Scrawled in shaky, blocky handwriting across a ripped paper towel were the words: Get away from him before it’s too late.

For a moment, I thought it was some tasteless joke. Maybe one of my other coworkers was being dramatic or trying to mess with me. But the uneven letters, the strange urgency of the message, and especially that last part—before it’s too late—made my skin crawl. I scanned the office, watching faces, wondering who had slipped this inside. Andrei sat at his desk, typing away like nothing was wrong. Was he pretending?

I folded the note carefully and tucked it deep into my bag, trying to act normal. But the rest of the day, my thoughts kept circling back. Who would write this? Why? And why target him?