Midnight ChaseThe old clock in the hallway of the Crestwood Inn struck midnight, its chime echoing like a warning bell across the silence of the town. Aria lay awake in her narrow bed, staring at the ceiling beams as the sound faded. Sleep refused to come. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the cloaked figure in the alley, standing motionless in the fog, its unseen gaze piercing through the mist straight into her bones.Her diary lay open beside her, ink smudged where her trembling hand had written the words: “She listens.”She turned over, pulling the blanket tighter around