“Tonight we’re going to talk about a town in the mountains of western North Carolina.”
A photograph faded onto the livestream feed:
Blue Ridge ridgelines stacked in soft gray layers.
“Misty mornings. Quiet streets. The kind of place people describe as safe.”
She let the silence stretch.
“The town is called Sylva.”
The listener count ticked upward again.
8,367
“Over the past week, many of you discovered Sylva during Mystery Mountain Week—a festival built around folklore, unexplained events, and unsolved stories.”
Behind her, a quick montage appeared:
Ghost tours.
Crowds in the town square.
Camera crews near the courthouse steps.
“But sometimes,” Lila continued softly, “the most unsettling stories aren’t the ones meant for entertainment.”
The image behind her changed.
A young woman’s photograph filled the screen.
Dark hair.
Bright smile.
A toddler balanced against her hip.
“This is Caroline Simms.”
The comments began appearing in the livestream window:
who is she
new case?
a missing person?
Lila folded her hands lightly on the desk.
“Caroline Simms was twenty-eight years old when she disappeared.”
An image appeared—Caroline standing outside a small art gallery in Dillsboro.
“She waitressed at the diner in Dillsboro and picked up photography on the side—mostly family portraits and wedding photos when she could get them. And she had a one-year-old son named David.”
The numbers climbed again.
9,482
