Chapter 17: Shadows of the Past

The air was thick with humidity as Amelia sat on her apartment balcony, sipping a glass of wine while the city lights flickered in the distance. It had been a week since the harrowing night of Michael's arrest, but the fear and tension lingered like an unwelcome guest. She tried to focus on the mundane—reading a book, listening to music—but her mind kept drifting back to the strange occurrences that had begun to plague her.

It started with the phone calls—brief, silent calls from an unknown number. They happened late at night, when the city was quiet, and every time she picked up, there was nothing but silence on the other end. Then there were the notes—small, cryptic messages left on her doorstep or slipped under her door. Each one was more unnerving than the last:

"I'm always watching."

"You can't hide from the past."

Amelia had brushed off the first few notes as someone's sick idea of a prank, but as they continued, her anxiety grew. She had confided in Liam and Ethan, but neither of them could find any evidence of who might be behind the messages. The police were informed, but without concrete evidence, there was little they could do.

As she stared out at the city, Amelia couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. The sensation was so strong that it made her skin crawl, as if unseen eyes were tracking her every move. She glanced around, but the balcony and the street below were empty, bathed in the soft glow of streetlights.

Her phone buzzed, pulling her from her thoughts. She picked it up, her heart skipping a beat when she saw it was another unknown number. She hesitated, her thumb hovering over the answer button, but curiosity and a sense of dread compelled her to pick up.

"Hello?" she said, her voice shaky.

There was a pause on the other end, followed by the faintest sound—a breath, a whisper she couldn't quite make out.

"Who is this?" Amelia demanded, her anxiety spiking.

Silence.

Then, just as she was about to hang up, the voice spoke, low and haunting.

"You can't escape the past, Amelia. It will always find you."

The line went dead, leaving Amelia staring at her phone in shock. Her hand trembled as she set the phone down, her heart racing. The voice had been distorted, unrecognizable, but the message was clear: someone was still out there, someone who knew about her past with Michael—and they were toying with her.

Amelia quickly locked the doors and windows, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps. She tried to tell herself it was just a cruel prank, but the fear was too overwhelming. She needed to talk to someone, needed to feel safe again.

Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and called Liam. He answered on the second ring, his voice immediately filled with concern.

"Amelia? What's wrong?"

"There was another call," she said, her voice shaking. "And a message. They know about my past, Liam. They're taunting me."

"I'm coming over," Liam said, his tone resolute. "Stay where you are. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Amelia nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her. "Thank you," she whispered, relief washing over her.

When Liam arrived, he found her sitting on the couch, her knees pulled to her chest as she stared blankly at the floor. He crossed the room in a few quick strides and wrapped her in a tight embrace, his presence a calming balm against the storm raging inside her.

"Amelia, I'm so sorry this is happening," he murmured, his voice filled with concern. "We'll figure out who's behind this, I promise."

Amelia nodded against his chest, the warmth of his body soothing her frayed nerves. "I just want it to stop," she whispered. "I thought everything would be okay once Michael was gone, but now… it's like he's still here, haunting me."

Liam pulled back slightly, cupping her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. "He's not here, Amelia. He's locked away, and he can't hurt you anymore. But whoever is doing this, they're going to regret it. I won't let them mess with your life."

Amelia's heart swelled with gratitude, but before she could respond, her phone buzzed again. She flinched, her anxiety spiking as she looked at the screen, half-expecting another call from the unknown number. But this time, it was Ethan.

"Ethan," she breathed, answering the call. "There's been another message."

"I know," Ethan replied, his voice tense. "I'm on my way over. We need to talk."

Amelia's eyes flicked to Liam, who was watching her closely, his expression unreadable. She felt a pang of guilt for involving both of them in her chaos, but she couldn't deny the comfort their presence brought her.

Within minutes, Ethan arrived, his expression dark with concern. He greeted Liam with a curt nod, the tension between them palpable, before turning his attention to Amelia.

"Show me the message," Ethan said, his tone all business.

Amelia handed him the phone, her hands trembling slightly. As Ethan read the message, his jaw tightened, and a flicker of something dark crossed his eyes.

"This is escalating," he said, his voice low. "Whoever's doing this isn't just trying to scare you—they're trying to make you doubt everything, to make you feel like you're still trapped in that nightmare."

"I don't know who it could be," Amelia whispered, her voice tinged with desperation. "I thought it was over, Ethan. I thought I could finally move on."

Ethan's expression softened slightly, and he reached out to gently squeeze her hand. "We'll find out who's behind this," he promised. "But until we do, you're not alone in this. We'll protect you."

Liam nodded in agreement, though his eyes were fixed on Ethan with a wary intensity. "We should all be cautious," he said. "Whoever this is, they're playing a dangerous game, and we can't let them get inside Amelia's head."

Amelia looked between the two men, feeling the weight of their concern and the unspoken tension that hung between them. She knew they both cared deeply for her, but she also knew that this situation was pushing them to their limits. And as much as she appreciated their support, she couldn't help but feel like she was dragging them into a darkness that wasn't theirs to bear.

"Thank you," she said softly, her voice trembling. "I don't know what I'd do without you both."

Liam and Ethan exchanged a brief, tense glance before turning their attention back to Amelia.

"You don't have to go through this alone," Liam said gently. "We're here for you, no matter what."

Ethan nodded in agreement, though his eyes lingered on Amelia with a fierce protectiveness that made her heart ache. "We'll get through this, Amelia," he said quietly. "Together."

But even as they reassured her, Amelia couldn't shake the feeling that the shadows of her past were closing in around her, darker and more suffocating than ever before. And as the night wore on, she knew that the road to recovery would be far more treacherous than she had ever imagined.

The mystery of who was tormenting her, and why, would soon become a question she couldn't avoid. And the answers, when they came, would challenge everything she thought she knew—about Michael, about herself, and about the men she had come to rely on.