The next day, I sit in front of a police officer. A short, pudgy man in his early forties with a couple of gray streaks in his hair. He inspects my ID and types away on his computer.

Beside me, Aunt Abbie taps her fingers on her knees impatiently. After explaining everything to her last night, she doesn't waste any time. I barely had any breakfast before she drove us both straight to the police station early in the morning. Once here, she hands over all the threat mails we have been receiving, including the text I've received on my phone.

The questions keep coming. "Miss, have you seen the man before?"

"Yes, but I didn't get a good look at his face. He's always wearing a hoodie or a cap."

"Any suspects in mind? Do you think you would know him?"

"No."

"Any recent breakups? Seventy percent of the stalking cases we've dealt with are usually because of their exes."

I shake my head. "My boyfriend was with me on the day we met him."

The officer lets out one long sigh and squints at me. "This seems rather difficult. We will need to collect more evidence. I'll arrange for someone to check the CCTVs."

Aunt Abbie's patience is drying up. More so because one of her kids is being threatened. "What more do you guys need? This is obviously a case of stalking!"

"Calm down, Ma'am." He sounds almost bored, perhaps because he has dealt with people and cases every day that he seems unfazed by our anxiety. "We understand your concern. However, we need more clues in order to pinpoint this man's location and identity. In the meantime, you may look into applying for a protection order. Once we have his identity, you will need to fill up this form and await the date of your assigned court hearing."

Aunt Abbie takes the paper and pen, frowning as she scans the words. "How long do you think you guys will take to catch him? The protection order is pretty much useless if we don't know who exactly he is."

"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll catch him," he assures her calmly. "To put your mind at ease, we will dispatch a couple of officers to patrol around your house a few times each day, just in case. In the meantime—" he gestures towards me, "—this little lady needs to be careful at all times. Best if she stays at home most of the time."

Aunt Abbie presses her lips together and exchanges a look with me. From the look on her face, I know she will not let me out of sight until we catch whoever this guy is.

We complete the paperwork before leaving the police station. In the parking lot, Aunt Abbie answers a couple of work calls as we get into the car and pull out onto the main road. Once she ends her call, I blurt out a question.

"Did Mom ever, well, tell you she was facing troubles?"

Aunt Abbie's face falls. Crestfallen. "Not much. We used to be very close, but after I got married and had Judy, we didn't speak as much. Knowing Ava, she doesn't like to depend on others," my aunt sighs. "But I wish I had paid more attention to her then. That's the one thing I regret in life—not being there for her."

"Don't say that," I tell her quietly. "You're doing everything you can for her already. She wouldn't have blamed you for anything."

My aunt gives me a weak smile. "You think so?"

"I do." To prove my words, I reach over to give her a hug. "The Best Aunt Award goes to you."

She laughs. "You forgot one more word—overprotective. I know I can be overbearing, but I'm going to put extra locks in the house. Better safe than sorry. And you're going to have to carry pepper spray around with you. Works only if you aim it in the eyes. I would totally give you a taser if I can get my hands on one."

Grinning, I give her a thumbs-up. "Got it."

Shortly after, the car stops along the road right by Happynest. My aunt tells me she'll be back in a jiffy and asks me to stay put. All she needs to do is to grab her working files and check in on her employees to make sure that no one's slacking off on their jobs. In the meantime, I take the time to text Kyle to update him on the situation. He replies a minute later, telling me he's helping his mom at the shop and will head over to my house right after he's done.

The door pops open on my left and I hear my aunt sliding into the driver's seat. "Aunt Abbie, listen. Last night, I found something that belongs to Mom–"

"What did you find?"

A male voice answers me unexpectedly. Instantaneously, all the air is sucked out of my lungs and my words fade to a tense silence. My head turns stiffly to the side, my eyes trembling with fear.

Because sitting right next to me isn't my aunt, but a man dressed in a black hoodie and mask. The sight of him reminds me of the guy that bumped into me at the theater yesterday.

Freaking hell.

Who is he?

A terrified scream leaps up my throat. "Oh my god—"

I scramble for the door handle on my side, trying to get out. However, a hand grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls me back, fingers digging into my scalp painfully. A cry rips from my throat and he takes the chance to ram my head against the dashboard once, knocking me straight into oblivion.

