Chapter 4: Paranoia and The Bully
918 Words
The shower stopped, and the sudden silence hit the penthouse like a gunshot.
Maya froze by the desk. Her phone was still glowing. An anonymous text read: "Check the bottom drawer."
Her hands shook as she pulled the heavy brass handle. Inside was a thick, black leather folder with her name embossed in gold: ROSSI, MAYA.
It wasn't a school folder; it was a dossier.
The first page was a photo of her. It wasn't a candid shot from campus. It had been taken from a distance, through her dorm window while it rained. She was just reading on her bed in an old t-shirt.
The next photo showed her asleep in the archives. The angle was from directly above. He had been standing right over her.
The rest of the pages were filled with Alistair Sterling’s elegant handwriting. It looked like a psychological profile:
Subject has high anxiety.
Deep insecurities about her appearance.
Easily isolated from others.
Responds well to authority.
Prime for absolute attachment.
Maya stopped breathing. The warmth she had felt an hour ago vanished. He wasn't just obsessed with her; he was studying her like a target.
Was Sterling actually the Blackwood Phantom? Was he breaking her down just to add her to a collection?
The bathroom door clicked.
Maya gasped, shoved the folder back into the drawer, and dove onto the sofa. She pulled a blanket up to her chin just as Sterling walked in.
He wore only a towel around his hips, water still dripping from his chest. He looked handsome, but now he looked dangerous. He noticed her pale face and heavy breathing.
"Did you miss me, Maya?" he purred.
"I... I just got cold," she lied.
Sterling knelt before her and brushed a damp strand of hair from her cheek. The gesture was tender, which made the folder ten feet away feel even more terrifying.
"I'll have a car take you back to your dorm," he whispered, his thumb tracing her lip. "But tomorrow night, you're staying here. Understood?"
Maya nodded, too scared to speak. She felt like a fly in a web, and the spider was kissing her.
The next afternoon, campus felt like a nightmare.
Maya hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photos. She looked at her professors and wondered if they were killers. Shaking on coffee and nerves, she clutched her books to her chest as she walked through the Humanities building.
"Well, well. If it isn't the charity case."
Julian Thorne stepped out from behind a pillar. He was a wealthy senior and a frat president. He was handsome in a cruel way and spent his time making Maya's life hell.
"Move, Julian," Maya said, trying to walk around him.
He blocked her path, eyeing her oversized sweater with disgust. "Still hiding in rags, Rossi? I guess when you're built like a brick wall, you have to hide it."
Maya’s face burned. "Leave me alone."
Julian stepped closer. "I was at the coffee shop last night. I saw Professor Sterling go into his private building. And twenty minutes later, I saw his assistant sneak out the back looking... ruined."
Maya froze. He had seen her.
"Fraternizing with a professor is academic misconduct," Julian sneered. "If I tell the Dean, you'll lose your scholarship. You'll be back in a trailer park by Friday."
Maya’s heart hammered. She wondered if Julian was the one sending the texts and watching her window.
"What do you want?" she whispered.
Julian looked her up and down. "I want to know what the Professor sees in a fat scholarship girl. Come to my room tonight. Show me what you showed him, and I’ll keep quiet."
"You're disgusting," Maya said. "I'd rather be expelled."
She tried to push past him, but Julian grabbed her arm hard. His nails dug into her skin.
"Don't ignore me, you fat b***h," he snarled. "You're nothing. You're going to do exactly—"
"Take your hand off her."
The voice was cold. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop.
Julian flinched but didn't let go. "Look, Professor, we were just—"
He stopped. Alistair Sterling was standing at the end of the hall. He wasn't acting like a professor anymore. He looked furious.
Sterling moved like a predator. In three strides, he was there. He clamped his hand onto Julian’s shoulder like a vice and squeezed. The strength was so sudden that Julian was forced to his knees.
"I gave you a simple instruction, Julian," Sterling whispered. "Take your hand off my student before I break every bone in it. Then I'll call your father and tell him why you're dropping out of Blackwood."
Julian ripped his hand away and scrambled backward in terror.
Sterling didn't look at him. He stepped in front of Maya, shielding her with his body. He took her hand in a possessive grip.
"Run along, Julian," Sterling said softly. "Before I decide to ruin your life today."
Julian bolted down the hallway.
Sterling turned to Maya. The monster disappeared, replaced by the obsessive man from the penthouse. He checked her arm for bruises.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
Maya shook her head. She felt safe because he had protected her, but she remembered the text from the night before: See what he really thinks of you.
"I'm fine," she breathed.
Sterling’s grip tightened. "Good. Because you're coming back to my office. We have a killer to catch, Maya. And I don't share what is mine."
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