The moment you stepped into the dimly lit study, you knew something was off. The silence was unnatural, pressing against your ears like a warning. Across the room, Cassie watched you, her sharp gaze pinning you in place.

"You’re late," she said, flipping a page in the file before her.

"I didn’t know I was expected,” you replied.

Cassie’s lips curved slightly. "You were always going to come. You’re too curious not to." She tapped the chair across from her. "Sit."

You hesitated, then slid into the seat. The library smelled like ink and old paper.

Cassie pushed a file toward you. "Five disappearances. No bodies. No obvious connection." Her fingers drummed lightly on the table. "But there’s a pattern."

You flipped through the pages. Five missing persons reports, each eerily similar in their vagueness. No signs of struggle. No forced entry. Just… gone.

"Their last-known locations," Cassie prompted, watching you closely.

You turned to the map inside the file. Dots marked each person’s disappearance. At first glance, they were scattered, random. But as you traced them with your fingertip, something clicked.

"They form a spiral."

Cassie’s lips pressed together. "And at the center?"

Your stomach dropped.

"Quantico," you murmured.

Cassie didn’t nod this time. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small, worn notebook. "I found this in Agent Sterling’s office this morning.”

You opened the cover. The first page contained a list of names.

The five missing people.

And at the bottom—

Your name.

A chill ran through you. "What the hell is this?"

Cassie’s voice was steady, but there was something unreadable in her expression. "That’s what I was hoping you could tell me."

Your pulse pounded as you flipped through the pages. Notes, symbols, scattered entries in different handwriting. Some of them were scratched out so violently the paper had torn. Then you found the last entry. The ink was fresh.

One left.

Your hands tightened on the paper. "This was written recently."

Cassie exhaled. "I know."