After agreeing on the commission fee, Gideon Black followed the couple to the neighborhood where Rebecca's mother lived.
"Miss Rebecca, before we arrive, call your mother. Ask her to put Martin on the phone."
Just before they reached the street, Gideon suddenly gave the instruction.
"Sound as natural as possible. Find an excuse to get Martin to leave the house alone."
Rebecca blinked, not fully understanding.
"Darling, it's to prevent the spirit from using Martin as leverage," Bret explained softly.
Gideon almost wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
In the original story, this boyfriend was one of the rare few who actually had common sense—a true anomaly in horror tropes.
If everyone had that kind of awareness, half the demons and restless spirits in the world would be crying in frustration in so dark corner.
"That's right," Gideon agreed. "It's also for your brother's safety."
In the original tale, the spirit nad Diana manifested only by anchoring itself to Rebecca's mother. Which ant the entity would not directly harm her. But if they appeared openly outside the house, the spirit could lash out—and complications would follow.
Rebecca nodded, took out her phone, and dialed.
---
Inside Sophie's house.
"No—you said you wouldn't hurt my daughter!"
Sophie's voice trembled as she pleaded into the darkness, muttering to the corner of the room.
"I stopped taking the dicine, just like you asked. You can't go back on your word!"
Suddenly, the sharp ring-ring of the telephone shattered the silence.
Sophie jumped, her eyes darting toward the corner. After a long pause, she moved toward the living room.
Behind her, a twisted, shadowy figure crept step by step, following her movents.
"Hello…?"
"Mom, it's . Rebecca."
Hearing her daughter's voice brought a flicker of relief to Sophie's face.
"Rebecca… did you sleep well last night?"
She wanted to ask if her daughter was safe, but fear of angering the presence beside her held her back.
---
Inside the car.
The call was on speakerphone. Gideon gestured for Rebecca to proceed with the plan.
Rebecca hesitated for a mont, then answered, "I'm fine. Just… had so bad dreams."
Without pause, she added quickly, "Is Martin there? His teacher called —said he left sothing behind at school."
"I… I'll get him."
Sophie's voice faltered for an instant before returning to normal. She knew her son too well—Martin never forgot anything. That excuse alone was enough to tell her sothing was wrong.
She forced herself to stay calm, set down the receiver, and walked toward Martin's room.
But she didn't realize: that brief flicker of emotion had already been noticed by Diana.
"Martin, your sister's on the phone. She wants to talk to you."
Sophie knocked gently at his door, then quickly retreated toward her own bedroom, trying to draw the thing behind her away from him.
"Okay."
Martin stepped out and saw his mother slipping back into the shadows. Fear prickled at him, and he hurried downstairs.
"Hello? Rebecca?"
"Martin, act natural and listen carefully." Rebecca's voice was low and urgent.
The strange happenings of the past few days rushed back into Martin's mind. His heartbeat quickened, but he steadied his voice.
"Alright. Tell ."
"After this call, find an excuse to leave the house. Don't look back. I'll be waiting by the roadside."
Martin's fingers trembled as he gripped the phone. "Okay… but what about Mom?"
He was already thinking of a way to sneak her out with him.
"You need to co out alone. Mom…"
Rebecca glanced at Gideon as she spoke. He gave her a reassuring look.
"Don't worry about Mom. She'll be fine."
Martin opened his mouth as if to argue, but in the end, he chose to trust his sister.
After hanging up, he glanced toward the bedroom.
"Mom, Rebecca wants to go et her."
"Go."
Sophie responded almost instantly.
At that very mont, the temperature in the house dropped.
The circle of lamplight shrank, while a suffocating darkness pressed in from all sides.
Martin drew a deep breath and stepped toward the door.
Each footfall creaked faintly on the wooden floorboards.
But soon he realized—the creaking wasn't his alone. There were two sets of steps.
Keeping as close to the light as he could, Martin pushed forward.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
A walk that usually took a few steps dragged on for what felt like an eternity—thirty agonizing seconds—before he finally reached the door.
His hand trembled as he turned the knob.
Click.
The door creaked open.
Sweat drenched his back. Every instinct scread at him to bolt, but he forced himself to remain composed.
Unbeknownst to him, less than a ter behind, Diana was already standing—silent, hand slowly rising.
Bang!
Martin slamd the door shut behind him.
Terror finally burst free. He sprinted into the night.
"Martin!"
Hearing his na, he looked up.
A car was parked by the roadside. His sister stepped out from the passenger seat, waving.
Relief washed over him.
"Rebecca!" he called, lifting his hand in return.
But then—
"Martin? I'm right here. Who are you talking to?"
The voice ca from behind.
His blood ran cold. Slowly, he turned his head—Rebecca stood beneath the eaves of the house, staring at him in confusion.
Martin's heart sank like a stone.
If this was Rebecca… then who was standing by the car?
He forced himself to look back.
By the roadside stood a twisted silhouette, its limbs contorted, face obscured in shadow.
"Martin! Co here!"
The figure's voice rasped and cracked, icy and inhuman.
Instinctively, Martin staggered backward.
"Martin! Don't go back!"
The figure suddenly lunged toward him.
Panic consud him. He bolted toward the "Rebecca" by the house and clutched her arm desperately.
But the mont his hand made contact, dread surged—her skin was cold, rough, inhuman.
He looked down. What he was gripping was no living arm at all.
Shaking violently, his gaze rose upward.
The face staring back at him was no longer his sister's—
It had morphed into the roadside monster.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Martin scread, struggling to break free, but that hand clamped around him like iron.
He was dragged across the ground, back toward the door.
By the ti Rebecca reached him, his lower body was already across the threshold. His hands clawed desperately at the doorfra.
"Sis—help !"
His eyes were wide with despair.
The next second, he vanished into the darkness.
BANG!
The door slamd shut.
"No!"
Rebecca collapsed to her knees in the grass, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Bret rushed over, pulling her away from the house.
At that mont, Gideon erged from the roadside, pushing a cart loaded with large floodlights.
Beforehand, he had asked Rebecca to handle Martin's retrieval while he circled the neighborhood—confirming no other households were compromised, and borrowing equipnt for the coming exorcism.
Bret comforted Rebecca as he quickly recounted what had happened.
Gideon's brow arched.
"Well, well. Trying to ss with minds in front of ?"
He barked an order to Bret, who hurried to connect the floodlights to power, while Gideon set up the rest of his preparations around the house.
All the while, Diana lood within the window's shadow, watching his every move.
Then, with a sudden wave of her hand—
Snap… crack.
Almost all the power in Sophie's house went out.
The desk lamps and phone line were severed.
Only a single light in the living room remained, dim and trembling.
There, Sophie huddled beneath it, clutching the unconscious Martin in her arms.
Diana lted back into the darkness, waiting silently for the outsiders to step inside.
---
Bzzzt…
Gideon smacked the borrowed loudspeaker, testing it.
"Testing, one, two."
This ti, the static cleared and his voice carried.
He strode onto the lawn, holding the device high, and aid it at the house.
"Evil spirit inside—listen closely! You are surrounded!"
---
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