The heavy footsteps outside the door came again.
Slow.
Once.
Then again.
Emma felt her heart pounding violently in her cheast.
"Who's there…?" she whispered.
No answer.
Then—
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A slow clapping sound echoed through the dark hallway.
Everyone turned toward the doorway at once.
A shadow slowly appeared in the corridor.
Step by step, a figure moved into the dim light.
An old man stepped into the dim light.
His white hair was soaked with rain, deep wrinkles covered his face, and his cold eyes stared directly at them. He wore a long black coat, dripping with water as if he had been standing outside in the storm for a long time.
Hena stepped back slightly.
"Who are you?"
The old man gave a faint smile,as if he had been Waiting for this moment for years.
"So… the Carter family is finally together again."
Emma's chest tightened.
"You know us?"
The old man stepped closer into the light.
"I know more about you than you think, Emma Carter."
Adrian moved forward immediately.
"Stop right there. Don't come any closer."
The old man looked at him calmly.
"You must be Adrian. Always trying to protect everyone."
Jay stood quietly near the wall, watching the old man without fear.
Emma spoke again, her voice trembling.
"Were you the one who called me?"
The old man did not answer directly.
Instead, he looked at Hena.
"You survived. That was not part of their plan."
Hena's voice shook.
"What do you want?"
The old man sighed.
"I came to stop you from making the same mistake again."
Adrian frowned.
"What mistake?"
The old man's eyes slowly turned toward Jay.
"Trusting the wrong person."
The room fell silent.
Emma looked at Jay.
Jay remained calm.
"You should be careful before believing a stranger," Jay said quietly.
The old man laughed softly.
"Stranger?"
He stepped closer.
"I was there the night Hena fell."
Emma's breath stopped.
"You saw it?"
"Yes."
Hena stepped forward.
"Then tell us what happened!"
The old man's voice became cold.
"Someone pushed her."
The air froze.
Emma whispered,
"Who?"
The old man slowly raised his hand and pointed.
"Someone who was standing very close to her that night."
Everyone turned toward Jay again.
Jay shook his head.
"This is ridiculous."
Adrian spoke firmly.
"Do you have any proof?"
The old man reached into his pocket and took out a small old recorder.
He pressed the button.
Static noise filled the room.
Rain.
Footsteps.
Then Hena's voice—
"Who are you?"
Then a man's voice—
"You should not have seen this."
Then—
A scream.
The recorder stopped.
Emma's hands began to tremble.
"That voice…"
She looked at Jay.
For the first time, Jay's face lost its calm expression.
The old man spoke slowly.
"Now do you understand?"
Jay suddenly smiled.
A cold, dangerous smile.
"You shouldn't have come here, old man."
Emma felt her stomach drop.
"Jay…?"
The old man stepped back.
"I tried to warn you."
Jay's voice turned dark.
"Too late."
Suddenly—
The lights went out.
The entire house fell into darkness.
Hena screamed.
Emma felt someone grabbing her arm.
A loud crash echoed through the house.
And the old man's voice shouted from the darkness—
"RUN!"
To be continued…