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The 22nd Floor
<p><span style="background-color: transparent;"><strong>Chapter 2</strong></span></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>"Don't stop now."</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p>Three words staring at me.</p><p><br/></p><p>I couldn't sleep.</p><p><br/></p><p>Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that </p><p>photo of my front door.</p><p><br/></p><p> <strong>Someone in this building was watching me. </strong></p><p><br/></p><p>And they wanted me to keep digging.</p><p><br/></p><p>But something else was on my mind.</p><p><br/></p><p>Before I left Jay's apartment, his phone lit </p><p>up on the table, a private message </p><p>on the building board. </p><p><br/></p><p>I only caught two words before the screen went dark.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>"Marcus knows."</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p>Marcus, he's the head of maintenance, </p><p>he controls every lock and all the cameras in this building.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Then it hit me. </strong></p><p><br/></p><p>Why would Jay message Marcus when he </p><p>knows he's going to jump?</p><p><br/></p><p>I couldn't stop thinking about Mrs Cole too.</p><p><br/></p><p>The next morning, I saw her in the lobby. </p><p><br/></p><p>Then I saw her husband standing three</p><p> feet away from her, scrolling on his phone. </p><p><br/></p><p>I caught a grey phone case, not the black </p><p>Android he carried openly. </p><p><br/></p><p>Mrs Cole gripped her purse strap so hard</p><p> that her knuckles turned white.</p><p><br/></p><p>She kept glancing at him.</p><p><br/></p><p>He never looked up.</p><p><br/></p><p>I went upstairs, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote:</p><p> Your husband has a second phone. </p><p>Check his car.</p><p><br/></p><p>I crept down to the fifth floor and</p><p> slid it under her door.</p><p><br/></p><p>An hour later, I checked the board.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>[Apt 502 — Mrs Cole]</strong></p><p>"Someone left a note under my door. WHO IS WATCHING MY FAMILY?"</p><p><br/></p><p>Then below it, a private message. </p><p>Just for me.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>[ENCRYPTED USER]</strong></p><p>"You gave her the push, Leyla.</p><p> Just like you gave Jay.</p><p><span style="background-color: transparent;">But you're not saving anyone. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent;">You're collecting them.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent;"> And I collect collectors."</span></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p>Collecting them?</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Was this what I was doing?</strong></p><p><br/></p><p>Not saving people?</p><p><br/></p><p>I was reading their secrets, and storing </p><p>them like my brain was a storage box?</p><p><br/></p><p>I stared at those words until my eyes went blurry. </p><p><br/></p><p>My screen went black.</p><p><br/></p><p>The kitchen lights kept going on and off, </p><p>then finally went off.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Total darkness. </strong></p><p><img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/1000060152.jpg"/><strong></strong></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>Before I knew it, my door beeped.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Someone had unlocked it from outside.</strong></p><p><br/></p><p>I held my breath.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Then I heard footsteps.</strong></p><p><br/></p><p> They were slow and getting closer.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then they stopped.</p><p><br/></p><p>Right outside my door.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>The handle began to turn.</strong></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>📚🖊️ Chapter 3 coming soon</p><p><br/></p>
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