Chapter 686

The lights in the corridor went off. In the dark, Maya glanced at Anderson, who remained in the car parked outside under the snow. "Start the engine," Anderson ordered. "Yes, Mr. Barlow." Just then, a voice rose from behind Mayra, startling her. "Young lady, why are you home so late? Who is that downstairs?" As Merle spoke, the sensor light in the corridor turned on. His features had haunted her dreams on many nights, leaving her traumatized. She inserted her key and forced herself to remain calm as she turned around. She faked a look of panic as she glanced at him without a word. Merle immediately explained, "Don't be afraid. I don't mean anything bad. I'm just worried about you. You're all alone, and it'll be unthinkable if someone bad kidnaps you. By the way, where are your parents? Don't they live with you?" Inside the house, Mayra tore off a page of the calendar to reveal a photo of Merle. There had been cuts left by knives in the photo. Mayra was more than capabl