Inside the villa’s living room, Jennifer Check quietly looked over the luxurious interior with a trace of envy in her eyes.
She might be one of the most popular women on campus, but few people knew that she came from an ordinary divorced family and had worked hard to maintain the glamorous image everyone associated with her.
In Jennifer’s social circle, showing weakness meant giving jealous classmates and fake friends an opportunity to tear her down.
There were wealthy guys among Jennifer’s admirers, but most of them couldn’t compare with Alaric Thomas.
His family had left him a fortune, a large villa, and even an old European-style estate, so money was never something he needed to worry about.
More importantly, Alaric himself was handsome and strong enough that even the campus troublemakers who had challenged him in the past usually regretted it.
If Jennifer actually ended up with Alaric, the girls who disliked her could only be jealous instead of whispering that some middle-aged businessman was paying for her lifestyle.
The more she thought about it, the more satisfied she became with her choice.
What had begun as simple interest was gradually becoming genuine attraction.
Jennifer sat down beside Alaric and looked him over carefully.
“I heard something happened during your cave expedition.
Are you okay?” Her concern sounded more sincere than her usual teasing tone.
Alaric leaned back against the couch with a pillow resting across his chest.
Instead of answering, he looked directly at Jennifer and said, “Before we talk about that, tell me something.
Has anything strange happened around you recently?” Jennifer blinked.
“Strange?
Why are you asking me that?” Alaric didn’t bother making the question sound less ridiculous.
“Because I think you might have attracted the attention of a demon or some kind of malicious spirit.” He had already watched enough events in this world become real to know that ignoring early warning signs was exactly how people ended up dead.
Jennifer stared at him for several seconds before smiling as though he had made a joke.
She placed one hand against his cheek and studied his face.
“Honey, did that cave scare you this badly?
Demons and ghosts aren’t real, but if you’re frightened, I can stay here and keep you company.” “I’m serious.” Alaric pushed her hand away and gave her an unimpressed look.
He had asked whether she was experiencing signs of supernatural activity, yet somehow Jennifer had turned the conversation into comforting him.
Jennifer sighed when she realized he wasn’t playing around.
“Fine, let me think.
There have been a couple of weird things, I guess.” She paused before adding, “Sometimes I’m positive I locked my bedroom door, but when I wake up, it’s unlocked.” She thought for another moment.
“My TV has also turned on by itself in the middle of the night a few times.
That’s creepy when it happens, but it doesn’t prove anything.” Jennifer shrugged, obviously believing she could simply have forgotten to lock the door or accidentally left the television running.
Alaric’s expression became more serious.
He pulled the laptop closer and opened one of the paranormal discussion sites he had been researching recently.
After searching for signs connected to demonic or spiritual intrusion, he found an article summarizing several patterns collected from alleged supernatural cases.
The information had been compiled by people studying hauntings and possession reports.
The first category involved environmental abnormalities.
Objects might move without explanation, rooms could suddenly become unnaturally cold, electronics might activate on their own, or unexplained noises could occur when someone was alone.
Jennifer’s television and unlocked doors already fit uncomfortably well into that category.
The second category involved physical changes.
People sometimes reported unexplained bruises, sudden illnesses, unusual changes in body temperature, or intense reactions to particular smells.
None of those signs necessarily proved anything individually, but repeated combinations were considered much more suspicious.
The third category involved dreams and sleep.
Recurring nightmares, terrifying figures appearing repeatedly, insomnia, and episodes resembling sleep paralysis were frequently reported before more serious paranormal activity.
Longer exposure could supposedly lead to irritability, confusion, self-doubt, or people speaking to things that nobody else could see.
The article ended with a warning that if several signs appeared simultaneously, the person should leave the location and contact an experienced church or paranormal specialist.
A video embedded beneath the article showed a woman cooking with her back turned while a kitchen chair slowly began rocking on its own.
Nothing visible appeared to be touching it.
Alaric played the clip for Jennifer.
“This kind of research isn’t completely underground anymore,” he explained.
“There are academics and paranormal investigators who study cases like this seriously.” His attention then shifted to another name connected with similar experiments.
Dr.
Martin Callahan.
Alaric remembered him from The Dark Tapes, an American found-footage horror anthology he had heard about in his previous life.
Callahan and his graduate student had experimented with the theory that certain terrifying entities could become perceptible under unusual conditions, using specialized cameras to record what ordinary people couldn’t normally see.
Alaric hadn’t watched the entire movie alone back then.
Found-footage horror had always bothered him more than traditional movies because the cheap cameras, darkness, and realistic presentation made everything feel uncomfortably believable.
