Run: 2026-02-20-01KHYA7QE86EK4DX8AWVAQPDK3

**VOICE SHEET: SCENE – THE CAFE CONFRONTATION** **Setting:** A quaint, sunlit café in Alborn, MN. The air smells of fresh-baked pastries and coffee. Isabella sits at a small wooden table, her camera open beside her, her fingers tracing the lens thoughtfully. The camera’s viewfinder reflects the autumn leaves outside. Hunter, in his rumpled detective’s coat, leans against the table across from her, arms crossed. --- ### **DIALOGUE** *(Hunter clears his throat, shifting uncomfortably. Isabella doesn’t look up immediately, her expression distant.)* **HUNTER:** *(in English, blunt and direct)* "You’re the new girl. Study abroad?" *(Isabella’s fingers freeze. She looks up slowly, her dark eyes wide—shocked, then wary. She speaks rapidly in Italian, her voice trembling.)* **ISABELLA:** *(panicked, urgent)* *"No! No, no, no… I don’t understand! What do you want? Why are you asking me? I didn’t do anything!"* *(Hunter blinks, then frowns, confused. He tries again in English, slower.)* **HUNTER:** "I’m Detective Hunter. I’m looking into the disappearances. You’ve been here a few days—you know anything about them?" *(Isabella’s breath hitches. She clutches her camera, her knuckles white. She speaks in a hushed, frantic whisper, her words stumbling over each other.)* **ISABELLA:** *(desperate, pleading)* *"Disappearances? No, no! I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just came here to take pictures—of the trees, the lake, the—"* *(her voice cracks)* *"the people! I didn’t see anything strange! I swear!"* *(Hunter leans forward slightly, his voice low and serious.)* **HUNTER:** "Then why are you so shaken up?" *(Isabella’s eyes dart around the café, then back to him. She swallows hard, her voice dropping to a whisper.)* **ISABELLA:** *(whispering, urgent)* *"Because I saw something… yesterday. Near the old mill. A man—he was hurt. He was bleeding. I took a picture—"* *(she gestures weakly to her camera)* *"—but then he was gone. Just… vanished. Like he never existed."* *(Hunter’s eyebrows shoot up. He exhales sharply, rubbing his temples. He tries to process this, but his confusion is clear.)* **HUNTER:** *(frowning, frustrated)* "Wait—you’re saying you saw someone injured near the mill, and then they disappeared? You didn’t call the police?" *(Isabella shakes her head vehemently, her voice rising slightly.)* **ISABELLA:** *(frantic)* *"I didn’t know what to do! I thought maybe he was okay, or maybe I was imagining things! But then… then I saw the news! The disappearances! And I realized—"* *(her voice breaks)* *"—I didn’t help him. I didn’t do anything!"* *(Hunter stares at her for a long moment, then sighs, running a hand through his hair. He pulls out his phone, checking it.)* **HUNTER:** *(muttering, to himself)* "Damn it. I gotta check this out. You sure you didn’t see anything else? His face, his clothes—anything?" *(Isabella shakes her head, her expression haunted.)* **ISABELLA:** *(softly)* *"I’m sorry. I don’t know anything else. But I’ll look at my pictures again. Maybe I can help."* *(Hunter nods grimly, then straightens up, his voice firm but leaving no room for argument.)* **HUNTER:** "Good. Stay here. I’ll be back." *(He turns to leave, then pauses, glancing back at her.)* **HUNTER:** *(cold, professional)* "Don’t leave town." *(Isabella watches him go, her hands trembling as she clutches her camera. The café’s chatter fades into a distant hum as she stares at the door he just walked through.)* *(Hunter’s phone rings as he steps outside. He answers abruptly, his voice low and urgent.)* **HUNTER:** *(into phone, distracted)* "Yeah? What? … No, I’m still at the café. … Okay, I’ll be right there."* *(He hangs up, his expression darkening. He turns back toward the café, his jaw set, before striding toward his car.)* --- **END SCENE.**