Juliette couldn’t go on like this. She was living in suspicion that would never end until the psychopathic man decided to appear before her. She had to find out the identity of that man and report him. She had to do all of this if she wanted to be free. Juliette didn’t want there to be another victim like Daisy. Just because she defied and did not obey that man’s orders, he could easily hurt those closest to her.
If she had to investigate on her own, Juliette didn’t care. She just wanted her life to return to normal without being shadowed by terror. For five years, she had been haunted by fear, and now it had to stop. Juliette could go insane if this continued to happen to her.
With that thought, Juliette contacted Leo. Her boyfriend had friends who were experts in the field of investigation. Juliette had to trust them because she had only gotten to know all of Leo’s friends a year after she officially became his girlfriend. She walked back and forth in the bathroom of one of the guest rooms. Quietly, she asked a servant to buy her a simple phone. Juliette gave special instructions that no one should know, other than her and the servant, about the phone’s existence.
Once Juliette had the phone, she immediately called Leo using the new number, naturally making Leo wonder about her. Juliette decided to trust Leo. Even if Leo were that psychopathic man, Juliette wouldn’t lose anything by sending him to prison later. Juliette paused when the dial tone connected, and her call was answered.
“Henry,” Juliette whispered cautiously. “It’s me, Juliette.”
There was a note of surprise in Henry’s voice when he said, “Juliette? What’s wrong? Are you looking for Leo?”
“No. No. I need your help.”
“My help?”
“You used to work in PI, right?”
“Private Investigator? Of course, but that was two years ago. Why? Did something happen?”
Juliette glanced toward the bathroom door. She opened her mouth to answer Henry’s question, but her breath caught when she heard the bedroom door open, followed by footsteps. Juliette shuddered as she heard those footsteps that seemed meant to intimidate someone. The footsteps were then accompanied by a whistle that, for some reason, made the hair on the back of Juliette’s neck stand on end.
Filled with fear, Juliette covered the phone in her hand and, tiptoeing to avoid making any noise, walked to the corner of the bathroom. She huddled in fear, hoping her anxiety was unfounded. There was no way that the psychopathic man could enter the De Lavigne residence, right? Right? It was impossible unless the man disguised himself as someone and wandered around this large house.
Juliette shook her head quickly. That possibility existed, but it was tiny. It wasn’t easy to be on staff at the De Lavigne residence. She tried to think positively, but why wouldn’t her heart calm down? It was racing faster when she realized the footsteps had stopped right before the bathroom door. Juliette could see the shadow of someone from the gap under the door.
Her eyes scanned wildly around, searching for a hiding place for herself. There was no harm in hiding even if, in the end, the fear she felt was entirely unfounded. Juliette had to remain alert wherever she was. Her gaze was directed toward the bathtub. That place was spacious enough for her to hide. She could lie there and wait until whoever was outside left. “Hello, Juliette?”
“Henry,” Juliette whispered very softly. “Meet me at D’moon restaurant near my studio at noon. I’ll be waiting.” After saying that, Juliette hung up the phone and covered her mouth.
She took a deep breath as the whistling sound that had briefly stopped was heard again, and Juliette had to hold her breath when the bathroom door opened. The dark atmosphere of the bathroom turned bright as the opened door triggered the bathroom light sensor to turn on.
“Kitten.” Juliette’s breath caught when she heard that soft murmur, which she had memorized very well. But how could it be?
Juliette closed her eyes and hugged her body tightly, trying to feel safe in such a terrifying situation. “Don’t do anything that might trigger my anger. Remember that.”
Juliette pressed her mouth shut even tighter. She didn’t want to make a sound at all. Hoping whoever that man was, he wouldn’t realize her presence, although that was just a wishful thought.
“Be a good girl.” Then the bathroom door closed tightly again, plunging Juliette back into darkness.
Her whole body trembled, and it took twenty minutes to emerge from her hiding place. Juliette gripped the edge of the bathtub tightly. Tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs but held herself back.
Carefully, she got out of the bathtub. Her legs felt weak but could still support her weight. Juliette stumbled towards the door and slowly turned the knob. Juliette returned to her bedroom after ensuring she was alone in the guest room. Her hand clenched her phone tightly. Her eyes were tightly shut, but when Juliette opened her eyelids, she caught sight of something on her bed.
Juliette bit her lip to suppress a scream when she saw a photo of her two friends sitting together in a cafe. Surrounding the photo were red rose petals arranged to form the letter’ D.’ Juliette kept murmuring the word “no” repeatedly, and her heart raced uncontrollably when her phone rang loudly.
In a rush, Juliette shoved her ‘secret’ phone into her pants pocket and ran toward the phone on the nightstand. She slid her finger over the green button on the screen and, trembling, brought the phone to her ear. “My beautiful Kitten, wouldn’t it be such a pity if I had to hurt your two lovely friends?”
“No… please… don’t hurt them. You can do anything to me, but don’t touch my friends. I beg you…”
Juliette shuddered upon hearing the man’s wicked laugh, indicating that he was indeed a crazy psychopath. “Don’t even think about doing what’s on your mind right now, my dear.”
“I…”
“Or do you want another surprise visit from me? I truly don’t mind. I can touch you.”
“I beg you… just tell me what you want from me? Do you want money? I’ll give it to you. Please don’t disturb me.”
“Sit in the chair I’ve prepared.” Juliette initially didn’t understand what the man meant, but moments later, she noticed a chair near the balcony door. The chair faced the balcony door and had its back to the bedroom door, making Juliette suspicious. “Kitten.”
Juliette carefully walked towards the chair with her phone still pressed against her ear. After sitting comfortably, she flinched when the call was disconnected. She didn’t know what the man would do, but Juliette couldn’t do anything other than comply with his wishes.
Before long, Juliette heard her bedroom door open and footsteps, just like the ones she had heard a few minutes ago. Juliette gasped when a silk cloth was placed over her eyes, plunging her vision into darkness.
Juliette’s entire body trembled with terror as a man’s rough hand touched her exposed shoulder and arm. Every hair on her body stood on end as his warm breath brushed against her neck and cheek. The man didn’t speak to her at all because Juliette was fully aware and not under the influence of drugs as she had been two nights ago.
Juliette opened her mouth to scream, but it was immediately covered by a giant hand, silencing her cries. The trigger for this was the cold, sharp object that pressed against her skin. Juliette guessed it was a knife. She inhaled sharply as the knife’s tip pressed slightly against the side of her neck but did not break the skin. At that moment, Juliette realized that Master D was warning her.
Quickly, Juliette nodded her head, understanding the man’s intent. She felt the knife’s tip move away before disappearing.
With her mouth still covered by the man, Juliette let out a sigh of relief. She realized he wouldn’t hurt her, as there had been many opportunities for him to harm her, yet he hadn’t. Even so, the psychopathic man didn’t hesitate to use a sharp object to threaten her.
“Good girl,” the man whispered in a hoarse, deep voice. He purposely spoke in a way that made it difficult for Juliette to recognize his authentic voice.
After saying that, Juliette felt a sting in her neck, and shortly after that, she lost consciousness and slipped into the subconscious realm.
…