Claire began to wonder whether she should wake her friends and tell them about the shadow she had just seen. But then she thought of how exhausted they both were after the long day and decided it wouldn't be right to disturb their sleep. With that thought, she lay back down on her bed—though sleep was still far, far from her eyes.
Just then, she felt as if someone was calling her name.
At first, Claire tried to ignore it, assuming it was just her imagination. But when the voice kept coming again and again, she slowly sat up in her bed and listened carefully. It was a woman's voice—soft, distant, yet desperate—calling Claire's name.
Claire tried to lie back down again, forcing herself to sleep, but the voice refused to stop. It sounded as if someone was in great distress, pleading for help… calling out only to her.
Finally, when Claire could no longer bear it, she gently called out to Stephnie, trying to wake her. Stephnie stirred at once, hearing Claire's anxious voice, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. It was only 3:20 a.m.
"What happened, Claire?" she asked, half-asleep.
"Stephnie, someone's calling my name," Claire whispered nervously. "Can you hear it too? That woman's voice?"
Stephnie blinked and focused, then quickly took a small vial of holy water from her bag. She drank a few drops and sprinkled some on herself, as if purifying her body. Then she turned to Claire and said gravely, "Yes, Claire… I can hear it too. It's a woman's voice. She sounds like she's in some kind of trouble—or maybe… she's trying to tell you something."
Both girls sat in silence for a moment, listening intently. When they concentrated, they realized the voice was coming from the third floor of the hospital—the same floor from where they had heard the scream the previous night.
They made a quick decision. They would go there—right now—and find out what was happening inside that mysterious room.
Stephnie and Claire woke Lily, who rubbed her eyes in confusion. When they told her what was going on, she was startled but agreed to come along. The three girls left their motel room quietly and began walking toward the hospital.
The entire area was cloaked in darkness. The only sounds were the soft, eerie hum of night insects. No human voices, no footsteps, not even the bark of a stray dog disturbed the silence.
"But how are we going to get inside?" Lily whispered. "You know they lock the hospital gate at night."
"Don't worry," Stephnie replied calmly. "When I explored the hospital earlier, I found a way to reach the third floor. First, we'll need to climb over the wall to get to the first floor balcony. Once we're inside, we can take the stairs up to the third floor."
As they walked closer, the mysterious voice grew louder—calling Claire's name with increasing urgency. The closer they got, the more it felt like the voice was drawing them in.
All three of them were scared. They knew that if anyone saw them sneaking around the hospital in the middle of the night, people would surely misunderstand—and the consequences could be severe.
When they finally reached the back wall of the hospital, they found an old wooden ladder leaning against it. It looked unstable, but it was their only option to climb up to the first floor.
One by one, the girls began to climb.
"I'm really scared," Lily whispered, her voice trembling. "We could've just come back here in the morning to check that room, couldn't we?"
"Yes, we could have," Stephnie replied softly, "but someone is calling out Claire's name right now. And I told you before to stay back at the motel and wait for us—but you're the one who insisted on coming along. So now, have some courage."
Stephnie's calm but firm tone made Lily fall silent.
The three girls had now climbed up to the first floor. From there, they began moving quietly toward the staircase leading up to the third floor. On the ground and first floors, there were still some hospital staff and a few patients resting. But the second floor was completely deserted—and the third floor was shrouded in total darkness. None of the lights were working up there.
The girls switched on their phone flashlights and began walking down the left-side corridor toward the second room.
When they reached it, they found the door locked with a heavy padlock. But Stephnie already knew this, since she had been there before. That's why she had brought along an iron cutter—just in case. Without hesitation, she bent down and began cutting through the lock.
"Oh my God! Stephnie, what have you done?" Lily whispered in shock.
"Idiot, speak softly! What happened?" Stephnie hissed back.
At that, Lily picked up the broken lock and turned it around to show Stephnie the back of it. The moment Stephnie saw it, her expression froze.
On the back of the lock were symbols and markings of an occult ritual—proof that the lock had been consecrated and placed there to seal something inside. It wasn't meant to keep people out, but to trap something within.
