Chapter 3

"What are you doing? Who said you could come in!"

Janice watched the man step across the threshold, and for the first time a flicker of real panic slipped into her voice.

But she was too used to giving orders. Her mouth stayed hard.

"Get out! Take one more step and I'll call the cops on you right now!"

She snatched up her phone, ready to dial.

"Janice, shut up!"

I don't know where the strength came from. I spun around and swung my right hand high.

Crack.

The slap landed on Janice's face, hard and loud.

She was stunned.

She clutched her cheek as it flushed and swelled, staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Glenda, you hit me?"

"Over some lowlife delivery guy, you hit me?"

Her voice shook, thick with hurt and fury.

"I told you to shut up. Do you not understand plain words!"

My eyes were bloodshot. I glared at her.

"Get to your room! Now! Move!"

I had no way out.

The only thing left was to cut her off by force before she could provoke him any further.

Janice's tears broke loose in an instant.

She jabbed a finger at me, then at the delivery driver, teeth clenched.

"Fine. Glenda, you remember what you did today!"

"Both of you just wait!"

She whirled around and rushed into her own bedroom.

A thunderous bang.

The bedroom door slammed shut, and right after came the click of the lock.

Now it was just me and the delivery driver in the living room.

As long as Janice wasn't in front of him, maybe he wouldn't snap.

I was gasping for breath. Stiffly I turned my head toward the man still standing at the entryway.

He was bending down.

My heart shot back up into my throat, my eyes locked on his hands.

Was he going to pick up a shard of broken tile off the floor?

No.

He only picked up his own old phone where it had fallen, and wiped the dust off the screen with his sleeve.

He was fighting to hold himself together.

Once again he made no move to attack, and once again I'd pulled him back from the edge.

"Sir…"

My legs were weak, my knees knocking together on their own.

"Look, I've already sent her inside."

"Whatever amount you want, I can give it to you."

"If this is about the one-star review, I'll call the platform's customer support and explain it for you. Okay?"

I raised both hands, trembling, in a posture of complete surrender.

The man ignored the offer.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze going past me to Janice's shut bedroom door.

"She just said she was going to call the police."

His voice came out startlingly clear in the quiet living room.

"She was just running her mouth. You only delivered food. You didn't do anything."

"Even if an officer showed up, they couldn't do anything to you, right?"

I pleaded with everything I had.

That was when a huge shout suddenly came from inside Janice's bedroom.

"Hello? Is this 911! I want to report a crime!"

"Someone broke into my home! The address is…"

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

She had no idea the delivery driver was standing right there in the living room.

All it took was one kick to break down that wooden door, and neither of us would live through today.

The moment the man heard her calling the police, his shoulders went rigid.

He crushed the old phone in his grip, his knuckles cracking.

My phone lit up at the same time, that glaring pop-up appearing again.

【Woman attempts to call the police for help, bringing a fatal disaster upon herself!】