A Stranger Told Me My Daughter Was Following Me
CHAPTER 2 — THE BACKPACK
The room fell silent the moment the officer unzipped the little rabbit backpack.
It wasn't filled with toys.
No crayons.
No snacks.
No spare clothes.
Instead, there was a thick manila envelope.
A burner phone.
Three hundred dollars in twenty-dollar bills.
And a folded sheet of paper.
Officer Daniels exchanged a look with his partner before carefully unfolding it.
His expression changed immediately.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
He simply turned the page toward the manager.
Printed across the top in bold black letters were six words.
IF FOUND, DO NOT CALL POLICE.
Nobody breathed.
Below that was a typed list.
Her name is Lily.
Age: 5
Food allergies: peanuts and shellfish.
She does not know her real birthday.
She believes her mother's name is Emma.
My name.
Emma.
My knees nearly gave out.
"I've never seen this child before," I whispered.
Officer Daniels nodded.
"I believe you."
He continued reading.
If Lily says you're her mother... let her.
Do not correct her.
She has been trained to trust only one face.
"What does that even mean?" the manager asked.
Nobody answered.
The officer flipped the page.
On the back was a single photograph.
A woman standing outside a playground.
The picture had clearly been taken from far away.
The woman's face wasn't completely visible.
But the coat...
The blue scarf...
The ponytail...
My blood turned to ice.
It was me.
Not someone who looked like me.
Me.
Standing outside Riverside Park.
Exactly one week earlier.
I remembered that day.
I'd taken my lunch break there after a stressful morning at work.
I'd bought coffee.
Sat on a bench.
Answered emails.
I hadn't spoken to a single child.
Yet someone had photographed me.
Without my knowledge.
Officer Daniels looked up.
"Were you at Riverside Park last Tuesday?"
"Yes."
"How did you know?"
He held up the picture.
"I... I don't understand."
Neither did anyone else.
Lily had buried her face against my arm.
She refused to look at the photograph.
The second officer carefully picked up the burner phone.
"No SIM card."
"But it's charged."
He pressed the power button.
The screen lit up instantly.
There was only one saved contact.
No name.
Just one number.
Before anyone could stop it—
The phone vibrated.
Everyone jumped.
Incoming Call.
Unknown Number.
The room seemed to shrink.
Officer Daniels answered on speaker.
"This is Officer Daniels with—"
A distorted male voice interrupted him.
"You weren't supposed to call the police."
The room froze.
Daniels straightened.
"Who is this?"
Silence.
Then the voice laughed.
A slow, unsettling laugh.
"Is Lily still with Emma?"
Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
"Who is Emma?" Daniels demanded.
"The woman she's holding onto."
"How do you know that?"
Another pause.
"We've been watching her."
Every hair on my arms stood up.
Watching me?
Since when?
"For how long?" Daniels asked.
No answer.
Instead, the voice said quietly,
"You should leave the store."
Officer Daniels motioned for another officer to begin tracing the call.
"We're not going anywhere."
"You have thirty seconds."
Click.
The line went dead.
The officer cursed.
"Disposable internet connection."
"No location."
No sooner had he spoken than the emergency lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the store's power failed completely.
Darkness swallowed the office.
Someone outside screamed.
Another person shouted,
"The front doors!"
The emergency generator kicked in, bathing everything in dim red lighting.
Officer Daniels drew his weapon.
"Everyone stay inside."
A crash echoed from somewhere near the entrance.
Then another.
Store security shouted over their radios.
"Someone just rammed the front doors!"
My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Lily suddenly clung tighter.
"They came."
I looked down.
"What?"
"They found me."
Her tiny body was shaking violently.
Officer Daniels knelt beside her.
"Who's coming, Lily?"
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"The people from the park."
Outside the office, footsteps thundered through the grocery store.
Fast.
Heavy.
Running.
Then—
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Someone was pounding on the office door.
Not knocking.
Trying to break it open.
The manager backed against the wall.
Another officer took position beside the frame.
The pounding grew louder.
Then stopped.
Complete silence.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
Officer Daniels slowly reached for the handle.
He pulled the door open.
The hallway was empty.
But taped neatly to the wall opposite the office was a single white envelope.
Fresh.
As though it had appeared out of nowhere.
The officer carefully removed it.
Inside was another photograph.
This one had been taken less than a minute earlier.
It showed the office door.
Taken from inside the store.
Everyone standing exactly where they were.
Including me.
On the back, written in black marker, were six words that made my blood run cold.
May you like
YOU WERE NEVER THE TARGET.
SHE WAS.
