Chapter 1
Prologue
The rain seemed endless.
Lily Montgomery stepped out of her car, clutching her umbrella, and sprinted aimlessly towards the nearby building. The wind was fierce; the umbrella failed to open, and the raindrops fell on her head and shoulders, cool and piercing to the bone. She hurried along, her shoes making a clear echo as they splashed through puddles.
The night was deep.
There was no one around.
The air was filled with the scent of newly constructed buildings.
Familiar with her surroundings, Lily Montgomery navigated her way to the observation elevator and pressed the button for the 33rd floor. The elevator's light reflected on her pale face, the jumping digits like a dim beacon in the dark, flickering and striking her eyes.
She stared, unblinking, as the elevator numbers passed "33", suddenly accelerating uncontrollably, the sensation of weightlessness rendering her brain momentarily oxygen-deprived, as if a noisy gust of wind had blown through.
35, 36, 37...
It was a terrifying feeling.
Lily Montgomery wanted to escape, but couldn't move. She wanted to scream for help, but her body was as rigid as a piece of charred wood. She desperately widened her eyes—through the glass of the observation elevator, she saw a man on the rooftop of the building opposite. Amidst a storm of lightning, he seemed to glow all over.
What was he doing?
Suddenly, the elevator stopped.
The door opened, and Lily Montgomery stepped out—no, not her, it was the man in the opposite building.
He plummeted rapidly, like a black falcon piercing through the rain and fog, at a tremendous speed.
"Ah! Don't jump!"
A shrill scream pierced through the air, and Lily Montgomery bolted upright in bed, her face deathly pale as she took in the room she was in.
Dawn had not yet broken, and the morning light was faint.
She exhaled deeply, "What a terrifying dream, it scared me to death!"
"Mr. Michael Smith, did you have a nightmare again?"
The room's curtains were tightly drawn, and the light was dim.
A man sat in the shadows, his lean shoulders slightly tensed.
Upon hearing this, he responded with a grunt, "Emma, the medicine."
"Still can't sleep?"
He didn't answer, but took the medicine and water, swallowing the two small pills mechanically, his eyes fixed on the flickering light on the curtain, recalling the scream from his dream.
The woman in the observation elevator of the opposite building, he didn't know her. Yet, in his countless nightmares of jumping from the rooftop, it was always that scream that woke him.
She yelled, "Don't jump."
So, he jumped over and over, never reaching the ground, and never knowing the outcome.
He clenched his forehead, "Emma, I want to find her."
"Who?" The sudden question was somewhat alarming.
"A woman." There was a glimmer in his eyes, akin to both a raging flame and a desperate longing.
