Gemotions

The email arrived, a digital intruder in his carefully curated life. A local history buff, detailing the house's past. A young woman, missing, never found. He reread the words, each sentence a hammer blow. He’d prided himself on his meticulous nature, his research before every purchase. How had he missed this?

He got up from his desk, the chair scraping against the floor. He paced the length of his living room, his footsteps echoing in the sudden silence. He stared at the newly hung artwork, wondering if it was just him that felt that the air had changed. The colors seemed duller, the brushstrokes somehow menacing. He felt a tight sensation in his chest, as if a physical weight had been placed upon it.