After gathering all the evidence she had stored in her closet, Juliette hurried downstairs and flagged down a passing taxi. She ensured no suspicious person was watching her before getting into the cab. Juliette finally felt safe when the taxi merged into the busy streets.
With a sigh of relief, Juliette leaned her back against the seat. Her eyes observed the bustling road filled with vehicles. On the sidewalks, pedestrians in formal attire walked briskly, some busy on their phones. In contrast, others stared straight ahead, trying to avoid bumping into others.
Juliette wondered, among all the people she saw and encountered, if they could be going through the same ordeal as her. Having a psychopathic stalker terrorize them constantly? Was she the only one? Juliette questioned whether she was alone in this nightmare.
Her phone chime interrupted her thoughts, breaking the silence in the taxi. Juliette glanced at the driver, who seemed indifferent to her presence, before pulling out her phone. Her face turned pale upon seeing the notification. Her entire body trembled as she read the name of the sender.
Private number.
Juliette didn’t want to open the message, but curiosity gnawed at her. After mustering the courage, she tapped the notification, and the message opened. At first, she couldn’t process the words, but her heart raced wildly when she did.
“Turn back. Don’t defy me, Kitten. This is your warning.”
Juliette shook her head, her lips quivering. But she couldn’t stop. She needed to report everything that had happened. She wanted protection. Protection from the psychopathic man obsessed with her.
Her phone vibrated again. At first, Juliette wanted to ignore it, but fear compelled her to open the message. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Bad Kitten. Do you think reporting me to the police will stop me from claiming you? Think carefully. Turn back and go to your apartment.”
Juliette couldn’t believe it. “How does that bastard know my intentions?” she asked herself. Her phone chimed again. Another message came in, and Juliette opened it.
“I can hear you, Kitten. You’ve grown bold, haven’t you? Bastard? Want me to show you what a real bastard looks like, Kitten?”
Juliette frantically searched the taxi for a microphone or device the man might be using. Her phone vibrated again, and she received another message from him.
“You won’t find anything in that taxi. Do you really think switching phones would get rid of me? Think again, Kitten.”
Juliette gasped as realization hit her. In a panic, she threw her new phone to the floor of the taxi. Her body trembled with fear. She started to piece it all together. The only one who knew about her plan was herself, so how did he know? Unless he heard it himself. She had spoken her intentions aloud near her new phone. Just like her old phone, the man had hacked and bugged it. He used the microphone and camera to monitor her.
Then… Juliette remembered the video that played on her phone, a sign that the psychopath had already tampered with it. Panic surged through her, but she couldn’t afford to be weak now.
She was almost at the police station. Juliette would report the man with all the evidence in her bag. Resolute, Juliette ignored the man’s insane warnings and retrieved the phone from under the seat. She quickly stuffed it into her bag, covering it with other items like her makeup, wallet, etc.
Juliette placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. After all this, she would hurry home and take shelter in her apartment. She had already stocked enough food for a whole week.
As the taxi approached the New York Police Department, Juliette received another message from him.
“You’ll face the consequences, Kitten. The punishment for defying me.”
Juliette closed the message and paid the driver. She exited the taxi and headed toward the building’s main entrance. Her phone chimed again with a new message, but Juliette ignored it. She went to the reception desk and filed her complaint. Only after her report was being processed did she open the message she had ignored earlier.
Juliette’s face turned ghostly white upon reading the message.
“You’re truly a naughty kitten. Mark my words, Kitten. If you defy me, someone else will suffer. Like right now.”
Her whole body shook as she saw the photo attached to the message.
It was a picture of Daisy, bound and hanging from the ceiling, her face covered in deep cuts. Her clothes were partially torn around her abdomen, where Juliette saw a letter carved into her skin.
The letter D.
Master D.
Daisy appeared unconscious, her eyes tightly closed. Blood dripped from her legs, forming a large, horrifying pool on the floor. Juliette bit her lower lip, holding back a hysterical scream. Her entire body trembled with terror.
“Miss? Miss? Are you alright?” A police officer passing by noticed Juliette’s visibly terrified state and stopped to check on her.
Juliette blinked and shook her head quickly before rushing out of the police station, ignoring the calls from the officer and the receptionist who came along with a detective.
Her chest felt tight. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, her vision blurring. Juliette’s phone rang. She swallowed hard when she saw who was calling.
“Hello? Mom? What’s wrong?” Juliette asked, trying to keep her voice calm. She didn’t want her mother to suspect anything. She guessed the call was related to Daisy. Sure enough, she heard her mother sobbing on the other end of the line. “Mom? Don’t scare me. What’s happened?”
“Daisy… she… she’s missing… I… I don’t know what happened… suddenly Daisy couldn’t be reached…”
Juliette paused for a moment, hoping it wasn’t true. “Maybe Daisy is busy and couldn’t answer her phone.”
“No. No, Ette. She would’ve answered her mother’s call. We’ve tried calling her multiple times, and she hasn’t picked up.”
Juliette tried to hail another taxi, but no one stopped for her. “Alright, Mom. I’ll be there soon.”
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Ette. Hurry here.”
“I know, Mom. Don’t worry. Calm down. I’m on my way.” As soon as she hung up, Juliette ordered an Uber. Her heart was far from at ease with everything that had happened. Juliette feared Daisy would suffer the same fate as her other friends before.
If that happened, Juliette’s guilt would only deepen.
….