In a cozy caf� in Edinburgh, Marie sat by the glass window with a cup of coffee, a pastry, and a book. From her seat she could see the glow of Edinburgh Castle against the night sky, the city lights flickering like jewels. She was waiting for her best friend, Lucy.
Marie was completely immersed in her novel - the plot had just taken a shocking twist - when a man rose from a table two seats away and approached her.
"Excuse me," he said, voice urgent, "could I borrow your phone for a quick call? Mine fell into a puddle, and it's dead. I really need to make this call."
His hands trembled. His eyes darted from her phone to her face, as if desperate to get it into his own hands. Marie hesitated. Something about him felt off. Why her?
She suggested he ask the caf� staff if there was a landline he could use, but he shook his head quickly.
"They won't answer a landline," he insisted. "They'll only pick up if it's a mobile number."
Odd. But Marie let it slide. She knew what it meant to be introverted, private, maybe even paranoid. After a minute of his persistent pleading, she finally gave in. She unlocked her phone and handed it over.
He snatched it so quickly it felt as if her phone would never return to her hands. He paced a few steps away, tapped furiously at the screen, then pressed it to his ear and began speaking in rapid bursts.
Just then Lucy entered the caf�. Spotting Marie, she came straight to her table, dropped into a chair, and set her bag on the one beside it. Marie didn't notice - her eyes were fixed on the stranger. Lucy followed her gaze, then snapped her fingers in front of Marie's face.
"Heeyy, girly," she teased. "Didn't know you were into balding, middle-aged men."
Marie blinked and finally turned to her friend. "Hi, Lulu. Nah, you're kidding. He just borrowed my phone."
Lucy gasped, shooting to her feet so fast her chair clattered to the floor, startling the caf�. "Oh my God, he robbed you?!" she blurted.
The man turned at the commotion, muttered something quickly into the phone, then hung up. He strode back, handed the mobile to Marie, murmured, "Thank you, miss," and stormed out into the night.
Lucy stared after him. "What was that about?"
"His phone was damaged. He said it was urgent," Marie explained.
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Really Mars? I leave you for two minutes and you hand a stranger your phone? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
"I know, I know, Miss IT Girl," Marie said, rolling her eyes. "It was just a phone call. How bad could it be?"
Lucy didn't look convinced. "So bad. Let's just hope he was one of the good guys." She kept watching the man as he disappeared down the glowing street.
After the chitchat with Lucy, Marie headed home. She lived alone in a small but cozy apartment about half an hour from the caf�, with her white fluffy kitten, Mila, as her only companion. From her window she had a clear view of Edinburgh Castle, and her pride and joy - rows of white shelves slowly filling with books - gave the place warmth.
As soon as she opened the door, Mila scampered toward her. "Hey, my little cloud," Marie cooed in a childish voice, scooping her up for kisses before setting her back on the floor. She slipped off her jacket and scarf, lined her boots neatly in the closet, and dropped her bag on the table by the door. With a sigh of relief, she collapsed into her white leather sofa, the cushions squeaking beneath her. "Gooohhhsh, what a long day," she groaned.
Mila padded over, meowing expectantly. Marie chuckled. "Hungry, huh? Let me feed you." She tiptoed into the kitchen, fetched a can of food, and emptied it into the silicone bowl. The kitten devoured it as if she hadn't eaten in weeks, making Marie laugh softly. "Easy, Mila, or you'll wear more of it than you eat."
Retrieving her phone from her bag, she settled back on the couch and dialed her father.
"Hi, Dad."
"Hey, sweetheart. How's my angel doing?"
"I'm good, thanks. How are you - and Mom?"
The conversation flowed warmly, until Marie frowned at her screen. The battery icon had dropped alarmingly low. It had been at 80% when she started, and she always carried a power bank to be safe. Strange.
"Uh oh, Dad, my battery's dying. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Alright, sweetheart. Take care of yourself."
"You too. Bye."
She plugged the phone in and headed to the bathroom for a hot shower. Just as she reached the door, a notification pinged. Probably Lucy, she thought. But when she checked, it was an alert about phishing attempts and stolen information. Odd. She dismissed it and went to shower.
The steam washed away the long day, leaving her refreshed. Blow-drying her maroon hair, she slipped into the soft black pajamas her mother had gifted her last Christmas. Comforted, she curled up on the couch with dinner and a TV series, Mila stretched out beside her.
Another notification sounded. She picked up her charging phone: "Watch out for scammers." She raised an eyebrow, then shrugged it off. After rinsing her plate, she opened her laptop and worked on a university project until the clock struck past 1 a.m.
Mila was curled at the bottom of her bed in a perfect ball. "This kitten never sleeps in her own bed," Marie whispered fondly, switching off her lamp. She brushed her teeth, slid beneath the covers, and Mila immediately wriggled into her arms.
Reaching for her phone to set the alarm, Marie remembered the stranger. Did he delete the number he'd called - or leave it? She unlocked her contacts list, scrolling. A new number stared back at her, one she didn't recognize.
She frowned. Maybe he'd accidentally saved it instead of deleting it. Brushing it off, she powered down her phone, rolled onto her side, and drifted into sleep.
