Whispered Shadows

Chapter Nine

The Weight of Shadows

Ryder

The room feels heavier now that Noa has fallen asleep. I lean against the desk, staring at the timeline I've spent years piecing together. It's a mess—half-complete theories, dead ends, and unanswered questions—but it's the closest I've come to understanding what happened to Gia.

And now, Noa is in the middle of it.

I scrub a hand down my face, trying to push back the frustration boiling beneath the surface. Noa's brave façade might fool most people, but not me. I saw the way her hands trembled when she showed me that text, the way her voice wavered when she asked about Gia. She's scared, even if she refuses to admit it.

I can't blame her.

The burner phone buzzes on the desk, jolting me from my thoughts. I grab it, half-expecting another taunt from whoever's targeting Noa. But it's not a message—it's a call.

The number is blocked.

I hesitate for a second before answering, my voice cold. "Fox."

Silence. Then a low, distorted voice comes through the line, the words laced with mockery.

"Digging through old memories, Ryder? Tsk, tsk. Thought you'd know better by now."

My grip tightens on the phone. "Who the hell is this?"

The voice chuckles a sound that sets my teeth on edge. "You're wasting your time. Gia's story ended three years ago. Stop dragging her sister into this, or you'll regret it."

"Is that a threat?" I snap.

"It's a warning." The line goes dead.

I throw the phone onto the desk, my pulse hammering. Whoever this is, they're watching us, tracking our moves. And they know more about Gia's disappearance than they're letting on.

I turn back to the timeline, my eyes scanning the notes and photos for something—anything—I might have missed. The picture of Liam Carter catches my eye, his smirk practically daring me to look closer.

If anyone knows what Gia was mixed up in, it's him. But tracking him down has been damn near impossible. He's a ghost, slipping through every lead I've chased.

My laptop is open on the desk, the screen filled with case notes and surveillance footage. I pull up the file on Liam, scrolling through his arrest records and known associates. There's nothing recent—no sightings, no arrests—but his name keeps popping up in connection to underground circles in the area.

If he's still alive, he's hiding. And that makes me wonder: is he running from whoever took Gia, or is he working with them?

A soft knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. I grab my gun from the desk, tucking it behind my back as I approach the door.

"It's me," Noa's voice calls from the other side.

I thought she was still sleeping in the bedroom. What is she doing awake?

She slips inside, Piper trailing behind her, and glances at me with a raised brow.

"Always this paranoid?" she asks, dropping her bag onto the bed.

"Only when I've got someone to protect," I reply.

Her teasing smirk fades, replaced by a seriousness that doesn't belong on her face. "Did you find anything?"

"Not yet," I admit, sitting back down at the desk. "But I got a call. Blocked number, distorted voice. They warned me to stop digging."

Her piercing blue eyes widen, but she crosses her arms, masking her fear with defiance. Her puffy pink lips pull in a little, "And you're not going to, right?"