Chapter 4: The Unwelcome Visitor
The heavy chime of the doorbell reverberated through the modern living room, shattering the fragile tension. Marcus froze with the surveillance photographs still clutched in his white-knuckled grip.
"Who is that?" Marcus whispered, his eyes darting toward the double white entryway doors.
Elena shook her head frantically, pressing her hands against her mouth. "I didn't tell anyone to come here. I swear to God, Marcus, I came alone."
On the floor, Clara let out a harsh, mocking laugh that ended in a sharp wince of pain. Her hand remained pressed against her bleeding abdomen, but her gaze locked onto the front entrance with terrifying intensity.
"Open the door, Marcus," Clara whispered, a dark smile touching her pale lips. "Your insurance policy has finally arrived."
Marcus ignored her, backing away from the console. The doorbell rang a second time, longer and more persistent. Through the frosted glass panels of the double doors, a tall silhouette loomed, casting an ominous shadow across the bright white floor.
"Marcus, don't open it!" Elena pleaded, grabbing his forearm. Her fingers were ice-cold. "If that's who I think it is, we are all in grave danger."
Marcus pulled his arm away sharply, his temper flaring. "Enough with the secrets, Elena! Every time I trust someone in this house, someone ends up bleeding or hiding something!"
He strode past the red stiletto shoe on the floor, ignoring Clara’s heavy sighs of pain. He reached the double doors, his hand hovering over the brass handle. The red security camera above hummed softly, its mechanical lens tilting downward to capture the exact angle of the front entrance.
Marcus turned the handle and pulled the door open.
Standing on the porch was Detective Vance, the local precinct's lead investigator, holding a warrant envelope in one hand and a metallic silver flash drive in the other. His trench coat was damp from the sudden evening drizzle outside.
"Good evening, Mr. Vance," the detective said smoothly, his eyes scanning past Marcus to take in the blood on the floor, the injured woman, and Elena standing near the console. "We received an anonymous 911 dispatch routed directly from a security server inside this residence. It seems a violent crime has been committed."
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Detective Vance stepped uninvited across the threshold, his gaze fixing entirely on the bloody white dress.
"And it looks like we arrived just in time."
