I sat in the bathtub, clutching my phone with trembling hands.


    Howard and Peter''s schemes had kept me housebound for a long time. Yet, I feared that Steven


    might fall prey to Yasmin''s deception, leaving me alone and unresolved about my murderer.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was Steven.


    I breathed a sigh of relief and answered the call in panic, but it wasn''t Steven''s voice on the other


    end.


    "Stephanie Carlson… " a strange, distorted voice came through, courtesy of a voice changer.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    My nerves instantly tightened upon hearing the mention of "Stephanie Carlson".


    "I heard you haven''t given up on finding out the serial killer," the voice said with sinister amusement.


    I gripped my phone nervously, my body trembling uncontrobly. "Who are you? Where''s Steve?


    Why do you have his phone?"


    "I''m the serial killer, I''m God… " the voice lowered, then suddenlyughed. "You can call me ''the


    Juricator''."


    I stood up abruptly, my vision darkening. "Steve… Where''s Steve?"


    "Because of you, he tried to hunt me down… What a pity. Even ''God'' shows weakness when it


    possesses feelings." The voice''sugh grew eerier. "He was too eager to prove himself, too eager


    to catch me."


    "What do you want?" I asked, quivering, "Please, don''t hurt Steve."


    "Leave your house now, don''t tell anyone, or else… he dies," the voice threatened.


    "I''ll do as you say, just don''t hurt Steve." I stumbled out of the bathtub, limping quickly toward the


    door, ignoring the injury on my foot which had notpletely healed.


    "He has deduced the Death List, but unfortunately, it isn''tplete." The voice chuckled. "He''s very


    smart, but… love has turned him into a fool."


    My fingertips turned cold. "What have you done to him?"


    "Don''t you want to know how he fell into my hands?" The eerie voice continued tough over the


    phone. "It was because of you… "


    My steps froze, my breathing quickening. So, this was the killer… the one I had been searching for,


    the one who had killed me.


    "Don''t stop. Keep walking, or else I''ll kill him." The person on the other end of the line could tell I


    had stopped.


    "Leave the neighborhood; you''ll see a minivan within a mile. Get in it," the voice instructed.


    "I won''tply unless you let me speak to Steve first," I stated cautiously, holding the phone warily.


    "Haha… " The voiceughed. "Speak? Do you think I would allow him to remain conscious,


    knowing he''s a genius who can escape as long as he breathes?"


    I frowned, my fingers trembling.


    "Ding!" A message popped up on my WhatsApp, sent from Steven''s ount.


    It contained a photo of Steven lying unconscious, an IV drip attached to his wrist…


    Instantly, panic seized me, my entire body trembling uncontrobly.


    That lunatic had confined Steven in a ss cab resembling a fish tank.


    "You bastard… don''t hurt him, please… " My voice choked, my legs growing weak.


    The photo reminded me of the state I had been discovered by the police.


    "Such a wless human… " The voice expressed astonishment tinged with an eerie undertone. "If


    preserved, he would make the most perfect exhibit."


    "Please, spare him… I''ll do as you say… " I scanned my surroundings warily, aware that the person


    was watching me nearby. Any hint of suspicion on my part — such as calling the police or anything


    else — would likely result in harm to Steven.


    "Just don''t hurt him… I beg of you," My voice trembled as I pleaded.


    "Do you truly care for him, Stephanie Carlson? But you have no heart, so you care for no one. Why


    beg me now?" The voiceughed maniacally.


    From this, I could conclude that this individual knew me well and understood me thoroughly.