The maid's lips parted softly as she spoke, dread and fear laced through every trembling syllable.
"She is lying in her own blood."
For a second, just one second, time stopped, Alex froze.
The words echoed in his mind, over and over again, like a curse he couldn't silence.
His heart slammed violently against his chest, each beat louder than the last.
The laptop in his hand slipped, dangling dangerously close to the floor before the maid hastily caught it.
But Alex didn't notice.
He had already moved. Every vein in his body pulsed with raw fear as he shot forward, his long strides eating up the distance in seconds.
The maid scrambled after him, her breath uneven.
"Where is she?" he barked, his voice sharp, cutting through the hallway as he reached the end, only to find nothing.
Nothing, not even a ghost.
"Over there…!" the maid stammered, pointing with a shaking finger toward the staircase.
