I like discovering new authors. I discovered e.black's novel: fast-paced, concise, and intriguing. I really liked it. I'm sharing a chapter the author chose for me. If you like it, I'll leave the link to the book at the end. Thanks.
Chapter 1: The Disappearance
The storm raged violently over Bahía Escondido, a small coastal town surrounded by cliffs. The winds howled through the narrow alleys, while the waves crashed against the rocks with a force that seemed intent on devouring the entire port. The streets were almost deserted, save for the echo of thunder and the distorted reflections of streetlights in the puddles. It was a night when no one in their right mind would be outside.
But Alfredo Garrido had no choice.
From the fogged-up window of the El Faro café, he watched the parked vehicles through the drops sliding down the glass. It was impossible to distinguish much through the darkness and the rain, but there was something about that black SUV parked across the street that unsettled him. Ever since he began investigating the case, Alfredo felt like he was being followed, although he had never been able to confirm it.
He quickly paid his bill and left, his coat pulled up to his neck, holding a brown envelope tightly to his chest as if it were his only lifeline.
The icy wind hit him immediately, soaking him instantly. He hurried to his car, an old sedan with salt-worn paint. He got in clumsily and slammed the door, glancing in the rearview mirror before starting it. The engine coughed, as it always did, but that night the sound seemed louder, almost too obvious in the darkness.
"It's just paranoia," he said quietly to himself, as if trying to calm himself would be enough to ward off his fear.
As he started the car, he didn't notice the black SUV turn on its lights and follow him at a distance.
Adriana Vega sat in front of her computer, the cursor blinking on the screen as her mind wandered among the papers covering her desk. Her small apartment was completely filled with work: photographs of a mining accident, old newspaper clippings, and handwritten notes hung on a large corkboard on the wall, connected to each other with red threads. She had spent the entire week investigating a report on political corruption, but her mind kept returning to the mystery that had been haunting her for years: her brother's disappearance.
The light on her phone broke the silence. It was a text from Alfredo:
"I found something big. Much bigger than we thought. See you tomorrow. Bahía Escondida is not what it seems."
Adriana read the message three times. Something in the words unsettled her, a kind of urgency or desperation she didn't usually associate with Alfredo. He had always been the optimist on the team, the guy who sought out scandals with an enthusiasm that bordered on recklessness.
She texted him back: Are you okay? What did you find?
There was no reply.
She tried calling him, but he didn't answer. "Maybe he's busy," she thought, though a feeling of unease was already beginning to settle in her chest. She looked out the window at the empty street and listened to the wind whistling. The storm was raging, as if the sky itself were about to shatter.
The next morning, Bahía Escondida woke up to disturbing news: Alfredo's car had been found abandoned near the pier.
The pier was deserted when Adriana arrived. The police had cordoned off the area, but that didn't stop curious onlookers from gathering behind the yellow tape. Adriana, accustomed to flouting protocol, avoided the officers' gaze and got close enough to peer into the car.
The driver's door was open, and the back seat looked messed up, as if someone had been desperately searching for something. On the floor, soaked by the previous night's rain, lay an empty envelope.
Adriana swallowed. She recognized that envelope. Alfredo used it to transport important documents, evidence he didn't want to leave in digital format. The absence of the contents alarmed her more than anything else.
"He left of his own free will," said a police officer on the other end of the tape, as if trying to convince the curious. "Probably a simple case of escape."
Adriana gritted her teeth. She knew that line all too well. They had said the same thing when her brother disappeared, and years later she still didn't know what had really happened to him.
On her way home, she kept going over Alfredo's message. "Bahía Escondida is not what it seems." What had he meant by that? As she searched her mind for answers, she found something she hadn't expected: an envelope identical to Alfredo's in her mailbox.
She opened it with trembling hands. Inside was only a piece of paper, with a single word written on it:
"Caution."
