"They did not take anything," Gabby informed the two police officers who had walked into her office—or what looked like one.
Gabby stepped over a toppled filing cabinet, its drawers spewing papers like a confetti explosion. Books lay scattered across the floor, their open pages displaying colorful diagrams and indecipherable scribbles documenting her research. Her once-organized office now resembled a battlefield.
Apparently, the place was already like this when Alessandra and Ryan arrived. They immediately called the police, but they left when the authorities arrived as Alessandra started feeling dizzy.
"Are you sure?" the female officer, who identified herself as Miles, asked as she scanned the room. "This place's a mess."
"I can't be sure," Gabby said. She turned toward her safe, bolted to the floor, and perfectly hidden under the bookshelves. The outer part of it remained intact.
She had no interest in showing her files to the authorities. Sebastian had already warned her not to show anything to the officers before he left to scout the area earlier.
"I will go and check my jewelry," she said, turning toward her bedroom where another safe was located. This safe was where she hid her jewelry. Just like her office, her bedroom had been trashed to perfection too.
Gabby's normally pristine bedroom resembled a hurricane's aftermath. Clothes lay strewn across the floor like fallen leaves, ripped from drawers and hangers. Her neatly made bed was a tangled mess of sheets and blankets, the pillows disemboweled of their fluffy stuffing.
After rummaging through her remaining clothes in her closet, she finally found her safe. It remained locked. However, there were signs that someone attempted to open it. Outside the safe were scratches, as if they were made by claws.
"Animal?" the other police officer said.
"What kind of animal would leave a mark like that?" Miles asked, her brows furrowed. "A bear?"
"Who knows?"
"At least they were not able to open the safe?" Gabby said.
Officer Miles knelt down, examining the scratches near the safe. "These don't look like typical animal marks," she said, her voice grim. "We need to collect these as evidence. Miss Lockwood, given the nature of the break-in, your safety is a concern. We can't let you stay here tonight."
"But where would I go?"
"Your sister informed us that you can stay at their place. It would be safer if you stay with your family members for now," Officer Miles explained.
Gabby's lips thinned. "Then I will stay in a hotel or something," she said. She doesn't want to drive back to the Lockwood family mansion and spend more time with Alessandra and Ryan. Moreover, she did not want to put her grandmother in any danger.
It was lucky that her grandmother already left before this place was destroyed, she could not imagine what would happen to her grandmother.
"Alright, Ms. Lockwood," Officer Miles said, collecting her paperwork. "That's all for now. We'll leave an officer here to watch the place and give you a ride to a hotel downtown. If you remember anything else that might be helpful, please don't hesitate to call me at any time."
She handed Gabby a business card with her name and contact information before heading out the door with her partner. Gabby watched them leave before she immediately locked the door and went to her office.
She opened her safe, and just as she expected, everything was still there. Luckily, her research and some other important documents were still intact. It seems that they only thoroughly searched her bed.
She found a bag for her documents before she proceeded to gather a few of her things from her bedroom. She didn't bother bringing a lot of her clothes as she was planning to buy new ones anyway.
A sudden shrill of the doorbell made Gabby jump. Her heart raced as she glanced nervously toward the door. Taking a deep breath, she cautiously approached the peephole.
Relief washed over her as she recognized the familiar uniform of a Chicago police officer.
She opened the door, a polite smile gracing her lips. "Officer?" she said.
"I am Officer Taylor; Officer Miles asked me to check on you to make sure you are settled in and get something that she left in your bedroom. She said she was taking pictures of the safe earlier and seemed to have left her radio?" a friendly man in his early forties responded.
"Right. I was just packing a small bag for the hotel," Gabby nodded. A sliver of unease prickled through her skin as she thought of the claw marks on her safe. "Please come in. I was in the bedroom earlier and I didn't find her radio, so— " Gabby paused when she noticed a very strange detail.
The officer's shoes were covered in mud?
A cold wave of suspicion washed over her. This wasn't right. Her pulse immediately quickened at the realization. However, before she could react, the man suddenly pushed the door, closing it behind him with a loud bang.
Adrenaline surged through Gabby's veins. This wasn't Officer Taylor. This was something else entirely.
Desperate, she shoved the imposter with all her might. The surprise sent him stumbling back. Without wasting time, she bolted toward the living room, with the man closely following behind.
She reached her bedroom door and attempted to close it. But before she could secure the lock, the door splintered open under a powerful kick. She was thrown back like a broken toy.
Pain shot through Gabby's back as she hit the bed frame, her breath knocked out of her. The man loomed over her, his eyes burning with an unnatural intensity. "Where is it?" he repeated, his voice a low growl. "Where is the Aetherium?"
"I don't…" she began, but the words wouldn't come out. Fear choked her voice.
The man grabbed her arm, his grip like a vise as he lifted her into the air.
"Don't lie to me! We know you have it!" As he spoke, he held his other hand as if showing it to her, and then a horrifying transformation began. His fingers started moving.
The sound of cracking bones filled her ears as his hand lengthened and sharpened into vicious claws. Gabby's eyes were so wide; her face turned even paler as she let out a scream but no sound came out of her mouth.
This wasn't a man – it was a nightmare come to life!