THE INTRUDER

~Kelsey

My mother's old mansion towered before me, its once brightly polished walls were now covered in vines and dust. It looked like something out of a nightmare.

Goosebumps pricked my arms as memories of the summer nights I had spent baking with my mother in the kitchen flooded my mind. She took me here whenever she wanted to get away from my father, this was our safe space.

And now, I had to sell it.

"The town’s offering a lot of money to tear it down," the housing director sneered as he stubbed out his cigarette against the rotting porch railing. "You’d be smart to take the deal before I use my office to get you out."

Just great, another threat from another strange man.

"I’m not tearing down my mother’s home. I’ll live here until I find a buyer," I said firmly.

He chuckled, shaking his bald head. "Good luck finding someone to buy this dump."

I didn’t care what he thought. I needed this house on its feet. I would never tear down the last memory of my mother I had left. I would sell it to someone who would preserve it and it if I can't, I would live here til I take my last breath.

~

Three weeks, a broken arm and over a thousand dollars later, the mansion had started coming back to life.

I had sunk several hundreds of dollars into repairs, watching pieces of my childhood crumble under hammers and drills. Renovating the house felt like tearing away the last traces of my mother but it had to be done in order to make it liveable.

The emptiness in my heart became worse in this house.

It wasn’t just the loneliness. It was the silence. I didn't believe in ghosts but this house felt haunted.

Sleep was almost impossible no matter how much I worked myself during the day.

Every time I closed my eyes, memories of Marcus dying flooded my mind and I always woke up in fear, covered in sweat and plagued with the worst kind of migraines..

Tonight was no different.

I groaned and reached for the bottle of Advil on my nightstand. My fingers knocked it off the edge of my dresser.

"Damn it," I muttered as the pills scattered all over the ground.

I flicked on the nightlight and a dull yellow glow filled the room.

I searched frantically for the bottle but the dumb thing had rolled far from the bed.

My body froze and my fingers stopped wandering immediately my nose caught the harsh smell of tobacco in my room.

It clashed with the lavender candle I had burned earlier, thick and pungent like someone had been smoking in my room for hours.

My stomach twisted and a chill ran down my back.

Someone was in here!

My eyes darted toward the corner of the room and I was beyond right.

I gasped in fear as my eyes caught a pair of shiny leather shoes reflecting the pale glow of the night light.

A man sat in my armchair, legs crossed, watching me with keen eyes.

A scream tore from my throat as I scrambled for my blanket, yanking it over my half-naked body.

He didn’t move or speak, he just sat there and watched.

The dim light caught the tattoos on his hands and neck as he brought a cigar to his lips, inhaling deeply before exhaling a slow, deliberate cloud of smoke.

"Who are you?" My voice shook as I reached for my phone. "How did you get in here?"

He studied me like a predator sizing up its prey before it strikes.

"Answer me!" I demanded.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was hoarse, deep, and unsettlingly familiar.

"Good to see you, Kelsey Grace."

"Who the hell are you?" I screamed in terror, my body completely shaken by fear.

His gaze remained fixed on me. "I’ve been looking for you. Good to see you’re alive and well."

Blood drained from my face.

"Looking for me?" My hands tightened around the phone. "Why?"

He leaned forward, his presence suffocating.

"Where is my cousin?"

Cousin?

My breath caught in my throat. Had they finally found me?

Panic surged through my veins.

"I—I don’t know what you’re talking about," I replied, my lips quivering as I spoke.

"Don’t play games with me, Kelsey," the intruder growled.

I shook my head frantically. "I swear, I don’t know!"

"Where. Is. Marcus?"

My heart slammed against my ribs. This was it. I was finally going to pay for my sins.

"We’ve been divorced for months," I lied, trying to sound as confident as possible.

He chuckled dryly, rising from the chair. He was over 6 feet tall and he had a slender but buff frame.

"I know what you did, Kelsey," he whispered as he inched closer to my bed.

My whole body went rigid and beads of sweat began forming on my forehead.

He stepped closer, his stroqng cologne suffocating me.

"Debts have a way of calling themselves due. And when they do, they don’t ask politely."

He reached for my face, but I jerked away.

"I will take what you owe, piece by piece, until there’s nothing left for you to give."

Before I could respond, he pulled away and walked out of the door.

The second the door slammed shut behind him, my hands flew to my phone and I dialled 911.

My thumb hovered over the call button.

Calling the cops would only bring more trouble and more questions.

And I had too many secrets to answer for.

I sighed in resignation and slipped out of my bed. I had to handle this by myself without involving anybody.

I picked up an old lamp and went after the intruder.

I listened carefully for footsteps or opening doors. The house was extremely silent but the smell of smoke still hung in the air.

Every floorboard groaned beneath my weight as I tiptoed toward the front door. I tested the lock and checked for signs of forced entry.

My pulse slowed, he had gone. The coward must have slipped out while I was still in my room.

I froze in my tracks as the kitchen light flicked on and a door slammed shut.

Someone was still inside!

Panic surged through me as I bolted back up the stairs, my feet barely touching the ground.

I locked my bedroom door, shoved my dresser in front of it and curled beneath my blankets, the lamp clutched to my chest.

I spent the night listening, waiting, but he never returned.

~

A sharp ringing of my doorbell jolted me awake.

The ringing continued for several minutes and progressed into loud banging.

I scrambled to my feet, my heart pounding against my ribs.

It was almost noon and even though the weather was still quite dull, I could audibly hear cars zooming by.

I rushed to the front door, a small knife tucked in the waistband of my pyjamas.

I opened the door to find a woman sitting on the porch.

She was perfect. Petite, blonde and dressed in a sleek business suit with matching heels.

Her gaze flicked past me, scanning the house like she already knew what she’d find inside.

"Hello, Kelsey. I'm Melissa," she introduced herself, extending her manicured hand.

"I represent Mr. Alessandro. He’s interested in purchasing this property."

My gut twisted.

Alessandro? Who the hell was that?

"My boss also wants you to maintain the property," she added, handing me a check. "The salary is... generous."

I stared at the five-figure deposit scrawled in ink and my eyes almost popped out of my head.

I had never seen so much money in my life.

I should have been happy but I couldn't shake the odd feeling in my guts.

The money was too much for such an easy job.

But I was desperate.

I forced a smile and took the offer.

As we signed the last papers, she slipped me a black card.

"He said it's important you attend."

Melissa turned and left, her heels clicking against the pavement.

As she drove off, I turned the card over in my hands.

A name I’d never heard before stared back at me in elegant, embossed letters.

Alessandro Vernetti.