‎I didn't switch my phone off.

‎

‎That was the first thing I knew for sure.

‎

‎The screen had been glowing in my hand as I walked, my fingers cold around it, my thoughts louder than the city at night. I remember checking the time. I remember the ache in my chest. I remember thinking I should hurry.

‎

‎Then the screen went black.

‎

‎No vibration,no warning just went blank.

‎I stopped walking.

‎

‎The street was quieter than it should have been. Not empty, but wrong , like the night was holding its breath. A car passed slowly, headlights dragging across the pavement, then disappeared.

‎

‎I pressed the power button of my phone ,it still didn't come up.

‎A strange fear crept into my stomach. Not panic yet. Just discomfort. The kind that whispers something is off.

‎

‎"Okay," I murmured to myself. "It's fine."

‎

‎I started walking again, faster this time.

‎

‎That's when a car stopped beside me.

‎

‎It was dark , expensive, clean, too quiet. The window rolled down smoothly, revealing a man I didn't recognize. He looked normal enough. Calm and Polite.The kind of face you wouldn't remember twice.

‎

‎"You're out late," he said gently. "Do you need a ride?"

‎

‎I hesitated.

‎

‎Every warning my father ever drilled into me stirred at once, but so did exhaustion. The road ahead felt long and Empty. My phone was dead. The night pressed closer.

‎

‎"I'm almost home," I lied.

‎

‎He smiled. "It's not safe walking alone this late."

‎

‎I should have said no.

‎

‎I should have kept walking.

‎

‎But fear doesn't always look like screaming. Sometimes it looks like relief.

‎

‎"Just drop me at the junction," I said.

‎

‎He nodded easily. "Of course."

‎

‎The door unlocked with a soft click.

‎

‎The moment I sat inside, the air changed.

‎

‎The scent was wrong ,sharp, unfamiliar. The doors locked automatically. The engine started before I could rethink it.

‎

‎We drove.

‎

‎Not toward the junction.

‎

‎"Excuse me," I said, my voice tight. "You missed the turn."

‎

‎"I know," he replied calmly.

‎

‎My heart skipped.

‎

‎"I said the junction."

‎

‎"We're almost there,I'm using another route ."

‎

‎The road grew darker. Houses thinned out and Streetlights vanished one by one.

‎

‎Panic bloomed fully now.

‎

‎"Stop the car," I said. Louder. "Please."

‎

‎He didn't answer.

‎

‎I reached for the door handle.

‎

‎It wouldn't open.

‎

‎That was when I knew wat was happening.

‎

‎My breath came fast and shallow. My hands trembled as I pressed useless buttons, my mind racing too quickly to form a plan.

‎

‎"Please," I whispered. "You don't have to do this."

‎

‎He laughed softly.

‎

‎That sound will haunt me forever.

‎

‎The car stopped abruptly in front of a house I didn't recognize ,tall, isolated, lights off. He got out first, walked around, and opened my door.

‎

‎"Get out."

‎

‎I shook my head, my body refusing to move. "Please... please."

‎

‎His grip tightened around my wrist. Strong and Unyielding.

‎

‎I screamed.

‎

‎The sound barely traveled.

‎

‎Inside the house, everything smelled like dust and silence. He dragged me through a narrow hallway, my shoes scraping the floor, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

‎

‎"Let me go!" I cried, fighting, kicking and clawing.

‎

‎He shoved me into a room.

‎

‎The door slammed shut.

‎

‎I backed away until my spine hit the wall. My chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to close my eyes.

‎

‎He stepped closer.

‎

‎"You should've stayed home," he said.

‎

‎My hands shook violently as I raised them. "Please. I won't tell anyone. I swear."

‎

‎He reached for me.

‎

‎Everything inside me broke loose.

‎

‎I fought like an animal.

‎

‎I screamed until my throat burned. I kicked until my legs ached. I bit, scratched, begged all at once. Terror stripped me down to instinct.

‎

‎He hit me.

‎

‎Not hard enough to knock me out.

‎

‎Just enough to weaken me.

‎

‎I fell.

‎

‎The world tilted.

‎He draged me off to the bed and stripped me off

‎I begged the whole time but he refused to listen ....

‎He unhooked his belt and lay upon me steadily,harsh and painfully.

‎He squeezed the life out of my breast ,it was so painful that I screamed to the extent I felt that my throat had bruised.

‎

‎

‎And then,A crash.

‎

‎The door burst open so violently it cracked against the wall.

‎

‎For a split second, everything froze.

‎

‎The man turned.

‎

‎And someone else stepped into the room,I got scared.

‎

‎He was tall,broad shoulders. Dressed in black from head to toe. A mask covered the lower half of his face, a cap pulled low, shadowing his eyes.

‎

‎But even through fear and tears, I felt it.

‎

‎His presence wasn't chaotic.

‎

‎It was controlled.

‎

‎The man lunged.

‎

‎The masked figure moved faster.

‎

‎The fight was brutal and silent ,fists, grunts, bodies colliding. I curled into myself, shaking, unable to look away but unable to breathe.

‎

‎The stranger didn't hesitate.

‎

‎Didn't struggle.

‎

‎Didn't miss.

‎

‎Within seconds, the man lay unconscious on the floor.

‎

‎The silence afterward was terrifying.

‎

‎The masked man turned to me.

‎

‎For the first time, fear shifted.

‎

‎Not gone,just... redirected.

‎

‎He crouched slowly, careful, like I was something fragile.

‎

‎"It's okay," he said,he gave me his inner wear to put on.

‎His voice was low,steady and familiar in a way I couldn't place

‎

‎My body reacted before my mind did. A sob ripped out of me .it was loud, ugly, uncontrollable. I shrank back instinctively.

‎

‎"Don't touch me," I whispered.

‎

‎He froze.

‎

‎"I won't," he said immediately. "I promise."

‎

‎He took off his jacket and gently placed it over my shoulders without letting his hands linger.

‎

‎"Can you stand?"

‎

‎I nodded weakly.

‎

‎My legs barely held me.

‎

‎He guided me out of the house, keeping distance, never turning his back on me. Outside, the air felt unreal , like I'd stepped into a different world.

‎

‎He stopped near the road.

‎

‎"Do you know where you are?" he asked.

‎

‎I shook my head.

‎

‎"Do you have somewhere safe to go?"

‎

‎I tried to speak.

‎

‎No words came.

‎

‎He inhaled slowly, like he was fighting something.

‎

‎"I'll call for help," he said.

‎

‎I grabbed his sleeve without thinking.

‎

‎"Please... don't leave."

‎

‎He stiffened......then gently, he removed my hand.

‎

‎"I'll come back," he said.

‎

‎I wanted to believe him.

‎

‎But fear doesn't trust promises.

‎

‎He walked away.

‎

‎I watched until he disappeared into the darkness.

‎

‎Only then did I realize something horrifying.

‎

‎I still didn't have my phone.

‎

‎

‎

‎Across town, my father stood in the living room, rage and fear tearing him apart.

‎"Find her," Harlan said sharply. "Now."

‎Servants searched every room.

‎Every corridor,Every street.

‎My bed was untouched.

‎My phone was unreachable.

‎

‎But the night had already swallowed me.

‎

‎And somewhere in the city, I was missing.

‎

‎

‎

‎