The clock struck 11:30 pm, but the relentless snowstorm showed no signs of dissipating. The wind outside was howling with all its might while thick snowflakes continued to bounce off against the windows.

In the cosy room, Emily wasn't alone. She was with Alex. They were engrossed in sharing stories about their past lives before getting reincarnated in this fictional world. Both of them were still pinching themselves in disbelief at the thought of being characters in a novel.

Suddenly, a memory appeared in Emily's mind, causing her to shiver. Alex, who was sitting on an armchair, noticed her tense expression and asked, "What happened, Emily? Are you okay?"

Emily sat on the bed, quickly glanced at him, and replied, "A memory related to this novel just came into my mind."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Alarming bells began to ring in his head. "Have you read the whole book?"

She nodded. A spark of light came to Alex's eyes, and he said quickly, "Tell me what you have just remembered?"

"The killer will try to kill Stephen, Jules's son," Emily said in worry.

Attempting to know more, Alex further asked, "Do you know when it will happen?"

"I think it will happen tonight. It's just my guess," she replied.

Meanwhile, in a motel room where Jack and Lily are currently staying. Jack is sound asleep, while Lily is wide awake, sitting on the other side of the bed with her eyes devoid of any signs of slumber. Despite her numerous attempts to fall asleep, her mind is preoccupied with thoughts of the killer, which have been causing her a great deal of distress.

Suddenly, she feels a soreness in her throat, prompting her to get up from the bed and head towards a nearby table that has two glasses and a jug of water placed on it. She pours herself a glass of water and begins to drink, hoping that it will alleviate the discomfort in her throat.

As she finishes her drink, she turns around to head back to the bed when she hears loud footsteps outside the hallway. Her heart skips a beat as she wonders if the killer is lurking outside, or if it's the police officers patrolling the area to ensure everyone's safety.

"Is the killer lurking outside? Perhaps the police officers patrolling the area to ensure everyone's safety," she thought to herself.

Then she sits on the bed, trying to find her phone, but it's nowhere to be found. She searches the armchairs and the bathroom but to no avail. It suddenly dawns on her that she might have left her phone on the couch in the hall. She debates with herself if she should go and retrieve it, knowing that the police officers are patrolling the area and that the killer might not be lurking around.

Then she silently stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. As came into the hall, she got to know that nobody was in the hall. Her heart begins to pound in her chest.

"Where are the police officers?.. If they weren't on the first floor, then who was wandering in the hallway? I'm already here now, so I'll just quickly grab my phone from the couch,"

She rose from her seat on the couch where she and her husband had been sitting with others. As she reached the couch, she caught sight of her phone and quickly grabbed it to check the time. It read midnight.

As she was just about to swing around, her ears picked up on the sound of footsteps. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a sudden shiver ran down her spine. Her heart began to race like a drumbeat, so fast and hard that it felt like it might burst through her chest at any moment.

                                                 ✵✵✵

"Did you suspect someone here?" asked Alex.

Emily took a moment to consider before responding, "Well, at first I thought the receptionist might be the killer, but now I don't think so. It doesn't make sense for him to kill the guests. What do you think?"

"I still suspect him. Maybe he's not as sweet as he seems," replied Alex, as he grabbed a glass of water from the table and took a sip.

"You can be right," Emily said and she took a step towards the window to gaze at the stunning view outside. The snowstorm that had been raging outside seemed to have lost some of its intensity, and the snowflakes had become lighter and less heavy. They swirled around in the chilly winter air, forming delicate patterns against the sky. Emily couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the scene before her, feeling a sense of peace and calm wash over her.

LILY!!!!!!!!

As they were lost in thought, a loud shout from a man caught their attention. They exchanged a worried look and quickly left the room. Emma, who was staying on the same floor, had also come out of her room after hearing the shout. Without exchanging any words, the three of them hurriedly made their way down to the first floor using the stairs, forgetting that there was an elevator on the second floor.

On the way down the stairs, they saw police officers rushing towards the first floor. Once they reached the first floor, they saw Jack crying and trying to wake Lily up who had fainted on the floor.

As they approached Lily, their eyes landed on a deep and gruesome wound on her stomach that seemed to have been inflicted by a sharp object. The sight of it sent chills down their spine.

Richard approached Jack and asked, "What happened to Mrs. Lily?"

Jack replied in a trembling voice, "Sir-r, I was sleeping in our room when suddenly I realized that Lily was not on the bed. I stepped out of my room and found her injured, lying on the floor of the hall."

"We need to take Lily to the hospital before we start searching for the killer," Alex said urgently.

"You are right. Snowstorms got calmer, we could take Lily to the hospital," Mike spoke out.

"Yes, let's take her to the car," Richard said.

In a sudden move, Jack clasped Lily up into his arms and made a hasty dash towards the exit of the motel, closely followed by Richard and Mike.

Emily, Alex and Emma were frozen in terror as a strange feeling that the killer might be lurking in this motel. Their hearts raced as they frantically scanned the surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of any suspicious activity.

The eerie silence was broken by their heavy breathing and the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end, sending shivers down their spines.

Emily suddenly realized something she wanted to share with Emma and Alex. "We all came here because we heard the loud shout of the jack, but George and Jules didn't come here," she said.

"Maybe something happened to them?" Emma asked, worried.

"We should go to their room to check on them!" Alex exclaimed before heading towards Jules's room. Emily and Emma followed him from behind.

When they reached the room, Alex knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds, but there wasn't any response. He knocked again, and Emma went towards George's room with Emily. As they arrived, Emily knocked on the door, but they also didn't get any response.

"Mrs. Jules is not opening the door!" Alex shouted from the doorway of Jules's room.

"Same! George also not opening the door," Emily exclaimed.

To Be Continued...

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