"Well, what's done is done," Claire said firmly. "The lock's already broken. Open the door. I have to see who it is that's been calling my name at this hour."
Stephnie hesitated for a moment but then sprinkled a few drops of holy water on the door.
The instant she did, the voice Claire had been hearing suddenly stopped.
Claire gestured for her to open it anyway. Stephnie slowly turned the handle—and as soon as she did, all three of them stepped inside together.
The moment they entered, a strong gust of wind rushed past them, as if escaping from the room itself. Lily shrieked in terror, her scream echoing down the empty corridor.
Her scream was so loud that the hospital staff downstairs woke up and hurried upstairs to the third floor.
Within minutes, the girls were completely trapped. The staff had surrounded them from all sides.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped forward—it was Harry, the head male nurse. Without warning, he slapped Claire hard across the face.
When Stephnie protested, he struck her too—his slap sharp and merciless. Then he ordered the others to tie up the girls' hands and mouths and lock them inside the same third-floor room.
The three sat there, terrified. Lily, trembling with fear, was silently cursing Claire in her mind—for hearing that voice, for insisting they come here, and for dragging her into this nightmare.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open again—and Harry entered the room.
He sat down in front of them and demanded coldly, "What were you girls doing here in the middle of the night—and that too sneaking in by climbing over the wall?"
The girls tried to speak through the cloths tied around their mouths, signaling with their eyes for him to remove them.
Harry understood. He reached out and pulled the gag off only from Claire's mouth.
The moment she could speak, Claire began to explain everything—how she had heard a woman's cries coming from this room, and how someone had been calling her name, asking for help.
Harry listened quietly at first—then suddenly burst into laughter.
He called out to a man standing outside the door. "Hey, Max! Come here for a second!"
A man stepped in—tall, heavy-built, wearing a hospital uniform. Harry repeated to him everything that Claire had just told him.
Max smirked. "Brother, I think these girls are pretty cunning," he said, his eyes scanning them. "They're probably part of that Marry Thomas gang."
"If these girls really are part of Marry's gang, then the boss will tell us what to do with them," Harry said angrily to Max. "If we take any action on our own without asking him, he won't spare a soul among us. But tell me this — when those girls were climbing over the wall into the hospital, where were all the other staff and attendants?"
"They were all on the ground floor," Max answered. "Nobody expected anyone to come here tonight, so most of us had our eyes closed. These girls took advantage of that and slipped in. Don't worry — I'll handle them properly."
The two men left the room talking as they walked away. In their haste, Harry forgot to retie the gag over Claire's mouth. As soon as Harry and Max were out of earshot, Claire pulled the cloth from her friends' mouths. The relief of finally breathing and speaking eased them a little.
Then they heard Harry's voice at the door, speaking on the phone."Boss, we've caught those three girls on the hospital's third floor — the same ones who've been hanging around our place for the last two days and even attended your party. Tell me if I should… hide their bodies."
It sounded like Harry expected an order, but apparently his boss refused such an instruction — because after a moment, Harry walked away without further orders.
"They said those girls were at your party — and we were at Murphy's party too," Claire said, stunned. "That means Murphy is behind all of this."
"I knew it the moment I saw that tattoo on his chest," Lily snapped, anger burning in her voice. "He's a low-life, and he had Marry made to disappear."
"Now's not the time for accusations," Stephnie said urgently. "We need to get out of here. Claire — can you untie my rope?"
"I can't promise I'll be perfect, but I'll try," Claire answered. She began working at the knot, hands moving quickly.
At the Peterson mansion, George sat on the couch sipping his drink when Murphy entered and sat beside him.
"Daddy, there's something I need to tell you," Murphy said.
"I already know what you're here to say," George replied, drawing a long puff on his cigar. "Those three girls who came for your interview — our people caught them on the hospital's third floor."
Murphy was surprised for a moment, then recovered. "How did you find out?" he asked.
"Max called and told me," George said. "Do one thing — phone Harry and bring those three girls to our farmhouse. They're beautiful girls; let's amuse ourselves with their youth a little, and then bury them where no one will ever find them."
