Chapter 1

I stared at the message, my hands and feet going numb.

In my first life, I turned the man down, and he strangled me to death after accusing me of cheating on him. In my second life, I said yes, only for him to drag me into an alley and stab me more than a dozen times.

Saying yes would get me killed, and so would saying no. This time, I didn't reply. I immediately locked the door, shoved the dining table against it, then grabbed a kitchen knife and called the police.

"Someone is trying to kill me. He's outside my apartment building right now."

The dispatcher's tone immediately turned serious. "Who is he? Is he armed?"

"His name is Caden Vane. He's my online boyfriend. He knows my exact address, and he has serious violent tendencies."

"Have you ever met him in person?"

I opened my mouth.

I had. But that had been in my previous life.

"No. But I have a photo of him."

"Don't open the door. Officers are on their way."

Every second of waiting seemed to stretch endlessly. I kept my eyes fixed on the front door, terrified that any moment, the lock would be forced open from the outside, just like it had been in my first life.

Ten minutes later, there was finally a knock at the door. "Police. Please open the door."

I didn't move right away. "Please hold your badges up to the peephole."

Only after confirming their identities did I move the dining table aside.

Two police officers and the building manager, Jack Marlon, were standing outside.

Officer David Shaw, who was leading the response, took my phone and studied Caden's photo.

"I've told security to watch the exits. You sure he's already here?" he asked.

"I'm sure. He just sent me a message." The moment I finished speaking, my screen lit up again.

The message read, "Baby, who's that man in uniform outside your door?"

My blood ran cold. "He can see us!"

David's expression changed. He immediately rushed toward the stairwell.

The other officer knocked on my neighbor's door across the hall and checked the windows and balcony, while Jack contacted security and ordered them to block the parking garage exit.

But after searching the entire floor, they found no one.

More than ten minutes later, David returned from the stairwell. "We checked the roof, the stairwells, and the floors above and below. No one's there."

"He must be hiding somewhere."

"Let's check the security footage."

They pulled up footage from the lobby, building entrance, elevators, and parking garage. There wasn't a single recording of Caden entering the complex from that afternoon until now.

Jack frowned at me. "Miss, could he be messing with you? Someone you met online saying he's downstairs doesn't necessarily mean he actually is."

"But he knew there was a police officer outside my door!"

"You could've told him earlier."

"I didn't!"

David raised a hand, cutting us off. "Have you ever met him in person?"

"I…"

In my second life, I had seen his face clearly at the coffee shop. But in this life, we hadn't met offline yet.

"No. We've only exchanged photos."

"What about video calls?"

"He always refuses. He says he doesn't look good on camera."

Jack couldn't help muttering, "You've been together for three years, but you've never met him or even video-called? Are you sure that's actually him in the photo?"

I wasn't in the mood to explain. I reached for my phone. "The messages are proof. Look at our chat history."

But when I opened the conversation, both messages were gone. The most recent one was from half an hour ago.

It read, "Baby, I'm kind of tired. I'm going to bed. Good night."

I frantically refreshed the screen. "That's impossible! He just told me he was downstairs, and then he asked who the police officer outside my doorway was."

I turned to David. "You had my phone the whole time. You saw it, didn't you?"

David was silent for a few seconds. "I saw the screen light up, but I didn't read the message carefully."

"But you ran to the stairwell because of that message!"

"I went to check because you shouted that he could see us."

A chill spread through my entire body. It was happening again. Something had clearly happened, yet there wasn't a single piece of evidence left behind.

David handed my phone back. "Don't stay alone tonight. Stay with a friend, or have a family member come over."

It couldn't be a man. In my first life, Caden had killed me because he was convinced I was seeing someone else behind his back.

I immediately called my best friend, Brielle Damon. "Can you come pick up?"

"What happened?"

"Caden came looking for me. He might be somewhere in the complex."

Brielle gasped. "Don't open the door. I'm calling the police right now."

"The police are already here. Don't come out through the main entrance. Drive straight into the underground garage on Level B2. I'll get there."

"Okay. Wait for me."

20 minutes later, Brielle called. "I'm here. By the elevators in Section B."

David went downstairs first to make sure it was safe. A few minutes later, he called me. "Your friend's the only person in the car. You can come down."

I didn't pack anything. Taking only my ID and phone, I stepped into the elevator. Just as it reached Level B2, my phone suddenly lit up on its own.

Caden had sent me a photo. In it, Brielle was sitting behind the wheel, her head turned toward the elevator.

The photo had been taken from less than six feet away.

Beneath it was a single message. "Baby, what makes you think I won't be able to find you just because you're sleeping somewhere else tonight?"