𝔜𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡 : 𝔇𝔢𝔩𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔲𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔨𝔢𝔡

1

Chapter 1: Shadows of Ink

Sunday nights were Victoria's escape. While the rest of the world prepared for another week, she lost herself in the twisted worlds she created. Sitting in her dimly lit apartment, with the glow of her laptop casting shadows across her face, Victoria typed the last line of her latest chapter with a small, satisfied smile.

She didn't write for approval or applause—though she had plenty of that, with over a million readers hanging on her every word. Victoria wrote because it amused her to explore the darker edges of human nature, the places people were too afraid to look. Her stories were filled with murder, betrayal, and the minds of characters who were charmingly twisted. And her fans adored her for it.

She leaned back, glancing around the silent apartment. Outside, Rome was quiet, the narrow streets dark and empty. She liked it that way—her solitude was something she had learned to savor. It had been a long time since she felt at ease around people, especially her family. Writing gave her an outlet, a place where she could be in control.

Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts. Another flood of notifications—comments from readers on The Yandere's Curse, praising her dark imagination, begging for the next part. She smirked, feeling a thrill in knowing how captivated they were by her twisted tales.

But as she scrolled, one comment caught her attention. It was from a new account with no profile picture, no followers.

"You write about death as if you've seen it up close. Do you ever wonder if someone's writing about you, too?"

Victoria's smirk faded. She read the comment again, feeling an odd chill creep up her spine. She prided herself on unsettling others; it was rare for something to unsettle her. Trying to shake off the feeling, she glanced at her reflection in the dark TV screen, only to freeze.

There was a faint shadow in the doorway behind her. It vanished the moment she turned around, leaving her with nothing but the silent echo of her own heartbeat.

"You're just tired," she told herself, laughing it off. But the thrill she usually felt from her stories had vanished, replaced by an uneasy feeling she couldn't quite name.

As she got up to turn off the lights, her phone buzzed again. Another comment from the same user:

"You can't hide from what you write, Victoria. I'm closer than you think."

Victoria's heart raced, her fingers hovering over the reply button, unsure of whether to respond or ignore it. She couldn't tell if it was a prank or something more sinister, but either way, it felt like the beginning of a story she hadn't written—one where she wasn't in control.

And for the first time, she didn't know how it would end.

—

Victoria walked through the bustling campus, trying to shake off the strange feeling from last night. She spotted Maria near the entrance, waving her over with a big smile.

"Hey!" Maria greeted her with a grin. "Did you scare any more people with your creepy stories last night?"

Victoria rolled her eyes but smiled. "Maybe. That's kind of the point, isn't it?"

Maria laughed. "You're too good at it, honestly. One of these days, you're going to attract a real psycho."

Victoria forced a chuckle, but Maria's words hit a little too close to home. She quickly brushed it off.

Just then, Marco joined them, holding a folder filled with notes. "Hey, ladies! Here are the notes from last week, Victoria. I figured you'd need them."