I Kept Finding Gifts on My Doorstep With No Name—But What the Security Camera Revealed Made Me...

The first gift appeared on a Tuesday morning in late September, wrapped in cream-colored paper with a silver ribbon that caught the early light streaming through my condo hallway. I almost stepped on it as I rushed out the door to catch the MAX train downtown. A small card was tucked under the ribbon with just two words written in careful script: "For Natalie. " No signature.

No return address. Nothing to indicate who had left it there. I thought it was sweet at first, maybe something from Vanessa playing a prank or my brother Lucas trying to cheer me up after my breakup with Andrew six months earlier. The box contained an expensive vanilla candle from a boutique shop in the Pearl District, the kind I'd mentioned wanting during a girls' night conversation weeks before. I texted my closest friends asking who the mysterious gift fairy was, but everyone denied responsibility with varying degrees of curiosity and amusement.

But before we jump back in, tell us where you're tuning in from, and if this story touches you, make sure you're subscribed because tomorrow, I've saved something extra special for you! The second gift arrived four days later. This time it was a book, a first edition hardcover of my favorite novel that I'd been searching for online but hadn't purchased yet because of the price. Again, the cream paper, the silver ribbon, the simple card with my name. I stood in my doorway that Saturday morning holding the book, feeling the first uncomfortable prickle at the base of my spine that something wasn't quite right.

The thoughtfulness felt invasive somehow, too specific, too informed about preferences I hadn't shared publicly. By the third gift, a pair of emerald earrings that matched a dress hanging in my closet perfectly, I installed a security camera above my door. What that camera revealed three weeks later would turn my world into a nightmare I'm still trying to wake up from. My name is Natalie Harper, and I've spent the past seven years building a career as an architect specializing in sustainable design here in Portland, Oregon.

I moved to the city from Seattle right after graduate school, drawn by the creative energy of the architecture scene and the promise of a place where innovation met environmental consciousness. Portland felt like home in a way Seattle never quite did, despite growing up there. The rain didn't bother me, the coffee was exceptional, and the community of designers and artists I'd found at Evergreen Design Studios gave me a sense of belonging I'd been searching for. I'm the kind of person who plans everything meticulously.

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