"Stella, Stella, open up." That evening, the door to her apartment was knocked on again.

Stella Sterling was lying on her bed, absorbed in a movie.

She froze when she heard the knocking. ’Normally, this is when the screaming starts. River Larkin should be...’

’So why is he at my door?’

Despite the thought, she didn’t get up. She just stuck in her earbuds, rolled over, and went back to her movie.

He was just a plaything, after all. Humoring him occasionally was more than enough; she wasn’t about to waste any more of her time on him.

As for whether he’d be upset, Stella Sterling couldn’t care less. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The knocking continued for a while, but when no one answered, it finally stopped.

In the middle of the night, another scream echoed through the building, this one even more bloodcurdling than the ones from the past few days.

"Fuck’s sake, what is wrong with these people? All this goddamn caterwauling every night! Are they trying to drive us all insane?"

Someone shouted from their apartment, their voice carrying crystal clear through the quiet night.

"Murder! Someone’s being murdered!"

Another piercing scream followed, this one quavering with absolute terror.

Stella Sterling’s eyes snapped open. She could clearly hear a growing, chaotic commotion in the building.

It was a woman’s voice, distinctly different from the screams of the past few days. ’Something else must have happened.’

At that thought, Stella Sterling got dressed, put on a hat, and left her apartment, heading quickly downstairs. On the 27th floor, she ran into River Larkin, along with the man and his son who used to live on the first floor. It looked like they were all heading out together.

Stella Sterling shot them a glance before continuing down the stairs. River Larkin opened his mouth as if to say something, but since she was already leaving, he swallowed his words.

"Help! Help me, please!"

"You slut! You fucking slut! You dared to cheat on me behind my back? Fuck it, I’ll kill you!"

On the 22nd floor, a woman with her hair in disarray burst out of her apartment.

Her face was a mess of bruises and blood. She had hastily thrown on some clothes, but the buttons weren’t fastened, revealing the pale skin beneath. She ran to the elevator and mashed the call button, but there was no response—

—only then did she remember the power was out and the elevators weren’t working. Despair washed over her. She’d only taken two steps toward the stairwell when the man chasing her caught up, dragged her back, and threw her to the ground. He began to rain punches down on her.

Just then, a neighbor from the floor below came running up the stairs. He arrived just in time to see the woman’s shirt gaping open, and a flicker of something passed through his eyes.

The woman saw him and looked as if he were her last hope, reaching a hand out to him. "S-save me... he’s going to kill me!"

The sound of more footsteps echoed in the stairwell as a few more onlookers arrived.

"Quinn Chase, calm down! You’re going to—"

Before he could finish, Quinn Chase threw something at the man.

A moment later, a woman who had come to see what was happening screamed. She stared at the man, who now had a knife embedded in his chest, as he collapsed. She couldn’t stop screaming as she stumbled backward.

What Quinn Chase had thrown was a knife.

The few people who had just arrived saw this, their eyes widening in horror. Someone rushed forward to help the fallen man and glared at Quinn Chase. "You killed him! Murder is against the law!"

The others all glared at him furiously, but Quinn Chase pulled out a cleaver. "I’m teaching this bitch a lesson! Any of you take another step and I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!"

"Help me! Please, help me!"

The wife underneath Quinn Chase was trembling in terror.

This was the chaotic scene Stella Sterling walked into as she came down the stairs...

Just then, someone rushed forward. Before Quinn Chase could react, the man snatched the cleaver from his hand and subdued him.

His wife’s survival instincts kicked in. She scrambled to her feet and ran toward the crowd, happening to duck behind Stella Sterling.

Stella turned to look at her, maintaining a safe distance. "Fix your clothes."

"Th-thank you!" The woman was shivering violently from the cold, her exposed skin mottled and red. She paid it no mind, fumbling with the buttons with trembling fingers.

Even without his weapon, Quinn Chase still tried to lunge at his wife, but the bald man, Felix Lawrence, held him fast. "Calm the hell down! What kind of man beats his own wife?!"

Seeing that Quinn Chase was no longer a threat, the others began to chime in, chastising him. "Exactly! Can’t you talk things out like a civilized person? You—"

"He’s not breathing! He’s not breathing! He’s dead! Quinn Chase killed him!"

A scream cut everyone off. The man who had been stabbed had stopped breathing. "He’s dead," his neighbor shrieked. Quinn Chase froze, as if the news had shocked him into sobriety. "H-how? I just—"

"Quinn Chase, you’re a murderer! You’ll pay for this!"

Felix Lawrence frowned. He never would have imagined things would turn out like this.

Someone had actually been killed in their building.

But at that moment, Ben Chase started laughing. "Good riddance! Serves him right for sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. Maybe he was the other man!"

Quinn Chase then started screaming at his wife again. "You bitch! It’s all your fault, you bitch! You dared to hook up with Bell behind my back! You deserve to die! And Bell deserves to die, too! I’ll kill you both!"

His wife, hiding behind the crowd, explained in a trembling voice, "I was just trying to survive! You wouldn’t even give me a bite to eat at home! I had no other choice!"

Hearing this, everyone took a couple of steps back. They hadn’t expected this twist. Many now looked at the woman with disdain.

Bell, who had been thinking about how to help the injured man, froze when he heard this. He quietly backed away, trying to make himself scarce.

He was terrified of getting dragged into it. ’Who the hell leaked this?’ he cursed inwardly. ’Fuck, if I find out who it was, I’ll kill them!’

Felix Lawrence was also stunned. In his brief moment of shock, Quinn Chase broke free. He became agitated again and charged toward his wife. "I always made sure you had food and drink before I did, and you dare to slander me? Die! Die! You deserve to die!"

"Trey, save me!" his wife shrieked. Spotting Bell in the crowd, she cried out with a glimmer of hope and ran toward him.

Only then did everyone notice that the other party in this drama was also present. Seeing Quinn Chase’s crazed expression, they were all terrified and quickly moved aside.

"Don’t you come near me! This has nothing to do with me!" Bell yelled, backing away just like everyone else.

Stella Sterling had no intention of getting involved in someone else’s business and was about to leave. But just then, the woman reached out and shoved her toward Quinn Chase, trying to use her as a shield—

Her eyes went cold. She instantly steadied herself, grabbed the woman, and threw her back onto the ground.