CHAPTER 3 — The Face on the Screen
The mysterious man disappeared into the narrow alley just seconds before the police car sped past the intersection without stopping.
Sofia stood frozen.
Only then did the fear finally catch up with her.
Her knees trembled.
Her hands shook so badly that she almost dropped her backpack.
An elderly woman suddenly rushed out of a nearby apartment building.
"My goodness, sweetheart... are you okay?"
Sofia couldn't answer.
She simply nodded while staring toward the alley where the stranger had vanished.
Within minutes, her parents arrived after receiving a frantic phone call from the woman.
The moment Sofia saw her father, she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.
"I thought he was going to take me..." she whispered.
Her father held her tightly.
"You did exactly what you were supposed to do."
That evening, detectives came to the family's home.
They carefully listened as Sofia described every detail she could remember—the black coat, the dark hat, the cold eyes, the way he matched every step she took.
Then the elderly woman spoke up.
"I recorded him."
Everyone turned toward her.
She handed over her phone.
"I saw the little girl stop in the middle of the street. Something didn't feel right, so I started filming from my balcony."
The detectives immediately copied the video.
The footage clearly showed the stranger following Sofia for nearly four blocks.
More importantly...
Just before he ran away, the camera captured his face.
One detective suddenly froze.
His expression changed instantly.
"I know this man."
The room fell silent.
He quickly opened his laptop and searched through a confidential database.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
The faces matched perfectly.
The detective slowly looked up.
"This isn't some random stranger."
"He disappeared eight years ago."
Sofia's mother frowned.
"What do you mean... disappeared?"
The detective took a deep breath.
"He was the prime suspect in several attempted child abductions across three different states."
"But before we could arrest him..."
"He vanished."
"No one has seen him since."
The room became completely silent.
Sofia realized something terrifying.
If she had simply run home that afternoon...
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The man would have known exactly where she lived.
And he might have come back.
