“Anna, I’ll be on a business trip for a month. Can you go to my place and feed my cat? Oh, and the mango juice in the fridge is about to expire.” At 2 AM, I was awakened by the vibration of my phone. I picked up my phone and saw it was a message from my best friend. In the next second, I was wide awake, breaking out in a cold sweat. First, she was a freelancer, there was no such thing as a business trip for her. Second, she didn’t have a cat. Third, she was allergic to mangoes. “Anna, I’ll be on a business trip for a month. Can you go to my place and feed my cat? Oh, and the mango juice in the fridge is about to expire.” At 2 AM, I was awakened by the vibration of my phone. I picked up the phone on my nightstand and saw it was a message from my best friend, Claire Thompson. I’m a light sleeper. No exaggeration, if a pin drops on the floor at night, I’d wake up immediately. Claire had always known this, so she never sent me messages in the middle of the night. In the next second, I suddenly realized something, and all my sleepiness vanished, replaced by a cold sweat. Claire and I had known each other for over a decade. She was my best friend, and no one knew her better than I did. First, she was a freelancer, there was no such thing as a business trip for her. Second, she didn’t have a cat. Third, she was allergic to mangoes. A while ago, Claire and I watched a movie about the safety of women living alone. There was a plot where two best friends agreed on a code word to alert each other if they were in danger. “Anna, if I ever send you a strange message like that, you must come to save me.” I was panicking, instinctively wanting to call Claire. But I quickly realized that she used these abnormal words to hint at me, rather than directly telling me what happened, which could only mean that the culprit was right beside her, watching her every move. At 2:30 AM, it seemed like there was a power outage outside, everything was pitch black. In the darkness, it felt like countless eyes were secretly watching me. My heart was pounding so hard that I could clearly hear it in my ears, as if it was about to burst out of my chest. I hurriedly took some pills from the drawer and swallowed them dry. It took a while before I calmed down. After calming down, I first called Ryan, then reported to the police. Ryan is my boyfriend. He’s smart and tall. Whether it’s dealing with the police or going to find Claire, I always feel more secure with him by my side. As soon as I saw Ryan, I threw myself into his arms and started crying uncontrollably. “Don’t be afraid, Anna. I’m here. No one will hurt you anymore.” Ryan patted my back, comforting me softly. Smelling the faint fragrance on him, the fear in my heart gradually dissipated. Thankfully, I still had Ryan. About five minutes later, the police arrived too. I sat on the sofa, listening to Ryan talk to them. “Anna Johnson?” The police’s surprised voice rang out. I finally raised my head and looked towards the door. Seeing the familiar face of the lead officer, I was also surprised. It was Lucas Chen. It’s quite a coincidence. Lucas and I were old acquaintances. We were middle school classmates, and if I had to say, he was even my first love. However, the scene when we broke up was truly devastating, unforgettable to this day. We were young and didn’t know any better back then. That kind of puppy love couldn’t be taken seriously. Even so, meeting Lucas in this situation made me feel somewhat awkward. Lucas was quite professional, though. He had no intention of catching up with me. He said in a businesslike manner, “We understand the situation. We’ll go to Claire’s house now.” “I’ll go with you,” I mustered up the courage to say. Lucas glanced at me disapprovingly, his eyes seeming to suggest that I would be a nuisance. Ryan also tried to persuade me, “I know you’re worried about Claire, but this kind of thing should be left to the police.” I bit my lip and stubbornly said, “Claire is my best friend. I won’t be able to rest easy until I see with my own eyes that she’s safe. Besides, I have the key to her house. I can help.” Seeing my insistence, Ryan and Lucas had no choice but to compromise. They both knew that when I set my mind on something, I would always persist. With no other option, Lucas had to take Ryan and me along. As a standard rich kid, Claire lived in a high-end townhouse with a very comprehensive security system. Lucas immediately sent his subordinates to retrieve the surveillance footage, while he followed Ryan and me straight to Claire’s townhouse. As soon as we reached the door, we smelled the scent of blood. I couldn’t help but shudder, a sense of foreboding welling up inside me. My breathing became rapid, and I reached into my bag for the keys. The more nervous you are, the harder it is to do anything right. The keys that I usually keep in the outer pocket of my backpack were nowhere to be found today. Seemingly noticing my fear, Ryan gently hugged me from behind and whispered, “Anna, don’t be afraid. I’m here.” I took several deep breaths, barely maintaining my composure, and finally found the keys. I handed them to Lucas. Lucas looked at me with displeasure, probably thinking I was too slow. He didn’t say anything, just turned to open the door. Claire’s house was dark, and the pungent smell of blood in the air made it hard for me to breathe. I stared at that tightly closed door, inexplicably panicking, as if the next second, a man-eating monster would rush out from that dark doorway. I tightly held onto Ryan’s arm, as if this could make me feel secure. The door opened, and Lucas went in first, fumbling to turn on the living room lights. I looked towards the center of the