The next morning, sunlight filtered faintly through Marie's curtains. Mila was pawing at her face for breakfast, but Marie dragged herself out of bed slowly, still foggy from a restless night. She couldn't shake the odd dream she'd had - something about footsteps in her hallway - but she brushed it off as leftover paranoia from Lucy's warnings.
She fed Mila, brewed coffee, and reached for her phone on the counter. The battery was at 100%, fully charged, but the screen felt warm in her hand, almost too warm. She frowned, unlocking it.
A new notification blinked. Not from a friend, not even from an app she recognized. Just a message:
"We're watching out for you."
Her stomach dropped. Scam, she told herself. Just another scam. She deleted it without opening.
But unease gnawed at her. She swiped to her photo gallery, scrolling absentmindedly. Buried in the most recent folder was something she hadn't taken: a blurry photo of her apartment door. Then another, clearer one, of her living room window taken from the outside.
Her chest tightened. She checked the timestamp. Both had been taken last night.
Marie stared, frozen, before shaking her head. Maybe she had done it accidentally? But she knew she hadn't.
Mila leapt onto the table, bumping the phone from her grip. It landed faceup on the floor, screen still glowing. At the top, a new notification appeared, as if on cue:
"Nice place you've got here."
Her hands trembled as she picked up the phone, scrolling past the eerie photos. Without thinking twice, she dialed Lucy.
"Morning, Mars!" Lucy answered, cheerful as ever. "Since when do you call this early?" She laughed.
Marie tried to reply, but her throat felt tight. Fear clamped down on her words. "Lucy? can you - can you pass by my place before heading to uni? Please?" Her voice cracked, fragile, almost breaking into sobs.
There was a pause. Then Lucy's tone shifted, sharp with concern. "Oh my God, Mars, what's wrong?! Are you okay? I mean - yes, of course, I'll come. I'm on my way right now. Just? hang on."
Marie pressed her lips together, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'm fine. Just? please don't take long."
Ten minutes crawled by like hours. When the doorbell finally rang, Marie nearly ran to open it. Lucy stood there, eyes wide, scanning her face. Without a word, she pulled Marie into a hug, wiping at her tears with her sleeve.
"Talk to me," Lucy urged. "What happened?"
Marie's voice shook as she led her inside. "It started with odd notifications? then the photos? and this morning I got a message." She swallowed, tears threatening again. "It said, 'Nice place you've got here.'"
Lucy froze, her arms tightening around her friend as if to shield her.
Lucy sat beside Marie on the couch, holding her hand tightly as she scrolled back through the messages. Her usual playful spark was gone, replaced by a tight seriousness.
"These aren't just scams, Mars," Lucy said quietly. "Scams don't take pictures of your door."
Marie wiped her damp cheeks, whispering, "I know."
The phone vibrated suddenly in her lap, making them both jump. An unknown number flashed across the screen.
Marie froze.
Lucy stared at it, wide-eyed. "That's him."
The ringing filled the silence of the apartment. Neither moved.
On the fifth ring, Lucy hissed, "Answer it."
"I - I can't," Marie stammered, her hand hovering, trembling.
"Then I will." Lucy snatched the phone and pressed accept, putting it on speaker.
At first, there was only silence. Then, faint breathing. Slow, steady, unmistakably human.
"Hello?" Lucy said, her voice firm but shaky underneath. No response - just that breath, as if someone were standing right beside them.
"Stop messing with us," she snapped. "Who are you?"
Still nothing. Then, in a low whisper, the voice finally spoke:
"Don't worry. I'm closer than you think."
The line went dead.
Marie dropped the phone as if it burned her. Lucy's face drained of color. Mila hissed from the corner, her back arched, staring toward the apartment door.
A soft knock echoed through the silence.
The knock rattled the door again - firmer this time. Marie's breath came in shallow bursts, her body frozen. Mila darted under the couch, tail puffed.
Lucy sprang up, snatching Marie's phone from the floor. "If it's really him, he left a trail." Her fingers flew across the screen, unlocking developer settings and swiping into logs Marie didn't even know existed.
"Wha - what are you doing?" Marie whispered, clutching a pillow to her chest.
"Checking the last outgoing connections. He didn't just make a call - he installed something." Lucy's voice was clipped, focused.
Another knock. Longer. Slower. Whoever was outside wasn't in a hurry.
Lucy's eyes widened as strings of code flashed across the screen. "He mirrored your phone. Photos, messages, location - he can see everything."
Marie felt her stomach drop. "So he knows? we're here."
The knock turned into a scraping sound, like metal against wood.
Lucy muttered, "Not if I kill the connection first." She yanked Marie's power bank and jammed it in. "I'm going to fry the SIM, lock him out."
"Can you do that?" Marie's voice was barely audible.
Lucy didn't answer, just tapped furiously. Then she looked up, eyes blazing, and shouted toward the door:
"I'm calling the police!"
The scraping outside stopped. Silence pressed against the apartment walls.
Marie dared to whisper, "Did it work?"
The phone buzzed in Lucy's hands. A new photo appeared on the screen - angled from the TV's direction, showing both of them sitting frozen on the white sofa.
The timestamp read: 07:31, live.
Neither girl moved.
Then came the sound of footsteps, faint but unmistakable, moving away down the hallway. Step by step. Growing fainter.
The knock never came again.