Chapter 2

The door panel hit the floor with a deafening crash. Heavy footsteps approached.

I immediately realized I couldn't afford to waste another second. Cheering myself on in my head, I clenched my jaw and began moving sideways.

My fingers burned with pain. The distance was barely seven feet, yet by the time I crossed it, my whole body was drenched in sweat.

Finally, at the exact moment Kevin opened the window to look outside, I flipped over and into the stairwell.

In the pitch-dark corridor, my strength gave out. I collapsed onto the floor and gasped for air. My eyes glistened with relief.

Comments came flooding in.

[Is Bea actually this bold? Did she really get away? What about the male lead?]

[No rush. Bea is a delicate woman. This was just a lucky escape. The male lead will still come save her later!]

I sneered at the dumb comments.

They kept calling me Bea, yet every word favored that so-called male lead. They didn't care whether I lived or died at all.

They were obsessed with that man down to their bones.

Once my breathing steadied a little, I took advantage of the fact that Andy was still searching the apartment. I headed downstairs with light, quick movements.

When I reached the first floor and saw the security door, my heart sank.

That jerk had locked it in advance. He trapped me inside the building!

The annoying comments slid across my vision again.

[Bea, stop running. Be good and find a place to wait for the male lead to save you.]

[Why does a girl need to be so strong? Isn't it better to be pampered by a man? As long as you can have kids, you'll live happily ever after.]

[The male lead is a future investment tycoon. He won't treat you badly!]

I held back my rage. With my parents' massive inheritance and their connections, even a beggar could become an investment tycoon.

A criminal social climber like Kevin didn't deserve to be called a male lead. These commenters' values were so twisted that they were beyond saving.

Every window from the first to the fifth floor was fitted with thick security bars. There was no way to escape by jumping out.

If Andy couldn't find me, he would definitely come out to search. How was I supposed to get away?

I forced myself not to look at the dumb comments and focused on thinking of an escape.

Then, my eyes lit up. The answer was obvious.

Since Andy had already searched my apartment, he would never expect me to sneak back there.

The moment the thought formed, I acted. Carefully, I headed back upstairs.

In the darkness, I held my breath and watched every step, terrified of running straight into Andy. When I reached the fifteenth floor, I heard anxious footsteps above me.

My heart skipped a beat. I took a gamble that Andy would head straight down and wouldn't linger in the corridor outside the apartments.

I hid behind the stairwell door and held my breath.

Snap!

The lights suddenly flickered on.

I listened as heavy footsteps came down from upstairs. A dark silhouette stopped in the stairwell.

Then it moved, step by step, toward the corridor. Watching that silhouette draw closer, despair flooded me. My body shook uncontrollably.

Was I really about to be caught?

The thin door panel was shoved open hard. Andy glanced at the empty corridor, then turned around and continued searching downstairs.

Right above the door panel, I was hanging in a full split and suspended high in the air. I was so nervous that my lips were pale, and my limbs trembled nonstop.

When I saw that he hadn't looked up, I finally let out a sigh and slowly lowered myself down.

Inside, I was endlessly grateful. Thank goodness I loved rock climbing and still had decent stamina. Otherwise, there was no way I would've made it this far.