The Cup, Brewed in Blood (Episode 2)

The Bitter Note
Dana’s boots echoed on the cracked pavement as she walked faster—nearly running. She didn’t dare look back. She didn’t need to. She could feel someone behind her, like breath on her neck.

She rounded the corner onto Wexley Street and ducked into a convenience store, the buzzing fluorescents a harsh contrast to the low-lit mood of The Cup. The clerk barely looked up. Dana grabbed a bottle of water, but her hand shook so violently it slipped and crashed to the floor.

The clerk flinched. “You okay, miss?”

Dana forced a breath. “Yeah. Just clumsy.”

Outside, she peered around cautiously. The alley behind The Cup was empty now. She pulled out her phone and dialed the only person she trusted, even after what she’d done.

“Aaron? It’s Dana. I—I think someone’s following me.”

A pause.

“You went back to that cafe, didn’t you?”

She hesitated. “Yeah.”

He sighed, low and disappointed. “I told you to leave that place alone. Jeremy went there too, remember? Right before…”

“I know. That’s why I went. I had to see it myself.”

Aaron’s voice softened. “Come to my place. I’ll keep the porch light on.”

As Dana walked off, a gloved hand retrieved a small phone from the shadows. The screen glowed.

LOCATION: WEXLEY STREET. MOVING.
TARGET: DANA.
PHASE TWO: BEGIN.


Elsewhere, in the quiet backroom of The Cup, the barista sat across from the man with the notepad. His name wasn’t known to most, but the staff called him Elias. His handwriting was neat, too neat for someone so calm about murder.

“She’s frightened,” the barista said.

“She’s meant to be.”

“She might talk.”

Elias smiled faintly. “Then we let her. No one listens to cheaters. That’s the irony, isn’t it?”

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a worn leather book. Inside, clipped to the pages, were more photographs. Dana and Jeremy. Another woman, older, with sharp features and tired eyes—Dana’s former colleague. And one man no one recognized.

The barista leaned closer. “Who’s that?”

“Next,” Elias said. “He was here yesterday. Took his cappuccino with oat milk. Didn’t leave a tip.”

The barista chuckled. “That’s enough to get him followed?”

“No,” Elias replied. “But cheating on your dying wife is.”

He opened a drawer beneath the table. Inside, more notes. All typed, all identical in format. All stamped with a coffee ring on the corner. A signature of sorts.

Elias tapped the one marked "Jeremy Caldwell." “This one still makes me proud. Fast. Clean. Personal.”

The barista nodded, then said quietly, “Do we really need to go after Dana? She’s not like the others.”

Elias tilted his head, curious. “You’re growing fond of her.”

“No,” she lied.

“You forget. I read people, not books.”

---

Back at Aaron’s apartment, Dana tried to calm her breathing. He offered her a glass of wine, and for a brief moment, things felt normal.

“Who else knows about Jeremy?” Aaron asked.

“No one,” she whispered. “Only you. And someone keeps sending me messages. They know things. About me. About us.”

Aaron's jaw tensed. “Then you need to disappear. Just for a while.”

Dana stood up, pacing. “No. I want to know what’s going on. I need to know who’s doing this.”

“Why?” Aaron asked. “What do you think you’ll find?”

Dana stopped, then turned to him with a cold stare.

“Maybe I deserve to be followed.”

Aaron didn’t respond. He just handed her a small card. “I kept this in case. Found it in Jeremy’s coat the night before... everything.”

Dana held the card between shaking fingers.

It was a loyalty card from The Cup.

Nine stamps.

Only one away from a free coffee.

And in small handwriting below it, not part of the original design, were the words:

“Free drink. Final sin.”

---

Outside the apartment, parked across the street, a car idled.

Inside, Elias watched the lights go out in Aaron’s apartment. He checked his notepad and smiled.

“She’s starting to see the pattern,” he whispered to himself.

He clicked his pen twice. A sound that, to him, meant *judgment had begun*.

Next to him, on the seat, was a steaming paper cup with a black lid.

Dana’s name was written across it.

Spelled perfectly.



[End of Episode 2]
Continued....