Chapter 5

The message I posted in the owners' group had done its job.

I started to like my new place.

I cleaned every day. I tried out new recipes. I made the small space feel warm and cozy.

I even bought a little projector. At night, I turned off all the lights and watched movies on the white wall.

I sat on my sofa and felt like the whole world belonged to me.

For a while, I almost forgot everything bad that had happened.

That feeling lasted until late Friday night.

A strange noise woke me up. It sounded like someone was bouncing a basketball against the floor again and again.

The sound was heavy and steady.

I opened my eyes and checked my phone. It was 2:30 a.m. The noise was coming from Tiffany and Rocky's house.

I frowned. For a second, I thought I might be imagining it.

But the sound didn't stop. It kept going, over and over. In the quiet of the night, it was so clear that it made my skin crawl.

I lay there for ten minutes, hoping it would end. But it didn't.

I couldn't take it anymore, so I got out of bed.

I didn't go knock on their door or text the owners' group.

I just opened the recording app on my phone and started recording.

The noise came through loud and clear. I recorded for five full minutes before it finally stopped.

I didn't sleep well after that. The next morning, I had dark circles under my eyes.

I told myself it was probably a one-time thing.

But I was wrong.

That was just the beginning.

After that night, all kinds of noises started coming from their house. They came at all hours.

Sometimes it sounded like marbles rolling across the floor at midnight.

Sometimes it was heavy furniture dragging at five in the morning.

Sometimes loud music blasted right when I was trying to nap.

They were smart about it. The noise never lasted long.

Most of the time, it stopped right when I was about to call the manager or the police.

I could never catch them in the act.

I went to the property manager, Danny.

He spoke to them twice. Both times, Tiffany greeted him with a big smile.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "Rocky's legs aren't very good. He dropped something by accident.

"And isn't it normal for a child to play with a ball at home? We'll be more careful next time."

Her tone was polite. She made it sound like none of it was her fault.

There wasn't much the manager could do.

People made noise. That was just how it was.

But it didn't stop with noise.

The mat in front of my door was always kicked out of place.

Sometimes I found greasy stains smeared across my door.

One time, I left a trash bag outside, planning to take it out the next morning.

Someone sliced it open. Soup and oil leaked all over the floor. It was filthy, and the smell was awful.

I knew who did it. I didn't need to guess.

But I had no proof.

They kept using these small, nasty tricks to mess with me. They didn't want me to have a moment of peace.

I thought of Jeremy again, the polite young man who had seemed so sorry before.

I sent him a message on WhatsApp: [You promised me they wouldn't bother me anymore. What's going on?]

This time, he took a long time to reply. When he did, his message conveyed frustration. [Belle, I'm sorry. I really can't control them.

[I've argued with my mom so many times. Now she won't even talk to me.

[She said she's never been this embarrassed in her life, getting yelled at and losing all her dignity in front of the neighbors.

[She said if her life is ruined, she'll make sure yours is too.]

I stared at the message. My heart went cold.

His apology didn't feel real. Maybe he had just been pretending all along.

Or maybe he was just the one passing the message.

First, they tried to be nice, to make me back down.

When that didn't work, they switched tactics.

If kindness failed, they would use something worse.

The last bit of softness in me disappeared.

I replied: [Okay. I understand. If you can't control them, I'll handle it myself.]

Then I blocked him.

After that, I opened a shopping app and searched for a security camera. I picked one with clear video and night vision.

It arrived Saturday morning. I spent an hour installing it on my door's peephole.

It was small and well hidden. No one could see it from the outside.

When I finished, I checked the live feed on my phone. The image was sharp and clear.

For the first time in days, I felt calm.

I wanted to see how they would lie this time.

That night, I ordered takeout on purpose.

After eating, I left the bag outside my door as usual.