The friends stood in front of the door behind which the brothers had disappeared, but despite their efforts, they couldn't open it. They looked at each other, worried, sensing that something bad had happened.
"I knew it was a trap. Why does Mason never listen?" Nancy muttered, nervously biting her finger.
The brunette standing beside her narrowed her eyes.
"And it's a good thing he doesn't. The only person he should trust is me. We're getting married soon," Olivia scoffed, looking at Nancy with disdain.
"Then why didn't you stop him? If you're engaged, you should be looking out for him," Nancy pointed out.
Olivia gave her a cold glare.
"Shut your mouth. I'm not going to argue with you. Don't tell me how to treat my man."
Suddenly, a door slammed shut at the end of the hallway. The whole group froze. Jake was the only one who saw something that made him freeze in place.
At the end of the corridor stood a dark figure in a hood.
"What was that?!" Betty squeaked, grabbing Will's hand. "Do you see it?"
"We're being watched. It's just standing there… staring straight at us," Jake said quietly. "It looks… like a demon."
A cold shiver ran down everyone's spine. Fear pierced their bodies. Even Will, who had been trying to play the hero earlier, stepped back, pale.
Jake, however, remained still, his eyes locked on the figure.
"Why aren't you running?!" Jennifer cried, grabbing his hand.
"Because it's trying to tell me something. It's here for a reason," he said.
"Stop! You just said it looks like a demon! Don't trust it!"
"And yet, I trust you, Jennifer. And you're not exactly innocent, either."
Her hand dropped. She stood, stunned.
"Jake…"
"Go downstairs. I'll join you in a minute."
Hurt by his words, Jennifer rejoined the group. Still, she kept looking back, worried about him despite everything.
"Maybe we should stay with him…" she said at the stairs. "We can't let the same thing happen to him that happened to Mason."
"He made his choice. If he wants to talk to a demon, be my guest," Will muttered. "It's his decision."
"That's not what a friend would say."
"Possibly not. But I'm done risking my life for someone who keeps running into danger."
Jake took a few steps toward the figure.
"You want to tell me something?" he asked, barely able to keep his voice from trembling.
Before he could react, the figure appeared right next to him and lifted him into the air, choking him by the neck. He kicked his legs, trying to breathe. Then, as he collapsed to the floor, everything changed.
He was dressed in a green suit. People were looking at him with curiosity. Jake realized he was once again in the past.
"George!" someone called. James, Mason's grandfather, was approaching him. "We need to talk about what I saw yesterday."
Jake swallowed hard.
"What do you mean?"
"I know about you and Marie. I saw you together. Have you lost your mind? She's Jack's wife."
"She seduced me. Nothing… physical happened between us," Jake stammered.
"It better not have. Marie's pregnant. It's not your baby, is it?"
"No! Nothing happened. But… I lost my head over her. We should go somewhere private—where no one can hear us," George suggested.
"Now you're scared?" James laughed, leading him to the elevator.
Jake, trapped in the past, absorbed every word. He had no control over the conversation, but he knew he was learning another piece of the puzzle that led to the tragedy.
*
Nancy sat curled up at the front desk, feeling Olivia's gaze on her. Jennifer was still staring at the stairs.
"I can't sit here any longer. I'm going to check on Jake," she suddenly said.
"I'm coming with you," Nancy replied.
"Me too," Betty added, though fear was written all over her face.
Will stayed indifferent, while Olivia snorted.
"Seriously? You will look for him? Why? He hurt me—let him suffer."
"You're awful," Betty shot back. "I hope that wedding never happens."
"And you're a cheap influencer," Olivia retorted.
"Let's go," Jennifer said. "We can't count on them anyway."
Holding hands, the girls headed upstairs. Betty gripped Nancy's hand so tightly that she winced.
"That hurts!"
"Good! You deserve it for what you did," Betty snapped.
"I never returned Noah's feelings. He fell for me, not the other way around," Nancy said.
Jennifer groaned in frustration.
"Enough. We've all made mistakes. The only thing that matters now is surviving."
When they reached the upper floor, they saw something lying at the end of the hallway. It was Jake.
At that same moment, the elevator—previously out of order—opened. Its doors kept opening and closing, as if sending a warning.
"Jake's unconscious! I'm not leaving him!" Jennifer shouted.
"Something's stopping us from going further," Nancy whispered, trembling.
Jennifer stepped forward, but a supernatural force yanked her back and threw her into the elevator. The doors slammed shut with a loud bang.
Her scream echoed through the hallway.
Betty and Nancy stood frozen. True hell was just beginning.
And no one was ready for it.