied, her stomach twisting at his tone. “What’s going on?”
“You need to listen to me very carefully,” Theo said, his words clipped. “Zoey escaped from the mental hospital last week. She’s dangerous.”
Alessia felt the floor tilt beneath her. “What?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “She was in a mental hospital?”
“Yes,” Theo confirmed. “I didn’t know until this morning when I got a call from a contact I reached out to after you told me she’d visited you. Zoey’s been under psychiatric care for years. She’s… unstable.”
***
Alessia’s grip on her phone tightened as she paced the length of her office, her voice trembling as she spoke to Theo. “Theo, she came to the office this morning,” she said, her words rushing out. “She was right here, sitting in front of me, talking about Avery like she knew everything about her. I thought it was strange, but… oh my God, thank God she didn’t do anything crazy.”
Theo’s voice on the other end of the line was calm but firm, a steadying presence against her rising panic. “Alessia, listen to me,” he said. “She’s not coming back there. I’ve already informed the police, and they’re actively searching for her. She won’t get anywhere near you or Avery again.”
“She told me she’d be back,” Alessia whispered, her voice barely audible. “Theo, she looked me in the eyes and said it.”
“She won’t,” Theo said, his tone resolute. “The police are on high alert, and I’m making sure every precaution is taken. You’re both safe, Alessia. You have to trust me.”