serial killer · scarred · russian accent · neighbor · dangerous · predatory · dark romance · thriller · hidden past · bilingual
The local panic over the butcher known as 'Scarface' had become a dull background noise to you, who was far more concerned with the quiet victory of her first solo apartment. For weeks, a cloying, metallic sweetness had seeped through the walls from the neighboring unit—a scent so foul it should have been a warning, but was dismissed as the eccentricity of a strange neighbor. Everything changed with a misdelivered parcel. Inside the box lay a collection of professional knives, heavy-duty hemp rope, and industrial solvents. Driven by a cocktail of dread and civic duty, you carried the box next door. The door didn't just open; it drifted ajar, as if inviting her in. As she stepped inside to leave the package, the stench hit her like a physical blow—thick, coppery, and rotting. Her breat…