Half an hour has passed. I'm now sitting on the edge of my bed with a blanket around my body.

I watch as the head of security talks to his subordinates. He looks bloody furious and devastated. I've lost count of how many times he has apologized to me.

I'm safe now, but my body is still trembling.

A female employee is sitting beside me. She's been assuring me that everything will be okay and that this kind of incident will never happen again.

I've refused to drink the hot chocolate they've offered me to calm me down. Instead, I keep muttering, "This is so messed up. Very, very unprofessional."

The fact that one of their own guards managed to break into the security system and attack me as the occupant of this building makes my blood boil.

"Did they not run all the tests properly before hiring a person?" I speak through gritted teeth. "This is not excusable. Someone has to take responsibility for this. Did they not realize that they'd hired a person who deserved to be in a mental asylum?"

The lady beside me apologizes again, but I shake my head.

"I don't care. This is very inappropriate and disappointing for a well-known residence that people assume as the safest and most prestigious in town."

The unscratched reputation of this residence along with its owner will soon crumble once this incident reaches the media, and I won't feel sorry about that.

If Dad knew about this, he might burn this apartment down into ashes and would make sure that every single person on planet Earth despises it. Now that I think about that, I can't help but glance again at my phone lying on my bed.

I still haven't called Mom and Dad. They still don't have any idea about what happened. The reason why I haven't done so is that Dad will surely drag me back to Texas if he knows, and my mind is still debating whether I should let that happen or not.

I've worked hard to get accepted into this exchange student program, and I don't want my dream to vanish into thin air just because of one night.

It's very tempting to get Dad's money back, since this place doesn't deserve it. But then, I don't want to lose my opportunity to study in Seattle.

"Ms. Spencer." The head of security approaches me, still with guilt on his face. "Again, we apologize for what happened. There's no excuse for us to deny that the incident happened because of our mistakes. Our CEO, the owner of this building, is already on his way to see you right now. He would like to apologize to you as well."

I scoff. "Right. In fact, I have the right to sue all of you because of this incident. I can't wait to see him." My tone sounds sarcastic at the end of my sentence, but I don't care.

I could have been hurt tonight. I could have been raped. Worse -- I could have been killed.

The head of security takes a deep breath. His face pales, and I can see how much this problem stresses him out. "I'm sorry that we keep you waiting, Ms. Spencer. Our CEO was still in his office, but he immediately left everything the moment he heard about this. He went home straight away. He'll be here shortly."

He swallows, looking extremely frightened, as though he would rather die than face the wrath of his boss. However, his sentence piques my interest.

I squint at him. "Home?"

He quickly nods. "Yes, Ms. Spencer. He stays in this building too. At the top."

My eyebrows rise. Ah, the penthouse.

The head of security excuses himself when a guard reports something to him. His voice booms in the air again, scolding the team that was assigned to work in the same batch with Nico aka the attacker tonight.

I bite my lower lip, watching them talking. The head of security doesn't seem to mind that the other residents on this floor would be able to hear his loud voice.

"Wouldn't this cause a problem to my neighbors?" I ask the female staff beside me. "If they find out about this, won't it be a problem for the management? I'm sure that it will be on the news."

I can't help but feel restless, because if that's the case, Dad will find out too. I haven't seen any neighbors peeking, though.

The lady shakes her head. "There's no one else staying on this floor right now, Ms. Spencer. Only you."

That information makes my eyes widen. "What?" I echo in disbelief. "But that's not possible. I'm sure that this floor was fully occupied when I purchased."

The lady sighs. "That's right, Ms. Spencer. However, most of them only collected assets. They don't really live here. They go overseas a lot."

My mouth drops open. I just can't help but think about the worst scenario that could have happened had I not called the operator on time. Even if I'd screamed at the top of my lungs for help, no one would have been able to hear.

I ball my fist on my thigh, feeling frustrated than ever. Before I can open my mouth to talk again, movement from the door catches my attention.

"Here he is," the lady informs, sounding a bit panicked. "The owner of this building has arrived, Ms. Spencer." She stands up, and all the other people in the room immediately straighten up too.

A man appears at the door, looking absolutely deadly. His chest heaves up and down, the evidence that he's been in such a hurry. His jaw is clenched, which shows how much he is unhappy about the situation.

My breath catches in my throat because his features are absolutely familiar.

Tall, brown-haired, and broad shoulders. The man, dressed in his office suit, strides into the room. Each of his movements speaks authority.

He's the boss, the one in charge, and the one these people fear, especially after the incident tonight.

And he's the man whose name still makes my heart sink every time it is mentioned, because of what happened two years ago.

He's Aiden Klein.