"Dad, that's wrong," Murphy protested. "They're journalists. If those three go missing after coming to our hospital, we could end up in serious legal trouble."
George's temper snapped. He shouted, "Have you fallen in love with one of them again? You always have a soft spot for journalists—if she's a girl, even more so. Don't get sentimental. Do exactly as I say."
Seeing his father's fury, Murphy's condition worsened. He was terrified, yet he didn't have the courage to go against his father's orders. Reluctantly, he tried to call Harry, but when the call didn't connect, Murphy grabbed his car keys and rushed toward the hospital himself.
Meanwhile, inside the hospital, the three girls were still struggling to untie their ropes. After several attempts, Claire finally managed to free Stephnie's hands. But just then, they heard shouts and sounds of fighting coming from outside the door — men screaming, blows landing — and then, suddenly, everything fell silent. No sound, no movement.
The girls quickly put their hands behind their backs again, pretending to still be tied, as they heard someone unlocking the door from the outside.
When the door opened, all three of them froze in shock. Standing in front of them was Fedrick, and behind him lay Harry's men — all beaten and unconscious on the floor.
"Fedrick! What are you doing here? Are you with the people who kidnapped us and locked us in this room?" Lily asked fearfully.
A moment later, the girls realized that while they had pretended to keep their hands tied behind their backs, they had forgotten to put the gags back over their mouths.
"Lily, calm down," Claire said quickly. "If Fedrick were working with them, why would he have knocked them all out?"
But something about Fedrick was strange. He didn't say a word. His face was blank, emotionless — like a robot following a command. Suddenly, he pulled a knife from his belt and began walking toward the girls. His expression didn't change; he looked eerily lifeless.
The three of them began trembling with fear. As Fedrick leaned toward Lily, holding the knife in his hand, Claire panicked — she thought he was about to kill Lily. In an instant, she lunged forward and attacked him.
"Claire, stop! He's not trying to kill her — he's cutting her ropes!" Stephnie shouted, grabbing Claire's arm.
Claire froze and looked again. She saw that Stephnie was right — Fedrick was freeing Lily, not hurting her. It became clear that he had come to rescue them, not harm them.
Still silent, Fedrick continued to cut Lily's ropes until all three girls were completely free. Without uttering a word, he gestured for them to follow him and began walking toward the exit.
The girls knew that returning to the motel now could be fatal, so they decided to go with him.
As they stepped out of the hospital and followed Fedrick down the dark road toward his house, they suddenly spotted Murphy driving toward the hospital in his car.
"Our suspicion was right. The one who had us kidnapped and planned to kill us was none other than that handsome hunk, Murphy Peterson," Claire said, taking a trembling breath.
The three girls couldn't believe their eyes. They followed Fedrick to his house, but as soon as they arrived, Stephnie noticed something strange — there was a bullet wound on Fedrick's right shoulder. Yet, oddly enough, he seemed perfectly fine. He was using his right arm with ease, as if nothing had happened.
Then Claire asked Fedrick if he had any first aid supplies, since Lily had hurt her hand while climbing the wall. Without saying a single word, Fedrick simply pointed toward one of the rooms.
Stephnie and Lily sat down on the couch while Claire went into the other room to look for the first aid kit. Fedrick still stood motionless in the living hall, as stiff and silent as a robot.
After finding the kit, Claire came back and thanked Fedrick for saving their lives. She then turned toward her friends — but as her eyes fell on the mirror hanging in the living hall, she let out a loud scream.
Stephnie and Lily rushed toward her, terrified, and asked what had happened. Claire's trembling hand pointed toward the mirror. When Stephnie and Lily looked at it, the blood in their veins froze.
Because where Fedrick was standing in the room — his reflection in the mirror was not his at all.It was Marry Thomas standing there.
The moment Fedrick realized that the girls had discovered his truth, he began laughing — a deep, echoing laughter that came in two overlapping voices. At that very instant, fierce winds started blowing outside, rain poured down in sheets, and the entire house began to tremble.
Inside, the three girls stood frozen, shivering in pure terror.