Chapter 20 - The Uninvited Guest
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It was the night of The Open Door Project’s annual fundraising gala. The event was hosted in the glass atrium of a historic downtown building I had personally helped renovate. Over two hundred guests attended, including prominent community leaders, legal advocates, and survivors we had assisted over the years.
The evening was a resounding triumph. We raised over one hundred thousand dollars for emergency legal defense funds.
As the crowd began to thin out around eleven o'clock, Julian stood near the stage, talking with the catering director. I walked over to the coat check near the quiet rear entrance to retrieve my blazer.
The hallway was dimly lit, away from the chatter of the main hall.
As I reached for my coat, the heavy service door at the end of the corridor clicked open. Cold night air rushed into the hallway.
A figure stepped out from the shadows, wearing a dark coat, his face obscured by the low light.
He took three slow, deliberate steps toward me, his hands buried deep inside his pockets. As he passed under the corridor light, my breath caught in my throat.
It was Caleb.
He looked thinner, his eyes hollow and bloodshot, but a terrible, familiar smile played on his lips. He looked around the sleek, beautifully lit atrium, then locked his gaze onto mine.
"Nice place you built here, Marina," Caleb whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of rage and obsession. "You always were so good at building things..."
He took another step closer, his right hand slowly sliding out of his coat pocket, pulling out a heavy, dark object.
May you like
"Caleb," I said, my voice steady, though my blood ran cold. "You shouldn't be here."
"I told you on our wedding morning," Caleb grinned, his eyes gleaming with unhinged intensity, "a wife doesn't get to walk away until the story is finished."
