Chapter 10 Memories In The Villa

Staring at the coded lock, Maria decided to try the original password, the one she set six years ago. If that didn't work, she would have to resort to other methods. The password was 361110. March 6th was Arthur's birthday, and November 10th was James'.

To her surprise, after entering all six digits, she heard a happy beep. She tried the heavy door, and was overjoyed to find it unlocked.

Her hands trembled in midair. She stood at the door to the living room, frozen, like a statue. She came prepared. There were many tools in her backpack, one of which could be used to hack into the electronic lock, but it seemed that she had brought them in vain.

Suddenly, she experienced the pangs of regret. If she had known earlier the passcode had remained unchanged, she never would have sacrificed her dignity and asked James for permission to come here. She would have simply done it. Everything she did—meeting with James, bearing the insults, and drinking those bottles of liquor—was meant to bring her to this point.

When Maria snapped out of her reverie, she knew what she had to do next.

She stowed her backpack by the door, and took a flashlight from it. She shed her shoes, and walked into the living room barefoot.

The flashlight's beam zigzagged around the silent room. Maria looked around carefully. At first glance, it seemed that it hadn't changed a bit, but there were subtle changes that she gradually picked up on.

The huge photo she hung on the wall, taken when Arthur was a month old, was gone.

All the furniture was covered with white dust covers. Maria reached out and touched a corner. Dust now clung to her fingers. She could tell that no one had been here for a long, long time.

Stepping on the cold floor, Maria walked to a corner of the living room. There used to be a cabinet there, but it, too, was gone.

Six years ago, Arthur had an accident there. She heard his screams, she saw the blood on the floor.

The tragic scene replayed in Maria's mind again. She clenched the flashlight in her hand, breathing faster and faster. Sweat beaded her forehead, and it felt like her heart might burst.

In a trance, she saw Arthur again, and his adorable smile. His voice calling her "Mommy" echoed in her ears.

Maria stretched out her hand and called softly, "Arthur... Mommy's back." She saw Arthur stretch out his chubby arms for a hug.

"Arthur, I miss you so much!"

She wanted to touch the boy's face, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

There was only empty floor in front of her. Arthur's voice was gone again. She was surrounded by oppressive silence.

Maria covered her aching heart with her hands, tears streaming down her lovely face. 'Arthur, my Arthur!'

After a long time, Maria pulled herself together and walked up the stairs with heavy steps.

Not much had changed on the second floor. She walked barefoot along the soft carpet to the door of the innermost room. It was the master bedroom, the very room she gazed at from the villa gate the first night she was back in town.

Maria put her hand on the doorknob and gently opened the door.

The spacious bedroom seemed empty, despite the furnishings.

The big bed in the middle sported a dust cover. The baby crib beside the bed and the wedding photo of her and James on the wall six years ago were also missing.

Although this room was the master bedroom, Maria had spent most of her time with Arthur in here. She could still smell the scent that her boy emitted. Or was it her imagination?

Maria walked to the room opposite to the master bedroom. That was supposed to be Arthur's room, but he never used it.

The decor of the room was the same as it was six years ago, the wallpaper festooned with little cartoon animals. But the photos had been taken down, and Arthur's crib was moved in here. Maria looked around carefully and found all the photos of hers and Arthur had been placed in a box.

Opening it, Maria picked up one photo. It was of her late son. Tears welled in her eyes. She covered her mouth tightly and tried hard not to cry.

'Arthur, Mommy's here. I miss you so much!'

At this point, Maria couldn't do anything but hold her son's picture and cry. She rocked back and forth and wept in grief.

A security guard passed by outside the villa. When he heard the faint cries, he was frightened. He remembered a buddy of his telling him that someone died here six years ago. He wondered who was making that noise—or what.

When he stopped and listened, the cries had apparently faded. Maybe it was just his imagination. He gathered his courage and took a few steps towards the gate of the villa. Then he stopped again and listened for a while, but still heard nothing.

