The blonde girl froze.
She hadn't even opened the box.
Hadn't shown its contents.
Hadn't explained where it came from.
Yet the antique shop owner had immediately told her to leave.
Not only that—
he had practically thrown her out.
The abruptness of it all left her momentarily speechless.
She had always been mild-tempered.
Confrontation wasn't her specialty.
Unfortunately—
not everyone in her group shared that trait.
"What the hell did you just say?"
Lucas immediately stepped forward.
The tall white college student rolled up his sleeves.
His expression darkened.
"Say it again if you've got the guts."
Seeing things escalating, Paxton hurried forward.
"Lucas, wait—"
Unfortunately, Paxton's athletic ability was approximately equal to a sack of potatoes.
Before he even reached Lucas, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Thankfully, Grant reacted quickly and grabbed him.
The black college student stepped between Lucas and the counter.
"Calm down."
"We still have tonight's party."
"If you get arrested because of something this stupid, the entire trip is ruined."
Lucas frowned.
His fists clenched.
Then loosened.
As irritating as the shop owner's words were—
Grant wasn't wrong.
"Grant's right."
Peggy also spoke up.
The brown-skinned Indian girl crossed her arms.
"Let's just leave."
One after another, the others echoed the suggestion.
Eventually—
Lucas snorted.
Then turned around and headed toward the door.
The rest followed.
All except one.
The blonde girl remained standing before the counter.
"Hailey?"
Another blonde woman waiting outside looked confused.
"You aren't coming?"
Hailey turned toward her friends.
"I just want to ask him why he said that."
"I'll be right out."
The blonde woman outside sighed.
"Fine."
The group stopped just beyond the entrance.
Meanwhile—
Lucien glanced briefly toward the speaker.
The girl's name was Ellis.
A coincidence.
Nothing more.
For a second he had thought of the elderly medium he'd worked with before.
This Ellis clearly wasn't related.
Pretty face.
Empty head.
A completely different person.
"No need to rush her."
A Latina girl shrugged casually.
"Hailey has always been obsessed with occult stuff."
"This isn't anything new."
"That's true."
The others nodded.
"Ghost stories."
"Tarot cards."
"Astrology."
"Haunted houses."
"She likes all that weird stuff."
Hailey ignored them.
Her attention remained fixed on Lucien.
"Why did you say those things?"
Lucien looked up from behind the counter.
"About the box."
"You haven't even seen what's inside."
"I have."
Hailey blinked.
"What?"
"You opened it."
"It's a tarot deck."
"Though the artwork is unusual."
Lucien stared at her.
"Only unusual?"
The question made Hailey hesitate.
Her mind drifted back to what happened yesterday.
To celebrate a friend's birthday—
they had rented a large villa.
The party started normally.
Music.
Food.
Alcohol.
Then—
they ran out of beer.
The tragedy of every college gathering.
So naturally—
they began searching the house.
Someone suggested the owner must have hidden extra alcohol somewhere.
That search eventually led them to a locked basement door.
A sign reading DO NOT ENTER hung from it.
Lucas broke the lock.
Nobody objected.
Inside—
they discovered a room filled with strange objects.
Books.
Candles.
Symbols.
Astrological charts.
Tarot decks.
Occult decorations.
The box had been sitting quietly on a shelf.
Then the owner returned home.
The moment he discovered they had entered the room—
he exploded with rage.
The argument that followed ended with everyone being thrown out.
In the chaos—
someone grabbed the box.
Only later did they realize it had ended up with them.
Returning to the present—
Hailey frowned.
"What exactly is wrong with it?"
Lucien folded his scripture shut.
Then looked directly at her.
"Would you normally use a random tarot deck from an unknown source?"
"...Probably not."
"Then why use this one?"
Hailey opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Because she didn't actually have an answer.
Lucien continued calmly.
"The deck carries a strong evil presence."
"Anyone who uses it carelessly is inviting death."
Hailey's eyes widened.
For a moment—
she felt a chill.
Then reason quickly returned.
After all—
what he was saying sounded ridiculous.
Evil tarot cards?
