“Open the door now!”
My back pressed against the wood, and my whole body went numb from the pounding. I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood. The sudden ding of a message jolted me; fumbling, I dialed the police.
When I gave the address, the officer hesitated a moment, then answered quickly, “We just happen to be doing a routine check at the hotel next door. Hold on three minutes, we’ll be there.”
The thugs overheard and cursed. “Weren’t the cops supposed to be done with their sweep and back at the station? How are they still here? And this close!”
“Fuck it, kill her! Only then do we get the final payment!”
They kicked the bathroom door hard, then took turns hacking and pounding at it with knives. The whole room trembled. The semi-transparent glass threw back their snarling shadows; terror tried to drag my soul out of my body.
With a crash, the glass shattered across the floor. One thug stretched a hand toward me.
At the last critical moment, several policemen rushed in with guns and subdued the thugs almost instantly.
“Is it you, Fiona?”
I looked up, and the leader was my ex-boyfriend, Archer Scott.
The thugs were taken to the station for overnight interrogation, but they kept insisting they had acted only out of lust, denying any other motive.
“There was no employer at all!”
“She dressed so slutty, clearly trying to seduce me! Why arrest just us brothers and not her?”
“Your captain knows this bitch, I’ll accuse you of favoritism and corruption!”
I trembled with fury, rolling up my sleeves, wanting nothing more than to slap them.
“You’re slandering me! At the hotel, you clearly said there was an employer! Officers, you must help me!”
Archer’s face was serious, but he gave me a steady, reassuring look. The two men stuck firmly to their story of lust, offering no clue about any employer. In the end, Archer arranged for someone to escort me back to a nearby hotel.
“The hotel is right next to the station. If anything happens, call me.”
I nodded and thanked him.
Reuniting with an old acquaintance stirred a storm of emotions in me.
Back then, when I had taken him for beef noodles and we uncovered the dismemberment killer, Archer had earned a third-class merit and a bright future. But he had also betrayed me; I had seen him lying in bed with another woman with my own eyes.
With a policewoman accompanying me, I arrived at the hotel. After checking in, my phone buzzed.
[Sister Fiona, open the door, it’s Diane Stuart.]
[Brother Felix went to a symposium and didn’t have time, so he sent me to check on you.]
Diane was my attending doctor, the one who had guided me through IVF. The three little charm packets had all been opened, and the dangers Grandma had warned about should have already passed. Could this mean I could finally live a normal life?
At that thought, the corners of my lips lifted into a small, unguarded smile, and I opened the door. Diane carried several large bags, and I took them from her hands.
“We’re old acquaintances, no need to be so polite.”
Diane smiled warmly. “Oh no, these are all necessary.”
I smiled as I invited her in, but the moment my eyes fell on the bag, my smile froze. Inside was a thick roll of white plastic sheeting.
When I reached further, my fingers pressed against a large roll of black tape. Digging deeper, I touched something cold and sharp. The blade cut into me, a sting of pain shooting up my hand as a thin line of blood slid down my finger.
On my still-lit phone screen, a message from Archer appeared. [They confessed. The employer is Diane.]
