The light in the living room flickered, and his shadow stretched and twisted in the most peculiar way.Tension rose in the air, and Vicky instinctively clenched her fists."I've gone through the documents," the man said emotionlessly. "You gave me the list of employees and their respective departments... Are you trying to get me to work there?"Vicky looked away. "I'm a designer, not a businesswoman. I don't know much about the company and...I thought that these were plans for Hart Corporation and copied them.""What about finance reports, bidding reports, and contracts the company had signed before?""I didn't see any.""Really?""Really." Vicky tried her best to sound as sincere as she could. "Tyler is a skeptical man, and he's going to place the important documents in encrypted files. I'm not a hacker, and I can't possibly find them. These are all I found."The man chuckled. "Vicky Shaw, do you take me for a fool?""Sir, I don't understand...""You are a designer and it is
"Next time? Do I look like someone who gives second chances?""I promise that this won't happen again—""Your promise is worth nothing to me," the masked man interrupted Vicky impatiently.He had said something similar before.When she was stuck in Forever Night, she sought his help, and he said that her gratitude meant nothing to him.Realization dawned on Vicky, and she backed away.Amused by Vicky's wariness, the man said, "You can leave whenever you want. Leave with my phone, if you want to. I have plenty of phones, and I can always replace them."He did not go after him, but his words alone were enough to push her over to the edge of a mental breakdown.Tears welled in her eyes as she muttered, "Sir, can you please...just give me one more chance?""No," he said cruelly.Despair filled her heart as she thought to herself, 'What should I do? What am I supposed to do?'Sensing that she was about to break, he drawled, "Miss Shaw, you chose this. You have no one else to blam
The next morning, Vicky was woken up by the ringing of her phone. She fumbled for her phone and answered. "Hello...""Still sleeping?" A cold, melodious voice came from the phone."Tyler?" Vicky jolted awake and said, "Is…something wrong?"After a brief moment of silence, he said, "I texted you this morning and you didn't reply, so I was worried about you."'This morning?' She repeated inwardly and glanced at the time to find that it was already twelve at noon.When Vicky did not respond, Tyler added, "I called Nanny Paterson, and she said you're not at home. Did you not go home last night?"She started panting heavily at the memories of the night before."I... I stayed in the hospital with Jennifer last night, so I didn't go home."Tyler knew that Vicky had gone to spend nights with Jennifer in the hospital in his absence and did not suspect a word she said."You've been up all night taking care of Jennifer again, haven't you?" he asked.Vicky tried her best to comb through
Vicky closed her eyes and dialed back after a few minutes.Beep, beep, beep…The call was answered shortly after, but the man did not say a word, so Vicky spoke first, "I was occupied just now and didn't hear my phone ringing."A voice altered by a voice changer came through the line. "Did you not hear it, or did not simply wish that you didn't hear it?""I didn't hear it."The man did not argue on the matter and asked, "Have you decided how you're going to accomplish your mission tonight, Miss Shaw?""Do I have to meet you tonight as well?" She panted heavily. "Are... Are you asking me to meet with you every single night?""That's right.""Tyler isn't in Stoneford City right now and I can go out to meet you, but he'll be back in a few days! By then—""How is that my problem?" interjected the man curtly.Vicky froze."I'll be waiting for you in the same hotel," said the man before ending the call without giving her the chance to react....At eight that night, Vicky remain
At first, Vicky thought that she was dreaming of Tyler, but it all felt too real to be a dream.She opened her eyes abruptly and sobered when she saw the dark figure before her.Realization dawned on her that it was not a dream, and she instantly recognized the man in her room.It was the masked man.They could not see much of one another in the dark, but their eyes reflected the light and shimmered."Why... Why are you here?" Vicky gaped at the figure.For a moment, she wondered if she was still asleep.After a few moments of silence, the altered voice echoed inside the room. "You've extended an invitation to me, Miss Shaw. I would be rude if I don't come over here.""When have I ever invited you here?!""You didn't show up at the hotel. Isn't that your way of inviting me to your house?"Vicky shivered in rage and said, "You're imagining it!""So be it," he said casually.Vicky was so shocked by the sight of the man that she forgot where she was for a moment. Realization d
'Was it all just a dream?' she thought. 'That's right. It must be.'She sat up and was about to go to the bathroom when she noticed something in the corner of her eye.She froze at the sight of a demon mask next to her bed and felt her blood run cold.Just then, her phone on the nightstand vibrated, and she unlocked it to find an unread message.[Are you coming to me tonight, or should I come to you?]All strength was instantly drained from her, and she started shivering.Since she had not replied to the message, the phone started ringing. She felt numb as she stared at the number on the screen.The call was automatically dropped sometime later, and the screen turned black.A few minutes later, the screen lit up again, but she had not answered any of the calls.She remained frozen in place and ignored the relentless ringing of her phone.She did not know how long had passed, but the phone eventually stopped ringing.Knock, knock!Just then, someone knocked on the door, and
"No." Vicky sniffled and added, "I've probably caught a cold.""Take care of yourself."Another tear dropped at Tyler's words. "Yeah. You too." Worried that she might not be able to contain her emotions, she said, "I'm about to go downstairs to eat, so let's end the call here..."Before she could hang up, Tyler called out to her, "Vicky.""Yes? What is it?""Are you really alright?""Of course," she said in the most cheerful manner she could manage. "I'm just tormented by a nightmare and haven't been able to sleep... Don't worry about me. I'll get better soon.""Okay."After breakfast, Vicky collected herself and went to visit Jennifer in the hospital.She felt dazed and did not know what she was thinking or what she should do.Everything was spinning out of control, and she had not expected the masked man to be mad enough to break into her house.Even if Tyler had been understanding, he would never tolerate her if he was told that she had been with someone else, and she wou
Vicky walked out of the hospital, but she wandered on the street instead of going home.Vicky used to feel secure at home, but it recently became suffocating to stay home as well.Honk!Hearing the honk of a car, she looked up to find a car racing toward her. She had been in her head the entire time and could not react in time, so it was too late to dodge.Screech!The car came to a sudden halt, and the people around gasped. The car was at too high a speed to stop immediately.Just when everyone thought that Vicky was about to be sent flying, someone pulled her backward abruptly, and the car raced by."Thank you." Vicky turned to look at the person who helped her.Harvey gazed down at her. "Vicky, what happened?"He had never seen her in such a terrible state before."I'm fine," she said. "I just haven’t been sleeping well."Harvey had known Vicky for long enough to spot her lie and said, "Vicky, you don't look like you're just suffering from the lack of sleep."She had not