The Crimson Ghost

Chapter Seven: Obsession

The moment the masked man disappeared into the crowd, Tessa remained frozen where she stood.

Her fingers tightened around the folded piece of paper in her hand. For several seconds, she couldn’t breathe. The noise of the shopping mall returned gradually—children laughing, shopping carts rolling across the polished floor, distant conversations—but it all sounded strangely muffled.

It felt as though the world had continued moving… while she had been left behind.

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to grab her grocery cart and slowly walked toward the checkout counter.

The cashier looked up with a warm smile.

“Excuse me… your name is Tessa, right?”

Tessa blinked. “Yes… why?”

“Just a moment, ma’am.”

The young woman scanned every item before reaching beneath the counter. She placed Tessa’s groceries into shopping bags, then carefully set a black mesh pouch on the counter.

Inside were several premium chocolates.

The exact chocolates Tessa had picked up earlier… only to put back.

“I didn’t buy these,” Tessa said quietly.

The cashier smiled politely.

“They’ve already been paid for.”

A chill ran down Tessa’s spine.

She slowly shook her head.

“No… I can’t accept them.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the cashier replied apologetically. “The customer insisted that these belong to you.”

At that exact moment—

Her phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

Her heartbeat skipped as she unlocked the screen.

Babe… don’t make it complicated. Take it.

Every drop of color drained from her face.

He was still watching.

Without another word, she picked up the chocolates.

Not because she wanted them…

But because refusing suddenly felt impossible.

After paying for the groceries, she left the mall as quickly as she could.

⸻

By the time she reached her neighborhood, dusk had settled over the streets.

As she approached her house, her footsteps slowed.

Across the road…

The house where last night’s murder had taken place was now surrounded by yellow police tape. Patrol cars remained parked outside while forensic officers moved silently around the property.

Even from a distance, the place felt lifeless.

As if death itself had decided to stay.

Tessa stared for a long moment before whispering to herself,

“I wanted a dark romance in my life…”

A bitter smile crossed her lips.

“…not an obsessed serial killer.”

She unlocked her front door and stepped inside.

The first thing she did was lock it.

Then she checked the handle.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Only then did she allow herself to breathe.

⸻

Inside her bedroom, she placed the grocery bags on the floor.

Her eyes drifted toward the folded note he had slipped into her hand.

For a moment, she considered throwing it away.

Instead…

She unfolded it.

Elegant handwriting filled the paper.

Your love is driving me crazy… day by day.

Tessa stared silently at the sentence.

“You’re insane…” she whispered.

Whether she was speaking to the note…

Or to the man who had written it…

She wasn’t entirely sure.

With trembling hands, she opened the black Dior shopping bag.

Inside lay a simple black bodycon dress.

Beautiful.

Minimal.

Elegant.

Exactly her size.

Her breath caught.

“How…?”

How did he know?

Folded neatly beside the dress was another handwritten note.

You’ll look beautiful in this.

A shiver crept down her spine.

She quickly folded the dress and pushed it back into the bag before placing it inside the wardrobe.

She wanted to throw it away.

She really did.

But somehow…

She couldn’t.

The chocolates met the same fate.

Instead of throwing them into the trash, she hid them in the back of a drawer.

She hated herself for keeping them.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to let them go.

Trying to distract herself, Tessa walked into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

The rhythmic sound of the knife against the cutting board echoed through the quiet house.

Slice.

Slice.

Slice.

Then…

Her hand stopped.

For a brief second…

She remembered another pair of hands.

Large.

Steady.

Holding a knife with frightening ease.

She shut her eyes tightly.

“No…”

She forced herself to continue cooking.

But no matter how hard she tried…

Those piercing green eyes kept appearing in her mind.

She should have remembered the fear.

She should have remembered the danger.

Instead…

What haunted her most was the mystery behind the man hidden beneath the mask.

And that realization frightened her more than anything else.