***

I don't know how long I slept.

A set of heavy boots stirs me awake. The loud creak of a chair being dragged across the floor reins in my consciousness fully. As my vision focuses around me, panic sets in.

I sit up immediately, but soon realize that I can't. Both my hands and feet are bound by a thick rope, forcing me into a rather uncomfortable lying position on the cold, gritty ground. A dull pain throbs at the side of my head and the memory of how I was knocked out cold in the car replays in my mind.

This reminds me, where is my aunt?

And where am I?

"Good." A chilling voice comes from behind me. "You're awake."

I freeze in place, holding my breath. When my abductor doesn't make a move, I gather my courage and flip my body onto the other side, squinting around me. The room that I'm in is relatively dark, save for a thin, gray shaft of light streaming through the dusty, broken glass panes at the top of the walls. It casts over the face of the man sitting in a chair before me, watching me with a careful gaze.

This time, his face is revealed.

Recognition dawns on me, and I narrow my eyes at him. "You," I choke. "It's you who's behind everything that's happening recently."

Gavin, my mother's ex-boss, tips his head at me. "We meet once again," he smiles with his perfect set of white teeth. "I admit this is not how I would want to meet you, but there's been...a slight change of plans."

I glare at him. I should have known that the man stalking me was him all along. His face was concealed, but his height and physique match to his. This reminds me, did he drop by Happynest that day on purpose? Did he give me Mom's stuff and ask questions just to test my memory?

Taking in a deep breath of air, I open my mouth to scream–

Gavin gives me a look of disapproval, shaking his head. "Save your breath, sweetheart. Screaming for help won't work. This is an empty room. We are in an abandoned warehouse way out of town. Nobody's going to come."

My body freezes at his words. Hope deflates in me like a balloon. If what he's saying is true, the chances of me being saved are diminishing fast. "What do you want from me?" I whisper. "I know nothing about you and don't even know you!"

He stands from his chair and takes a step towards me as I try to shuffle backwards to put as much distance between us. However, I don't go far before he kneels and grabs my chin roughly in his gloved hand.

He forces me to look into his eyes. "You really don't remember me?" he asks quietly. "But you're remembering, aren't you? And that's a problem. I've been watching you. It's best to eliminate the threat before you remember too much."

"You're wrong! I remember nothing." Tears are forming in my eyes out of fear and hysteria. "Just let me go!"

His face scrunches up into a look of remorse, but I now know that his kind face is just a mask. "Sorry, sweetheart. I would have given you a chance if not for your father's appearance. It caught me off guard when I bumped into him the other day. And it made me change my mind. He's here for you, isn't he? I can't let you go back to him. You were supposed to be my daughter."

His daughter? "You sick psycho–"

Gavin slaps me across the face and the world spins around me from the impact. "Sorry, hon." He glares at his own hand, as if he's ashamed by his own action. "Your mother called me those words too. I hate them."

My cheek is stinging badly, but I still fix him with an angry stare. "And she's right."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he rises to his feet and is about to walk away when my voice halts him.

"What am I supposed to remember?" I scream at his back, releasing all the pent up frustration in me. "Tell me. What is this wretched thing that can't stop you from leaving me alone? You already took Mom away from me! You kidnapped me by driving us off in my aunt's car, didn't you? What more do you want?"

Turning around slowly, Gavin doesn't answer my question. "Ah, Ava." The mention of my mother causes a shift of emotions in his eyes. Guilt flashes across his features. "She was a hardworking staff and had a beautiful soul. We hung out often in the past and started dating for a while. I thought we could be together. I thought we might be a family and find a house to settle–"

Shock fills me. Learning about the fact that he used to be my mother's ex disgusts me. Plus, the way his eyes shimmer when he talks about Mom puts a foul taste in my mouth. It makes me wonder what she had seen in him. Did he toy with her and feed her lies?

He's oblivious to my reaction. The more he speaks, the more tense his tone and muscles get.

"–We were happy together. I gave her my love and placed so much faith in her," he reveals slowly, "until the day she betrayed me."