Now he was living in a world where those films might actually be documenting real events.
That changed his perspective considerably.
If Callahan existed here, Alaric wanted to meet him.
At the very least, he could look for one of the professor’s talks or research appearances.
Someone who intentionally studied entities that might be demons could possess information far more useful than anything found on random internet forums.
If questions were allowed afterward, even better.
Jennifer remained unconvinced.
She looked at the video again before shaking her head.
“Alaric, what exactly does this prove?
Horror movies do better effects than that all the time.” She pointed toward the rocking chair and added, “Somebody could pull it with fishing line from outside the camera.” Alaric clicked his tongue.
For a second, he seriously considered releasing the Evil-Spirit Incarnation Crawler directly into the living room and letting Jennifer reconsider her opinion from a safer distance.
He quickly abandoned the idea because terrifying her half to death would accomplish very little.
There was also no reason to expose the Ghost Cards just to win an argument.
“Fine,” Alaric said.
“If you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing else to discuss.” Jennifer smiled.
“Oh, we have plenty to discuss.” “Such as?” Jennifer took the pillow away from Alaric’s chest and shifted closer on the couch until she was looking down at him.
“For example, us.” Alaric remained silent for a moment before answering, “Take me to your house.” Jennifer’s expression changed slightly.
Based on what she had already described, Alaric believed there was enough evidence to justify checking her home personally.
Whatever eventually possessed Jennifer in the movie turned her into a dangerous predator, but its early activity didn’t appear overwhelming.
Now that Alaric had the Four of Diamonds, he was willing to investigate.
Jennifer interpreted the request differently.
She shifted onto Alaric’s lap and wrapped an arm loosely around his shoulders.
“Of course I’ll take you home, but shouldn’t I get something in return?” she asked.
“You’ve still never taken me to see that old family estate you keep avoiding.” “Fine.” For Alaric, it was a straightforward trade.
Investigating Jennifer’s house might reveal a new Containment Target, which was far more important than giving her a tour of an old property.
Jennifer, however, heard his agreement and immediately decided it meant he was finally beginning to accept her advances.
Before Alaric could say anything else, Jennifer leaned forward and kissed him.
The sudden kiss caught him off guard for only a moment.
He felt her arms tighten around him, and his hand instinctively settled at her waist as he responded.
Whatever supernatural concerns he had about Jennifer didn’t make him immune to the fact that she was extremely attractive.
After several moments, Jennifer finally pulled back.
Her eyes remained fixed on Alaric’s face.
“Well?” Alaric frowned slightly.
“Well what?” Jennifer leaned closer to his ear.
“Did you like it?” Alaric looked at her for a second, then gave her waist a light squeeze.
“Yeah.
Pretty good.” Jennifer laughed.
She seemed especially amused by how serious his expression remained despite his obvious response to her.
“You clearly enjoyed that more than you’re admitting, so why do you still look like you’re reviewing homework?” Alaric didn’t answer.
He wasn’t going to let Jennifer enjoy manipulating him that easily.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed as well, but she hid it behind the same confident smile she always wore.
She clearly enjoyed discovering that Alaric wasn’t nearly as indifferent to her as he liked pretending.
Alaric finally tapped her side and gestured for her to move.
“All right.
If you’re finished, get up.
We should go check your house first.” He was much more interested in determining whether Jennifer was already being targeted by something supernatural.
Jennifer had other priorities.
“The house isn’t going anywhere,” she replied.
Instead of getting off his lap, Jennifer wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
This time she wasn’t testing his reaction but simply enjoying herself now that she knew he would respond.
Alaric sighed internally but made no serious effort to stop her.
Despite all the rumors around campus, Jennifer had always been far more selective than people believed.
She wanted someone attractive, financially secure, capable, and strong enough that she could genuinely respect him.
Most men who approached her failed at least one of those requirements.
Some wealthy older men had shown interest, but Jennifer had never wanted to become someone’s trophy.
Meanwhile, the constant gossip from jealous classmates only made her more careful about choosing who she actually dated.
Alaric had been one of the few men who met nearly everything she wanted.
He was also the only one who hadn’t spent months chasing her.
That had bothered Jennifer at first.
Then it became interesting.
The more Alaric kept his distance, the more Jennifer wanted to know whether she could make him choose her willingly.
What had started as competitiveness slowly became genuine attraction, especially once she realized he wasn’t controlled simply by how she looked.
Now she finally had his attention.
Jennifer wasn’t in any hurry to give it up.
[Goal Tracker]