1 My next-door neighbor was going out of town for a week and asked me to check on her eighty-year-old mother every day. I was just about to agree when several lines of glowing text drifted across my vision. [Don’t agree under any circumstances! The old lady passed away days ago, but the neighbor is keeping it a secret.] [She is waiting for you to walk in so she can pin the entire thing on you.] [The old lady’s bank account is missing twenty thousand dollars. She will claim you stole that too.] [A fresh college graduate, framed for manslaughter and grand theft. Your dream job will be ruined because of this.] The neighbor pressed the keys into my palm. “I’m counting on you, Naomi.” I took a step back, my hands turning cold. “I’m so sorry, Brenda, but I have to go out of town for work too.” Brenda froze. “Why?” The warm smile on her face stiffened. I gripped the phone in my pocket, my fingertips icy. “It’s a last-minute assignment from my company. There’s nothing I can do.” “Wait, Naomi, listen to me.” Brenda took a step closer, her voice growing urgent. “My boss specifically arranged this business trip for me. I can’t get out of it. You have to help me.” “I’m sorry, Brenda. My trip is already set in stone. I really can’t help.” My mind was in complete chaos as I spoke. We had been neighbors for a year, and Brenda had always been incredibly kind to me. When I first moved in and didn’t even have my kitchen set up, she brought over a plate of hot, homemade dumplings. When it rained while I was at work, she gathered the laundry drying on my balcony, folding it neatly and leaving it by my door. When I had a terrible fever, I called her at two in the morning, and she drove me to the emergency room without a single complaint, staying with me until dawn. I couldn’t understand. Why would someone who had been so good to me want to ruin my life? The glowing text continued to drift before my eyes. [Stop overthinking it. She was only nice to you because you were useful to her.] [Think back. Every single time she did you a favor, didn’t she casually mention that you should go check on her mother?] A cold dread washed over me. It was true. Every time she brought me food, helped with a package, or brought in my laundry, she would always smile and add, “My mom is home alone. If you have some free time, go keep her company for a bit.” For an entire year, I had gone to her apartment every two or three days to wash dishes, sweep the floors, and chat with her mother. [See? You were just a free nanny. She used a few cheap meals to secure a whole year of free labor.] My back felt cold. Brenda was still pushing. “Naomi, it’s just one week. Five days, even. Can’t you push your trip back?” “I can’t, Brenda. I really can’t.” She stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly pulled out her phone. A notification pinged on my screen. It was a transfer of one thousand dollars. “Take this,” Brenda said quickly. “Just help me look after her for a week, please?” [The calculations are brilliant. A thousand dollars to cover up a twenty-thousand-dollar theft.] [Do not accept the money! If you take it, you are officially in her trap. She will claim you took the money and didn’t do the job, or accuse you of stealing even more.] [Stand your ground. Do not give in.] I tapped my screen and declined the transfer. “I don’t want the money, Brenda. I really can’t do it. Why don’t you hire a professional caregiver? Or perhaps look into a temporary senior care facility?” “How could I trust a stranger?” her voice suddenly rose, sharp and defensive. “A caregiver wouldn’t look after my mother properly, and things would go missing from the apartment. You are the only one I trust, Naomi.” “But I genuinely do not have the time.” “You!” She took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing. “Naomi, let me ask you one last time. Are you really going to refuse to help me?” “I have no choice, Brenda.” Her expression darkened. “Fine. I see what kind of person you are now. I was always so good to you. I brought you food, saved your laundry, and drove you to the hospital in the middle of the night. Now, when I ask for one simple favor, you turn your back on me? I wasted my kindness on a leech.” 2 Her voice echoed down the hallway. The door to apartment 602 opened, and Mrs. Gable stuck her head out. “What’s going on? What’s all the noise about?” Brenda’s face immediately shifted, twisting into an expression of helpless grief. “Mrs. Gable, I’m begging Naomi to help watch my mother for just a week because I have to travel for work. She refuses to help, and she’s lying about having her own business trip.” Mrs. Gable frowned, looking at me with disapproval. “Naomi, Brenda has been incredibly good to you. We’ve all seen it. How can you be so ungrateful? She’s helped you so many times, and you can’t return one favor?” “Exactly,” Mr. Henderson from 603 said, stepping out of his apartment. “Young people need to understand gratitude. Brenda has looked after you plenty of times, hasn’t she?” I opened my mouth to defend myself. “No, I really have to—” “A business trip? Who are you kidding?” Brenda interrupted with a cold laugh. “You usually spend your weekends locked in your apartment, and now you suddenly have a business trip? Nobody believes that.” A suffocating frustration pressed against my chest. These people only saw the few bowls of soup she had brought me. None of them saw the dishes I had washed, the floors I had swept, or the hours I had spent keeping her mother company over the past year. I clenched my fists. “Brenda, find someone else. I cannot help you.” I turned to walk back into my apartment. “Don’t you dare walk away!” Brenda yelled behind me. “I’m going to call your company right now and ask if there’s actually a business trip.” She dialed a number on speakerphone, right in front of