He was certain that he had misheard something. He was about to leave when a woman's cry came from the villa again.

This time, the security guard was so scared that his legs became weak and he almost wet his pants. He was not bold enough to go in and see what was going on. Instead, he awkwardly ran off.

The security guard ran to the monitoring room, gasping for breath. His co-workers were staring at him. His eyes were fixed on the monitor, but he could see nothing in the next two hours. The guard became even more frightened. After tonight, he would always avoid that villa, afraid he would encounter something supernatural.

Before dawn, Maria restored everything in the Fairview Villa to their original spots and left as quietly as she entered.

The sucker-tipped darts eventually lost their suction and fell to the ground not long after she left. The monitors were back to normal.

HM Group had hired Maria, and she started working as a secretary. Where better to hide than in plain sight? Although it was not an important position and the salary was low, she didn't care. She just needed to put down roots in town so she could carry out her plan step by step.

Since she had been to Fairview Villa and stayed there overnight without being noticed, Maria grew even bolder.

That evening, she went there again through the same route. She brought some simple daily supplies with her this time. Fortunately, it was still summer, so she didn't need to bring a lot. Maria stayed there all week, immersing herself in her memories of Arthur.

It was another sweltering summer night. A man appeared at the door of Fairview Villa, and after a few seconds the lock beeped, admitting the mysterious visitor. His brand-new black leather shoes shone in the moonlight. His cold eyes scanned the darkness, then he stepped inside the living room.

The first floor of the villa was quiet as ever. He stood silently downstairs for a few minutes, lost in thought. Finally, he loosened his tie and ascended the stairs to the second floor.

The carpet of the corridor on the second floor was clean and white, like brand new. He walked on it, still wearing his shoes.

When he approached the master bedroom, the man suddenly felt a subtle wrongness. A hint of something amiss. He stopped at the door. Although the door was closed, it was not locked like it should be.

Six months had passed since James was last here. He could remember closing the door himself when he left. No one else had been here without his permission. He started looking around, wondering.

However, at that exact moment, Maria's eyes snapped open. She was almost asleep, but she could tell something wasn't quite right. She sensed that someone was outside the door. Maria sat up silently.

'It's 1 a.m. Who would come here this late?' she wondered.

She could hear the doorknob turning slowly. Maria didn't have time to guess who it was. She quickly got out of bed and hid behind the thick curtain, leaving her thin quilt and a pillow on the ginormous bed.

Fortunately Maria hadn't closed the curtain before she went to bed, because she didn't want to attract the guards' attention. Sunlight would be her alarm clock. She was as quiet as a mouse, senses on high alert and her body tense. She held her breath and tried to make herself invisible.

The mysterious visitor opened the door. But he didn't come in. His eagle-eyed gaze swept across the room. He saw no one there, but he smelt a faint fragrance.

He sniffed. 'Perfume? A woman?'

Then he walked in and noticed the dust cover on the big bed had been removed. Under the moonlight from the window, he could see the rumpled pillow and the quilt. It was obvious someone had been using the bed.

The man walked towards the bed quietly. His face exposed gradually under the moonlight. It turned out to be James. 'Where is she?' He felt the bed and it was still warm. That meant the intruder couldn't have gone far.

He also couldn't figure out how long the occupant had been here. She was able to hear him even on that soft carpet. That meant he wasn't dealing with any run-of-the-mill intruder.

The man's lips curved into an unfathomable smile in the darkness. He noticed the window was still closed, and there wasn't much in the way of furniture, which meant the person was probably still here.

James kept searching and his sharp eyes finally fell on the curtain at the corner. That was the only place they could be hiding. He stopped moving forward. Being certain where the person was, he was not in a hurry to make the next move. He had to be patient, like a snake stalking a mouse.

Behind the thick curtain, Maria couldn't see a thing. She tried listening to figure out whether he was still there, but she could only hear her pounding heart. Her nerves were on edge and her mouth was dry.