Ivy’s eyes widened in horror at the sight before her. Water cascaded from the wall like a miniature waterfall, pooling on the floor in a gleaming and treacherous sheet. Worst of all, precariously perched on the wall was the electric socket, its wires dangling ominously, threatening to snap free and plunge into the watery abyss.
One spark, one misstep, and the entire room would become a deadly trap, electrifying the water and anyone who dared to enter.
Instantly, she knew this was a countdown to disaster.
“Oh my God.” Ivy’s voice was barely a whisper, her eyes fixed on the socket as if willing it to stay put. She took a cautious step back, her mind racing with the implications.
Who could have done this? And why? The water, the socket-it was all too sinister to be a mere accident.
She felt a chill run down her spine as she realized she was completely alone in the villa, with no one to turn to. Zack was gone, Emelia was nowhere to be found, and the staff seemed oblivious to the danger lurking in the shadows.
Ivy’s heart was racing now, her thoughts tumbling over each other in a desperate bid to make sense of the chaos. She knew she had to act fast, before it was too late.
The next instant, all hell broke loose. It was as if fate had declared war against her, bringing a wave of calamity. The electric socket broke free, disconnecting from the wall like a snake slithering from its nest. It fell to the ground, the sound of splashing water like a death knell tolling in her ears. She instinctively jumped on the bed, narrowly escaping the burst of shockwaves and ripples spreading with hazardous intent.
Her heart pummeled into her ribcage, as if wanting to jump out of her chest to elude the snares of horror. The zaps of electricity echoed throughout the whole room, with each sound reverberating, making every fiber of her body tingle with repugnance.
“SOMEONE HELP! HELP!” She shrieked, her voice like a wave repelling against the wall with great frequency. “HELP ME, PLEASE!”
There was no answer, just the eerie sound of lightning beneath her that inspired nothing but panic washing over her. She turned, breathless, her throat sore from screaming as she watched disaster unfold.
The pool of water continued to electrify restlessly with no sign of stopping. She clutched her chest and took a deep breath to calm her raging nerves.
Huddled up in bed, her hands wrapped around her knees as she shut herself out of the present danger.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approaching snapped her focus to the door. Whoever was coming in was at risk of getting electrified but might also be able to rescue her.
She opened her mouth to give a warning to her savior but heard a familiar voice call out.
“Ivy… Ivy, are you there?”
Her hands slumped down off her knees, her eyes sparkling with a glimmer of relief. She bounced up on the bed and responded fairly quickly.
“Zack! I’m here!” She shouted before adding the warning. “Be careful! The room is flooded, and the exposed wires are sparking.”
The door shook violently; it seemed it was locked from the outside. It was very clear the culprit had artfully prepared the snare for her.
“Zack, watch out, okay? Don’t step in the water…” She said, her voice laced with concern.
The doorknob fell to the ground with a dull thud, rippling on the pool of water beneath, followed by the door violently swinging open, the wood cracking in protest.
Ivy’s eyes were pinned on the floor as she saw the water flowing out of the room. “Z… Z… Zack, step back, step back…” She stuttered in fright, her eyes widening.
Zack jumped back to the side, ignoring her warnings. Some of the guards were right behind him. They too stepped back, with one rushing off to get something to pull out the loose socket from the water.
He returned in less than a minute and gingerly scooped up the wire with a long stick, holding it at arm’s length. After he successfully plucked the wire out of the water, Zack entered the room and gently scooped Ivy off the bed. When his eyes locked on hers, her heart heaved with uncontained emotion, her soul stirring with gratitude and relief. She wrapped her arms around his neck as they made their way out of the room.
He laid her down on the sofa, his affectionate gaze wandering over her, checking for any injuries. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice a mix of worry and concern.
Ivy nodded, unable to speak; she was just too overwhelmed with emotions at the moment to respond.
Zack exhaled in relief and enveloped her in a soothing embrace. “It’s alright, you’re safe now…”
Ivy sniffled, her eyes welling up, but she blinked away the tears, not wanting to shed a single tear. She refused to give her enemies the satisfaction of seeing her disheveled from all the peril thrown her way.
“I almost died twice today, not to mention the past dangers I luckily escaped.” She finally spoke, her voice quaking.
Zack pulled away, his eyes glinting with rising anger as his jaw tensed up a bit. “I shouldn’t have left like that…” His voice trembled slightly. Then he picked up her earlier statement, his brow wrinkling. “Twice? What does that mean?”
Ivy let out a bitter chuckle, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular. “Emelia saved my life, Zack. The food we almost had for breakfast was poisoned.”
Zack’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes narrowing in shock. “What? So you mean she did all of that to prevent… shit.” He cursed through gritted teeth.
“I told you, Zack, we need to end this by thinking outside the box. Do you understand what I mean?” Ivy said, her gaze helpless but fierce with determination. “I am going with my plan. I’m tired of all this.”
Zack ran his fingers through his hair, letting out an exasperated sigh. “All of this happened right under my nose. I just let my guard down.” He paused as a sudden realization hit him. “The call at the office was a distraction. Perhaps there is a mole… someone is betraying us…”
He sprang up from the sofa, pacing back and forth as he clenched his fists in anger. “I thought you would be safe… I thought the incident wouldn’t repeat itself, but it keeps happening, and today I was one step from losing you…” His breathing quickened as he seethed with anger.
Ivy relaxed on the sofa, all the incidents from the start replaying in her mind. What if I had eaten that meal? If I hadn’t been careful, I could have burst into the room, and the worst could have happened.
The more she drowned in her thoughts, the more her heart raced.
Zack, on the other hand, was in turmoil, fighting the urge to tear the place apart and rip out the betrayer hiding among the staff. The tension within him continued to rise, and he could not contain it any longer.
“XAVIER!” His holler echoed, prompting Xavier to quickly run out from wherever he was.
“Y… yes, Sir…” He stuttered, taken aback by Zack’s fierce gaze.
“Assemble all the staff in the building right this instant,” he ordered, his commanding undertone left no room for delay.
In a few seconds, all the staff lined up in a row, their heads hanging low, unable to stare at the unleashed fury surging through the man in front of them.
Ivy snapped out of her inner thoughts and lifted her face, her eyes scanning all the individuals in the living room. But she observed someone was missing.