Chapter Four: The Call
649 Words
Damian's POV
The city had long fallen asleep.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse office, the glittering lights stretched endlessly across the skyline. Inside, however, the silence was almost unsettling.
Damian Knight sat behind his mahogany desk, absentmindedly twirling a pen between his fingers.
He had signed countless contracts that day.
Attended three meetings.
Closed a multimillion-naira deal.
Yet...
His thoughts kept drifting back to the girl who had bumped into him that afternoon.
The quiet girl with frightened brown eyes.
The one who apologized over a few drops of coffee instead of trying to impress him.
It irritated him.
He wasn't a man who got distracted.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Noah stepped inside carrying a slim black folder and a tablet.
"You asked me to find out about the university student."
Damian looked up.
"You were quicker than I expected."
"You told me not to waste time."
Noah placed the folder on the desk.
"I gathered everything we could find."
Damian opened it.
The first page contained a photograph.
Name: Lily Carter
Age: 19
Department: Business Administration
Year: Second Year
He turned the page.
Family background.
Academic records.
Scholarship details.
Part-time employment.
Residential address.
Emergency contact.
Even her attendance record.
Noah spoke carefully.
"She lost both parents several years ago."
Damian's eyes remained on the report.
"She currently lives with her younger brother."
Another page.
Excellent grades.
No disciplinary records.
Part-time waitress at a neighborhood café.
Small monthly bank deposits from her salary.
Scholarship payments.
Tuition records.
Everything about her life had been laid out neatly inside the folder.
Damian continued reading in silence.
"So..."
Noah hesitated.
"Is there anything else you need?"
Damian closed the file.
"Her phone number."
Without a word, Noah slid another sheet of paper across the desk.
"It's listed there."
Damian glanced at it.
A simple eleven-digit number.
He stared at it longer than he intended.
"You may leave."
"Yes, sir."
The office door clicked shut.
Silence returned.
Damian picked up his phone.
His thumb hovered over the screen for several seconds.
This was ridiculous.
He had no reason to call her.
No business with her.
No explanation.
And yet...
He pressed the number.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then—
"Hello?"
Her voice was soft.
He remained silent.
"Hello...?"
She sounded slightly confused.
"Who is this?"
Damian tightened his grip on the phone.
He still said nothing.
"Hello?"
A pause.
Then her tone became firmer.
"Who the hell is this?"
For the first time that day...
The corner of Damian's lips almost lifted.
Without saying a single word...
He ended the call.
The line went dead.
He stared at the dark screen.
What had possessed him to do that?
He didn't know.
But somehow...
Hearing her voice had been enough.
He placed the phone on the desk and leaned back in his chair.
Tomorrow, he told himself.
He would forget all about Lily Carter.
At least...
That was the plan.
---
Lily's POV
Lily frowned as she stared at her phone.
Unknown Number
"That's strange..."
She pulled the phone away from her ear after the call disconnected.
"They didn't even say anything."
She checked the number again.
Unknown.
No name.
No message.
Just silence.
"Probably a prank call."
She shrugged, placing the phone on her bedside table.
Her younger brother, Ethan, looked up from the comic book he was reading.
"Who was it?"
"I honestly don't know."
"They didn't talk?"
"No."
"That's creepy."
Lily laughed softly.
"It is a little."
She plugged her phone into the charger and switched it off.
"I'm not thinking about it tonight."
Tomorrow was another long day at the university.
She needed sleep.
As she turned off the bedroom light, she had no idea that somewhere across the city...
The man who had called her was still thinking about her.
And the obsession had only just begun.
- Writer
