Emily tossed and turned in the guest bed, her mind a storm of anxiety and dread. The soft glow of the bedside lamp illuminated the room, casting long shadows on the walls that seemed to dance and shift with every passing second. She had tried to force herself to sleep, to let the exhaustion take over, but every time she closed her eyes, Doug's voice echoed in her ears, chilling her to the core.
She replayed his words over and over in her mind, feeling the sharp edge of fear dig deeper with each repetition. He was out there, somewhere in the city, watching her, tormenting her. She knew she should get some sleep, knew she needed to be strong, but her heart refused to slow down. Every creak in the apartment, every whisper of wind outside, felt like a threat.
Finally, Emily sat up in bed, staring at her phone on the nightstand. The screen was dark, but the memory of that unknown number haunted her. Her gut told her to turn it off, to shut it down and throw it in a drawer where she couldn't see it. But part of her was too stubborn, too scared to be caught off guard. She needed to be in control, even if that control came at a price.
With trembling hands, she picked up the phone, holding it tightly as if it were a lifeline. She stared at the screen, willing it to stay dark, to stay silent. But deep down, she knew that Doug wasn't done with her yet. She could feel it in her bones, that sickening sensation that he was out there, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.
And then, as if on cue, the phone buzzed in her hand, the same unknown number flashing across the screen. Her heart leaped into her throat, her stomach twisting into knots. Every rational part of her screamed not to answer, to let it ring and ring until it stopped. But the fear, the gnawing terror that he might be right outside, made her press the answer button.
"Hello?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, a heavy, suffocating pause that made her skin crawl. And then, Doug's voice, dripping with malice, slithered through the line.
"Emily… How's my favorite girl doing tonight?"
Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. She didn't answer, couldn't find the words, as her mind raced with a thousand horrifying possibilities.
"Cat got your tongue?" Doug continued, his tone taunting. "Or are you too scared to speak? You should be, Emily. You really should be."
"Why are you doing this?" Emily managed to choke out, her voice trembling. "What do you want from me?"
Doug's laugh was low and sinister, sending a shiver down her spine. "Isn't it obvious? I want you to remember who's in control here. You thought you could just leave me, move on, live your perfect little life in Paris. But you were wrong, Emily. Dead wrong."
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to let him see how deeply he was getting to her. "You need to stop this, Doug. You're sick. You need help."
"Help?" Doug sneered. "I don't need help. I'm not the one who needs help, Emily. You are. And I'm the only one who can give it to you."
Emily shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. "You're not making any sense. You're just… You're just trying to scare me."
"Oh, I'm not just trying," Doug replied, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "I am scaring you. And I'm not just watching you, Emily. I'm watching all of you. Mindy, Camille, even Gabriel. Did you think I wouldn't notice them? That I wouldn't know where to find them?"
Emily's blood ran cold, and her heart seemed to stop in her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice barely more than a breath.
"I mean, I've been keeping a close eye on your little friends," Doug said, the glee in his voice unmistakable. "You thought you could hide behind them, that they'd protect you. But they're just as vulnerable as you are, Emily. I've been watching them, learning their routines, figuring out just how to get to each of them. And when I'm ready, when you least expect it, I'm going to make you pay for what you did."
Terror gripped Emily's heart, and she felt the room spin around her. "Leave them alone, Doug. This is between you and me. They have nothing to do with this."
"But they do, Emily. They're the reason you've been so hard to reach. They're the reason you're still trying to fight me. But it doesn't matter. Because no matter where you go, no matter who you're with, I'll always be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to make my move."
Emily felt like she was going to be sick. The walls seemed to close in around her, the air in the room thick and suffocating. "You're insane," she whispered, her voice shaking with fear and desperation. "You need to stop this. You need to leave us alone."
Doug's voice was cold and final. "You should've thought about that before you tried to leave me, Emily. Now, it's too late. This is just the beginning."
The line went dead, leaving Emily staring at the phone in horror, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but the words were trapped in her throat, choked by the terror that had wrapped itself around her heart.
With shaking hands, she threw the phone down onto the bed and scrambled out of the room, her legs barely able to support her as she stumbled toward the living room. Mindy and Camille were still there, talking quietly over their champagne, but they immediately noticed the look on Emily's face.
"Emily, what's wrong?" Mindy asked, her voice filled with concern as she stood up and hurried over to her.
"He called again," Emily whispered, her voice trembling. "Doug… He's watching us. All of us."
Mindy's eyes widened in alarm, and Camille's face paled as the realization set in. "What do you mean?" Camille asked, her voice tense. "How does he know where we are?"
"He said… he said he's been watching you, and Gabriel too," Emily replied, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "He knows everything. He said he's going to make us pay."
Mindy pulled Emily into a tight embrace, trying to calm her down as she shot a worried glance at Camille. "We need to call the police, right now," Mindy said firmly. "They need to know what's going on. This is getting out of control."
Camille nodded, already reaching for her phone. "I'll call them. We'll get them over here as soon as possible."
But even as she dialed the number, Emily couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had settled deep in her chest. Doug's words echoed in her mind, a haunting promise that no matter what they did, no matter where they went, he would always be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.
And as the night wore on, Emily knew that this was just the beginning of a nightmare from which there was no escape.