Chapter 30 - The night Daniel returns
It started raining heavily at eight o'clock in the evening. Heavy raindrops lashed against the glass walls of the design studio, mingling with the rumbling thunder in the city sky.
After transferring all copies of the data from Chloe's hard drive to Marcus for submission to the court early the next morning, Sarah stayed at the workshop to finalize the drawings for the client. Security guards were stationed in the lobby downstairs, and the workshop's double-layered security system had been activated.
Suddenly, the lights throughout the entire neighborhood flickered on and off twice before going out completely. The severe storm had blown up a nearby transformer station.
In an instant, the workshop's battery-powered emergency lights switched on, casting a cold, white light onto the polished concrete floor—reminiscent of the clinic lights and the cold concrete of the night she fled her family.
Bang!
A loud bang echoed from the emergency exit door at the back of the hallway. Before the backup power could reactivate the magnetic lock system on the side door, a tall, dark figure, drenched in rainwater, slipped through the gap in the lobby door and entered the workshop's waiting area, separated from Sarah's main office by a thick tempered glass partition and a steel door.
That's Daniel.
His once handsome, angular face was now distorted and gaunt, his eyes bloodshot beneath wet, matted hair. He wore the same worn-out, earthy brown T-shirt—identical to the image of the man who had stood before her in the crowd that day, clenching his fists menacingly. The terrifying memory of the night Daniel returned to her old apartment to stalk her came flooding back, but this time, Sarah wasn't a panicked victim hiding behind a locked door.
"Sarah!" Daniel slammed his wet hand against the tempered glass, his voice hoarse and booming through the two-way speaker system. "I know you're in there! Open the door! We need to talk!"
Sarah rose from her drawing table, calmly pressed the button to activate a hidden alarm that would send a message directly to the local police station and the security guard's phone downstairs, and simultaneously turned on the recording function on her desk. She walked three steps away from the glass partition, standing upright under the white light.
"We have nothing more to say to each other, Daniel," Sarah's voice came through the microphone, chillingly calm. "You are violating a court-ordered restraining order and unlawfully entering a private residence."
Daniel's expression suddenly changed. He forced a pained look, pressed his forehead against the glass, and his voice turned pleading—a familiar manipulative tactic he had used countless times.
"Sarah, listen to me... It was all Uncle Robert's fault! That day at the barbecue, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just under too much pressure because of the company's debt!" Daniel said breathlessly, his breath fogging up a section of the glass. "Didn't we grow up together on Lilac Street? You just need to sign the confirmation paper stating that the money in that account is a voluntary loan you're giving me, and I'll pay you back double! I swear! Don't send me to jail, Sarah!"
Sarah stared directly into his constantly shifting eyes.
"Your remorse will only appear when the handcuffs have touched your wrists, Daniel," Sarah replied, each word clear and sharp. "The day you raised your fist to threaten me in front of your whole family, with my clothes soaked in lemon juice and my cheek swollen, did you ever think about the bond we shared growing up together? You sent me voice messages in the middle of the night to terrorize me. Did you ever think about today?"
Seeing that his pleading was ineffective, Daniel's feigned expression instantly vanished, replaced by furious rage. He took a step back, clenching his fists. He kicked the steel door hard and then grabbed a metal chair from the lobby and repeatedly smashed it against the tempered glass.
Clang! Clang! Bang!
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"You ungrateful bitch!" Daniel yelled like a madman, veins bulging on his neck. "Do you think you can get away with this?! If I die, you won't get away with living peacefully in this fancy slum either! Open the door!"
The triple-layered tempered glass only vibrated slightly, showing a few faint scratches, but remained completely unmoved. Standing inside the sturdy protective glass, Sarah watched his helpless rage without blinking.
