Chapter 3 – Strange Noises
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CHAPTER 3
INT. OAKWOOD APARTMENTS – NIGHT
Lena jolted awake.
Her bedroom was pitch black, the silence pressing against her ears.
But something had woken her.
She turned her head slowly toward the alarm clock. 3:12 AM.
A sound.
A whisper.
Low, barely audible, but unmistakable—coming from inside her apartment.
Her breath hitched.
She strained to listen, every nerve in her body on edge. The faint rustling of fabric. The soft creak of the wooden floor.
Someone was here.
Lena's fingers trembled as she clutched the sheets.
She wasn't imagining it.
Something shifted in the dark, just beyond her line of sight. A faint creak—the sound of weight pressing onto the wooden floor.
Her throat tightened.
Slowly, she reached towards her phone on the nightstand.
But just as her fingers brushed the screen—
Silence.
The room went eerily still.
Lena held her breath, pulse hammering.
Then—a sharp click.
Her closet door slid open an inch.
A rush of cold terror shot through her veins.
She shoved herself upright, fumbling to switch on the bedside lamp. Light flooded the room.
Nothing.
The closet door was open just a sliver, revealing nothing but darkness inside.
No footprints. No sign that anyone had been there.
But she knew.
She felt it.
She wasn't alone.
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THE LOCKED DOOR
Hands shaking, Lena grabbed the heaviest book from her nightstand and crept toward the closet.
With a deep breath, she yanked the door fully open—ready to swing.
Nothing.
Her clothes hung neatly inside. The cardboard boxes she hadn't finished unpacking were untouched.
And yet…
She knew damn well she hadn't left the closet open.
A shudder ran through her. She turned quickly, moving toward her bedroom door, needing to check the front lock.
When she reached the main door, her stomach dropped.
The deadbolt was unlocked.
Her breath came faster now. Had she forgotten to lock it before bed?
No.
No, she was sure she had.
A sudden thought clawed into her mind—was someone inside right now? Hiding? Watching?
Her gaze flickered toward the hallway.
And that was when she saw it.
The faintest shift of movement from under the bathroom door.
A shadow.
Someone was inside.Lena's breath caught in her throat.
Before she could react—
Knock. Knock.
A sharp, deliberate rap against her apartment door.
Her stomach twisted. Who the hell would be knocking at this hour?
Swallowing hard, she forced her feet forward and peered through the peephole.
Damien.
Standing there, perfectly still. His expression unreadable.
Lena hesitated—but when she turned back toward the bathroom door, the shadow was gone.
The air in the apartment felt heavier.
Heart pounding, she unlocked the door and pulled it open just an inch.
Damien didn't blink. "You look pale."
Lena's grip on the door tightened.
"There was… someone in my apartment." The words felt strange coming out of her mouth, unreal.
Damien tilted his head slightly. "Did you see them?"
She hesitated.
"No," she admitted.
His lips curled in something that wasn't quite a smile.
"Then how do you know they were real?"
Lena stared at him, pulse erratic.
Something in his tone—**calm, almost amused—**made her question herself.
Had she imagined it?
Had she dreamed the whole thing?
A flicker of doubt crept into her mind.
Maybe she was just exhausted. Maybe the stress of moving, the eerie atmosphere of this place, was getting to her.
Damien studied her a moment longer, then reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a key.
Her key.
Lena's blood ran cold.
"You dropped this earlier," he said casually, handing it over.
Lena took it with numb fingers.
But as she stared at him, a single, terrifying thought gripped her—
What if she hadn't dropped it?
What if he had taken it?