Cursed objects?
People dying from divination?
It sounded like something from an old horror movie.
Or a scam.
Yet—
something about Lucien's tone bothered her.
He wasn't trying to scare her.
He wasn't selling anything.
He wasn't asking for money.
He simply sounded certain.
"...Really?"
"Most people wouldn't notice."
Lucien's answer came immediately.
Hailey's eyes lit up.
Most people wouldn't notice.
But you would.
The more she thought about it—
the more dramatic the entire conversation seemed.
It sounded exactly like something a mysterious fortune teller would say before charging hundreds of dollars.
Was this guy taking advantage of her curiosity?
Lucien could practically see the doubt forming on her face.
Not that he cared.
He had already done more than enough.
"Those who believe live."
"Those who don't believe die."
"If you want to survive—"
"Be careful."
At that exact moment—
voices came from outside.
"Hailey!"
"Hurry up!"
"We need to go!"
Hailey glanced back.
Her friends were already waiting.
After a moment's hesitation—
she picked up the box.
Then headed toward the exit.
Lucien didn't stop her.
He simply reopened his scripture.
Experience had taught him a simple truth.
No matter how clearly danger was explained—
some people would still sprint directly toward it.
Young people especially.
The moment someone told them not to do something—
they suddenly became experts on why it was perfectly safe.
Lucien didn't know the details.
But he could already smell the plot from a mile away.
This was obviously the beginning of another supernatural disaster.
The setup was too textbook.
Three men.
Four women.
Different ethnicities.
College students.
A mysterious cursed object.
A secluded villa.
All the ingredients were present.
If he included himself—
the cast would even become four men and four women.
Perfect symmetry.
Almost artistic.
The only question now was—
how many of them would still be alive when they came back?
Outside the shop—
the group resumed walking.
Peggy immediately looked toward Hailey.
"What took so long?"
Her tone carried obvious annoyance.
Hailey sighed.
"I just asked why he said those things."
"He didn't seem crazy."
"A normal person doesn't tell strangers they're going to die for no reason."
That caught everyone's attention.
"What did he say?"
Madeline asked.
The Latina girl's curiosity instantly awakened.
Hailey hesitated.
Then repeated everything.
Word for word.
Silence followed.
For approximately three seconds.
Then—
the entire group exploded with laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
Lucas nearly doubled over.
"Evil tarot cards?"
"Seriously?"
Ellis laughed so hard tears appeared in her eyes.
"That's incredible."
"He actually said that?"
The others were equally amused.
Even those who weren't laughing openly wore expressions of disbelief.
In their minds—
Lucien had instantly transformed from eccentric antique dealer to full-time scam artist.
Lucas pointed toward Paxton.
"Your dad was right."
"That guy really is some kind of psychic."
His sarcasm was obvious.
"Evil powers."
"Next he'll tell us Bloody Mary is real."
More laughter followed.
Peggy leaned toward Paxton.
"You should talk to your father."
"If he wants religion, tell him to go to church."
"Listening to random antique dealers isn't healthy."
Paxton scratched his head awkwardly.
He honestly didn't know what to think anymore.
His father had never cared about religion before.
Yet recently—
he had become strangely interested in spiritual topics.
At the time, Paxton assumed it was stress.
Now—
he was beginning to suspect his father had met Lucien.
"I've definitely seen him somewhere before."
Madeline suddenly snapped her fingers.
The memory finally surfaced.
"The antique appraisal show."
"The sarcastic guy."
Grant immediately nodded.
"Right."
"I remember now."
"He embarrassed a bunch of people on television."
Lucas snorted.
"A famous scammer."
"Interesting."
Everyone laughed again.
Everyone except Hailey.
She looked down at the wooden box in her hands.
The memory of the basement resurfaced.
The moment she opened the lid—
a cold gust of wind had swept through the room.
At the time she thought it was her imagination.
Now—
she wasn't so sure.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
"...I still think we should return it."
The others turned toward her.
Hailey tightened her grip on the box.
Then quietly added:
"I don't know why."
"But I have a really bad feeling about this."