Mrs. Gable and Mr. Henderson. “Hello, is this the human resources department? I’m Naomi’s neighbor. I wanted to verify if she has an urgent business trip scheduled for this week?” I couldn’t hear the exact response from the receiver, but I saw the slow, triumphant curl of Brenda’s lips. She hung up the phone and turned to face me, looking like a hunter who had finally cornered her prey. “Your HR department says there is absolutely no business trip scheduled for you. You lied to me, Naomi.” The hallway fell into a tense silence. Mrs. Gable shook her head. “How can a young girl lie like that?” Mr. Henderson sighed. “If you don’t want to help, just say so. There’s no need to make up stories.” “I…” “You just don’t care!” Brenda stepped forward, grabbing my wrist so tightly her nails dug into my skin. “I treated you like family, and this is how you repay me?” I yanked my arm back. “Don’t touch me, Brenda.” “Touch you? I’d dirty my hands touching an ungrateful leech like you!” Several other doors along the corridor opened as more neighbors peered out to watch the spectacle. My face burned with humiliation. “Brenda, I told you, I cannot help you. Find someone else.” “Who am I supposed to find? My mother is eighty years old, and I have to leave for a week! What am I supposed to do?” “Hire a nanny, call your relatives, or use a care service.” “Easy for you to say!” I took a deep breath and chose to remain silent. I pulled out my keys, unlocked my door, stepped inside, and locked it behind me. Outside, Brenda began banging furiously on the wood. “Naomi! Open this door!” “Why are you hiding? Do you feel guilty?” “You ungrateful wretch! I did so much for you, and you treat me like this?” I leaned against the door, closing my eyes. My mind was racing, the glowing text echoing in my thoughts. [The old lady passed away days ago.] [She is waiting for you to walk in so she can frame you for the death.] [The security camera will show that only you entered the apartment.] [They will accuse you of stealing twenty thousand dollars.] I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. Was the mother really dead? I didn’t know if it was from illness or something worse, but one thing was certain. When Brenda asked me to watch her mother, the old lady was already gone. I pulled out my phone and dialed the police. “Hello, I’d like to report a situation. I suspect the elderly resident in apartment 601 has passed away, and her family has not reported it.” 3 The dispatcher paused for a second. “What is the address, please?” “Maplewood Apartments, Building B, Apartment 602. The target apartment is next door, 601.” “Understood. We will dispatch officers to the scene. Please keep your line open.” After hanging up, I opened my phone. The neighborhood group chat was already in an uproar. Brenda had posted a long message. [@All Neighbors, please look at this. I asked my neighbor, Naomi, to help watch my elderly mother for a week while I travel for work. Not only did she refuse, but she also lied about a business trip. I’ve always been so good to her, bringing her food, helping her, and even driving her to the hospital in the middle of the night. This is how she repays me. What an ungrateful leech!] Attached were three images. The first was a clear photo of my ID card. The second was my phone number. The third was a photo of my front door, showing my exact apartment number. [This is her information. Everyone should know what kind of person she is.] My blood ran cold. Within minutes, dozens of messages flooded the chat. “This is terrible.” “While helping is optional, Brenda really did look after her.” “Young people these days have no sense of gratitude.” “Is it really okay to post her personal ID like that?” “She brought it on herself. Anyone would be furious.” Then, stranger requests started popping up on my personal account. The first message I accepted read, “Are you the ungrateful leech from the group chat?” Another unknown number called. The moment I answered, a voice screamed, “Why don’t you go jump off a bridge?” I hung up, took screenshots of every single message, and saved them. More glowing text flashed before me. [Stay strong. Once the police arrive, the truth will come out.] [Don’t be afraid. She is the one who should be terrified.] [You are doing everything right. Keep the records, call the police, and wait.] I set my phone down, then picked it up again, my palms slick with sweat. The banging on my door continued. “Naomi! Are you going to open this door or not?” “Fine, you don’t have to watch her.” Her voice had shifted from rage to a cold, calculated tone. “I have to leave, and my mother will be left unattended. This is your fault. Since you won’t help, you will pay for her professional care.” “Ten thousand dollars.” “Give me ten thousand dollars so I can hire a service, and we’ll call it even.” I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity. Ten thousand dollars? [She is desperate.] [Ignore her. Keep the door locked and wait for the police.] I gritted my teeth, remaining silent. “Naomi, did you hear me?” “Ten thousand dollars. Consider it repayment for the favors I did you this past year. The food, the laundry, the gas money for the hospital, it all adds up to more than that anyway.” “Why aren’t you speaking? Are you feeling guilty?” I walked quietly to the door and looked through the peephole. Brenda was standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. About five minutes later, two figures in police uniforms appeared in the corridor. I unlocked the door and stepped out. Brenda sneered when she saw me. “Oh, so you finally decided to show your face?” I ignored her completely and addressed the two officers. “Officers, I have reason to believe the elderly woman in apartment 601 has passed away.”
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