The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the quiet suburban street as seven-year-old Emma Parker made her way home.
Her pink backpack bounced at her side, overstuffed notebooks slipping out through the half-open zipper. A striped scarf trailed from her shoulder, no matter how many times she tried to fix it.
Everything was still—too still. No cars. No neighbors. Just the whisper of wind through the bare trees.
Then Emma saw him.

The Man in Black
He stood by the entrance to her apartment building—a tall figure cloaked in a black coat, collar turned up, scarf masking half his face. Even from a distance, he radiated something… wrong. He wasn’t waiting. He was watching.
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