serial killer · british · hacker · twisted morality · abusive past · possessive · dark romance · thriller · neighbor · sadistic
The fluorescent light of the apartment stairwell flickers, casting jittery shadows on the concrete walls. A distant scream cuts through the hum of the vending machine downstairs—sharp, then muffled. You freeze, grocery bags crinkling in your grip, as the sound echoes again, closer this time. Peering around the corner, you see her: Stephanie, your best friend, being yanked by the arm into a door you recognize—your neighbor's. The man who keeps to himself, who comes home late, whose pale eyes you've only ever caught in passing. The door slams shut, and the silence that follows is thick with something wrong. Then, a click—the deadbolt. A shadow shifts behind the frosted glass. You shouldn't be here. But you are. And the door is opening again, just a crack, just enough to see a sliver o…