Dark Alley-Chapter 5 Honeyed Lies and Hidden Bloodshed

　　Jenna and Raymond Cole strolled out of the Lakeside Grand Hotel as dusk draped the city in glittering neon. Cool evening wind swirled around Jenna's shoulders, light and intoxicating, a feeling she'd craved for months.

　　Raymond waved down a taxi from the shadowed sidewalk, his rounded beer belly protruding beneath an expensive tailored shirt. Though pushing fifty-five, he carried an air of polished charm, sharp business wit, and above all, unlimited wealth—everything Jenna had ever wanted.

　　After one final, fleeting visit to the psychiatric ward to gawk at Mia's broken state, Jenna never returned. None of their coworkers suspected a thing; they only sighed and mourned Mia's tragic fate, a beautiful young woman trapped in endless madness.

　　Long before Jenna sat in the velvet armchair beneath a wall-sized stallion painting in Raymond's office, he'd made his intentions brutally clear. His hungry eyes roamed every curve of her body, and Jenna silently gave him the answer he wanted. At the next company meeting, Raymond formally announced Jenna as his new personal secretary. Once the session ended, she slid into his polished black Mercedes, parked the car securely, and the pair hailed a cab straight to Lakeside Grand.

　　To Jenna, Raymond's lazy wave for a taxi felt like a ritual, a signal that all her scheming had finally borne fruit. The red wine she'd downed over dinner churned warm and wild in her stomach, thrumming excitement through her veins as she anticipated the night ahead. If a mirror stood before her, she knew her cheeks would glow flushed and seductive, her features sharp with drunken allure—she'd never felt more beautiful.

　　The taxi carried them far from the office, Raymond's family home, and every acquaintance they shared, to a secluded rental apartment he'd decorated meticulously for secret trysts. In his decades navigating cutthroat business deals, he'd learned to contain his extramarital flings, investing minimal effort to reap maximum satisfaction, never letting his affairs threaten his stable marriage.

　　The cab pulled up outside a cluster of two-story residential buildings, a tangled warren of winding alleyways. They twisted through countless narrow turns until they reached a green metal front door marked with a paper good-luck sticker. Raymond pulled out a set of keys and unlocked it.

　　He flipped on twinkling fairy lights strung along every wall, filling the room with soft, romantic glow. The second the deadbolt clicked shut behind them, they lost all restraint. Jenna had gone far too long without a lover, and the older man's touch sent a dizzying rush through her body.

　　They tangled together, laughing breathlessly, on the verge of losing themselves entirely—until a massive, inky shadow dragged slowly across the far wall. That same terrible, guttural cackle echoed through the silent room.

　　Jenna froze mid-movement, her head snapping toward the wall. The giant silhouette stood rigid as a corpse, unmoving, even as Raymond continued clumsily above her, oblivious to the horror unfolding beside them.

　　The cackle grew louder, shriller, until Raymond halted abruptly, finally spotting the towering shadow stretched across the plaster.

　　He scrambled off the bed in one frantic leap, stumbling to the window and yanking back the curtains. The yard outside lay pitch black, empty. He threw on his trousers and shirt, patrolling every corner of the apartment, searching closets and hallways, yet found nothing out of place. When he returned to the bedroom, Jenna huddled tight in the bed's far corner, staring at him with wild, terrified eyes.

　　"See? There's nothing there," Raymond soothed her, reaching to pull her close. He tried to resume their earlier passion, but Jenna dissolved into hot, trembling tears. Raymond's heart twinged with mild guilt; he cooed soft apologies, promising to stop, and only then did Jenna's sobs fade into a shaky smile.

　　She took the initiative to cling to him, and that night they clung to each other in wild, desperate intimacy, as if the world might crumble apart at any second.