Chapter 1

I usually fell into a deep sleep right after saying goodnight to Edwin, but tonight was different. I lay there, eyes shut but wide awake.

When I opened my eyes, a row of comments scrolled across the ceiling.

[Don't sleep! The killer is already outside your door.]

[Is this the second male lead's first love who died young?]

[Yeah, that's her. The killer is her neighbor upstairs.]

My heart skipped a beat.

Killer? Second male lead? What the hell were they talking about?

The comments kept scrolling.

[They were such a perfect match. It's heartbreaking that death tore them apart right before their wedding.]

[The second male lead was madly in love with her. Even seven years after she passed away, he's still single.]

[I swear, I want to beat the author up. Why can't they just give the second male lead a happy ending? He and Erica were so in love.]

[This is too heartbreaking. I can't take this part anymore.]

My boyfriend, Edwin Reed, and I had been childhood sweethearts. We'd been together for years, and lately, we'd been talking about getting married.

Were they talking about Edwin?

Then that meant I was the girlfriend who died young?

And upstairs, there was this middle-aged guy—huge, intimidating, with a scowl that could send chills down one's spine. The neighbors all said he was a recluse, and everyone avoided him.

Was he the one who was gonna kill me?

I shot up in bed, turned on the light, and rubbed my eyes. The comments were still rolling across the ceiling. This was real, not a hallucination.

Every single word was telling me I was going to die.

Terror gripped me. The night was so quiet, it felt like every sound was turned up to max.

I heard the sound of a key sliding into the lock, and then the door slowly opened.

How the hell did the killer get a key to my apartment?

The comments spelled it out for me.

[This is seriously disturbing. That neighbor got fired, his wife caught him cheating and dumped him, and then his mom died.

[Before he targeted Erica, he even tortured and killed some kittens. It wasn't enough for him, so he set his sights on her next.]

[Unbelievable. He even swiped Erica's keys and made himself a copy. He'd been planning this for ages.]

Suddenly, I remembered that morning last month when I ran into that guy in the elevator. He bumped into me and gave me this weird, unsettling stare, but I was rushing to work and didn't think much of it.

That night, Edwin came over to cook for me since I was working late. He told me he'd found my keys lying right outside my door.

I thought I'd just dropped them in my hurry that morning, but it turned out that the killer had swiped them when I wasn't looking.

Not long ago, Edwin found a few kittens that had been tortured to death downstairs. He said the scene was just too much for him, so he asked me to take care of them instead.

That day, I'd noticed that guy sneaking around nearby. Turned out, he was the one behind it all. The kittens were his victims, too.

Panic hit me as I scrambled out of bed and fumbled to lock my bedroom door.

The footsteps grew closer, and I didn't dare make a sound. My legs were so weak that I could barely stand.

He stopped just on the other side of my bedroom door, jiggling the handle, but the lock held firm.

He must've seen the light shining through the crack, because his creepy, chilling laugh seeped in from the hallway.

Suddenly, a deafening crash rang out. I looked up and saw an axe slam down, splintering the door right in front of me.

An axe. That was his weapon!

I screamed in terror, my eyes darting around the room. That was when I spotted the dumbbells I'd bought ages ago. They had been gathering dust in the corner.

Back then, I didn't know the first thing about working out, so I just picked out two 6.6-pound dumbbells without thinking.

But when you were staring death in the face, desperation brought out things you never expected.

Now I clung to those dumbbells I'd never even wanted to touch for dear life.

The killer took a few steps back and then charged at the door with all his might, slamming into it until it burst open.

He lunged at me, his face twisted in a vicious snarl. I smashed the dumbbell at him, but it was way too heavy, so all I hit was his thigh.

He let out a blood-curdling scream, but instead of backing off, he just got even more crazed, lunging at me again.

I was just about to swing the other dumbbell when he beat me to it, bringing the axe down hard on my shoulder.

Pain shot through me, and the dumbbell clattered to the floor.

The comments: [Oh my god, Erica's got guts, but she's way outmatched by the killer.]

[For real, the guy's huge and jacked. She doesn't stand a chance against him.]

I backed into the corner, trapped with nowhere left to run.

"Go to hell!" the killer roared.

He swung the axe again and again, over and over, until everything went black.

With a flash of white light, I shot awake, finding myself right back in bed.

Comments went absolutely wild.

[They were such a perfect match. It's heartbreaking that death tore them apart right before their wedding.]

[Oh my god, that's terrifying. The killer chopped her up with an axe over and over. Seriously, it's a nightmare. Edwin's gonna be crushed.]

[The killer's already outside your door. Think fast!]

Was I... back again?

There was barely any time for me to react or even try to survive.

Forget figuring it out. If I couldn't take him head-on, I had to run.

I scrambled out of bed in the dark, grabbed a dumbbell, and pressed myself against the wall by the door, hiding.

I heard knocking, the door opening, and then footsteps getting closer...

The killer grabbed the bedroom doorknob and shoved the door open.

I timed it just right and swung the dumbbell with all my strength at his wrist. While he was still stunned, I made a break for the front door.

Hope of making it out alive was right there. I didn't waste a second. Forget the elevator, I dashed straight for the stairs.

But when I got there, I found a lock slapped right on the stairwell door.

This door had never been locked before, and someone had clearly done it on purpose.

The killer was so thorough and sneaky. He'd blocked my way out before I even had the chance.

With no other options left, I bolted toward the elevator.

But halfway there, more comments flashed across the ceiling.

[Damn, the elevator's broken, too. There's no escape.]

My heart plummeted. I spun around, and the killer was almost on top of me.

The motion sensor light flicked on, and his face looked even more twisted and menacing in the harsh glow.

"Ha, tonight's my lucky night. You can't escape!" he jeered.

The axe came crashing down, and I shut my eyes in utter despair.