I Came Back to Make the Music Box Kill You

After Tina left, the dorm fell into an unsettling silence.Fleur placed the music box back on the top shelf of the bookcase, then turned and smiled at me. “You really overreacted today.”I forced my shoulders to relax and gave an awkward smile. “Guess I’ve been watching too many horror movies lately. That tune just feels… off.”“Didn’t expect you to be this timid.” Fleur let out a soft scoff and pulled a laptop from her drawer.“Midterms for psychology are next week. How’s your revision going?”“Not bad.” I cast a casual glance at the music box on the shelf.“But that music box really is something special. Mind if I take another look?”Fleur’s fingers paused on the keyboard. “Since when are you so interested?”“I just think the tone is unique.” I put on a curious expression. “It sounds like an old gramophone. You don’t really hear that anymore.”She studied me for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Sure. Go ahead.”She reached up, handed me the music box, her fingertips brushing the

And the girl who had died twenty years ago was very likely related to her by blood.Raine jumped.The moment Fleur rushed into the hospital, that small figure fell from the second-floor window.A dull thud.Then silence.I stood beside the spreading pool of blood, the music box still playing in my hands. The warped melody coiled into my ears like a venomous snake, impossible to shut out no matter what I did.Fleur collapsed to the ground, her lips trembling. “It’s not my fault… it acted on its own…”The police quickly sealed off the scene. A young officer took the music box from my hands. “We’ll need to take this in as evidence.”The moment it left my grasp, the melody cut off.In the hospital corridor, Alex gripped my arm, trembling. “Twenty years ago… it was the same…”“Who was Yuki?” I asked quietly.His gaze turned distant. “She… she was Miss Lane’s younger sister…”“Which Miss Lane?”“She’s…” His eyes suddenly widened. “The music box!”He pointed down the corridor. The young off

Fleur didn’t die.By the time the ambulance arrived, she was hanging from a third-floor AC unit, her right leg twisted at an unnatural angle.I stood among the onlookers, watching as they lifted her onto a stretcher.She suddenly opened her eyes and stared straight at me, a strange smile curling across her lips.She was faking it.Three days later, I went to the hospital to “visit” her.The door to her room was slightly ajar. I heard her on the phone. “...the files need to be destroyed… yes, especially the records from 1998 to 2003…”I pushed the door open.Fleur hung up in a panic. Her leg was suspended in a cast, but the malice on her face hadn’t had time to fade.“What are you doing here?” Her voice was hoarse.I set the fruit basket down and, smiling, pressed play on my phone. Her call from moments ago filled the room.Her face drained of color. “You…”“I think the police will be very interested.” I turned the phone idly in my hand. “Especially in those ‘accidental deaths’ at the o

She wasn’t dead!?At the police station, I laid out all the evidence on the table.“This is Fleur’s confession recording. These are the lab data, and the experiment records from twenty years ago.”The officer in charge of the case, Randy Chew, flipped through the files, his frown deepening. “This is enough to open a case.”“I have more.” I pulled up the last video on my phone.On the screen, Michael stood beside Raine’s hospital bed, injecting an unknown substance into her IV.“I filmed last night,” I said, my voice cold. “He was trying to silence her.”Randy shot to his feet. “Arrest Michael Lane immediately!”When I stepped out of the station, the sunlight was blinding. My phone rang.It was an unknown number.“Miss Shaw.” Michael’s voice slithered through the line. “Let’s make a deal.”“You’re not in a position to bargain.” I let out a soft laugh.“I have Raine.” His breathing was rough. “Trade the USB drive for her life.”I hung up without a word and forwarded the number to Randy.