living room with trepidation. This scene, I will never forget for the rest of my life. Claire was dead. In her own living room, in an extremely brutal manner. She was nailed to a cross in a kneeling position, her face slashed, her body stabbed countless times, blood everywhere. I screamed in terror, almost falling to the ground. Thankfully, Ryan caught me in time and took out the pills he always carries with him, handing them to me. After taking the medicine, my emotions improved a lot, but I was still crying uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault. I came too late. If only I had come earlier.” Lucas stood not far away, glaring at me impatiently, “This killer is extremely cruel. If you had come earlier, there would just be one more corpse.” I felt embarrassed. Lucas’s mouth was as nasty as before. That’s good. The police quickly surrounded the place and put up police tape. The officer who went to retrieve the surveillance footage returned empty-handed: “The cameras around have been destroyed.” I sat numbly on the steps at the entrance, feeling lost. My best friend had died so brutally in her own home. Anyone would find it hard to accept. As I was lost in thought, a furry head suddenly appeared in front of my face, scaring me out of my wits. Thankfully, Ryan was always by my side and pulled me into his arms. “Dog Egg! Come back!” Lucas called out sternly. Only then did I realize it was a police dog. “I’m sorry, Anna is afraid of dogs. Please keep the dog under control,” I heard Ryan’s displeased voice. Lucas held the dog leash, looking at me thoughtfully. I guess he was probably wondering when I became afraid of dogs. After all, when we were dating back then, we even adopted a puppy together. But people change. I was the one who reported the case, so Lucas questioned me separately as per procedure. “What’s your relationship with the deceased, Claire Thompson?” “She was my best friend.” I thought to myself, Lucas should know the answer to this question without asking. After all, the three of us were middle school classmates, and Claire and I had been closest since then. Rather than saying she was my best friend, it would be more accurate to say she was my only friend. My dad was a gambling addict who never paid his debts, and my mom ran a massage parlor in town. Yes, that kind of disreputable one. Somehow this news spread, and the whole school knew about it. No one wanted to hang out with me, except for Claire. My entire youth only seemed less gloomy because of Claire’s companionship. To me, she was more important than the parents I had long since cut ties with. “What was her job? Did she have any enemies?” “She was a food vlogger. She rarely had conflicts with people. I really can’t think of anyone who would hate her so much to kill her so brutally.” As I spoke, I choked up again and lowered my head, covering my face. “Did she have any relationship issues?” I thought carefully for a while, then shook my head in confusion, “I don’t know. I didn’t really ask about her love life.” “Weren’t you best friends?” Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. I felt a bit awkward, “Even best friends don’t tell each other everything, right?” Lucas made no comment and continued asking, “What about you? What do you do now?” I was taken aback for a moment, then answered truthfully, “I just quit my job recently. I’m unemployed now.” “Why did you quit?” “Officer Chen, do the questions you’re asking now have anything to do with Claire’s death? Or are you suspecting that I’m the killer?” I was very angry, but Lucas continued coldly, “Claire died in her home. There were no signs of forced entry on the doors or windows. The killer might be someone Claire was familiar with, someone she opened the door for, or someone who had a key to her house.” “You said you received a strange text from Claire when you reported the case, but we didn’t find Claire’s phone at the scene.” He had said this much, and of course I understood. He really was suspecting me. I laughed bitterly, “So you think that because I don’t have a stable job or income, I killed my best friend out of jealousy because she was living better than me?” “Answer my question.” His voice was devoid of any warmth. I gave in, “Fine. I quit my job because I have neurasthenia and can’t live and work normally.” I lowered my head, not wanting to see pity and sympathy in his eyes. To be honest, I felt quite disappointed that he didn’t trust me. But thinking about it, when we were together back then, he wasn’t that firmly convinced of me either. To him, I was at most a familiar stranger. Why should he believe what I say? Lucas stared at me intently, as if trying to see guilt and panic on my face. We looked at each other in silence for a long time. Suddenly, he took out an evidence bag and gently placed it on the table. “This phone, it’s yours, right?” It was an outdated old phone. The phone screen was lit up, showing a selfie of me. With Claire’s family background, she would never use this kind of off-brand phone. Her phone had always been the latest model of a certain fruit brand. I stared at that phone for a long time, then nodded, “Yes, it’s mine.” “Can you explain why your phone appeared at the crime scene?” Lucas asked. Only then did I notice that the back of the phone was stained with blood. I shook my head, “I don’t know either. To be honest, I lost this phone three years ago. The phone I’m using now was given to me by Claire.” I think my expression must have been quite ugly now.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294799”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #惊悚Thriller #重生Reborn #魔幻Magic #励志Inspiring #浪漫Romance #擦边Steamy
Leave a Reply