Neil, though unsure of what was happening, embraced Zoe and gently stroked his back. “Calm down and tell me what happened. Who is Sunny and why did she die?”
Zoe pulled away from Neil and sat down heavily on the sofa, his head resting on the table as he sobbed uncontrollably. His face was drenched in tears, and Neil sat beside him, patting his back in silence until Zoe began to calm down. Neil spoke softly.
“What’s going on, Zoe?”
Zoe looked up at him, and after a moment of tears, he was calmer. Neil took a tissue from the table and helped Zoe wipe his face.
Zoe grasped Neil’s hand, his voice trembling. “I just saw the morning news. Sunny was an employee at the Night bar. She was found dead last night in the alley behind the bar… But why did she die? She was so happy when we talked on the phone the other day. She even said she would invite me to her wedding. How could she die like this?”
Zoe buried his face in his hands.
Neil stroked his hair. “Do you know why she was at the bar when it was closed?”
“I don’t know.” Zoe shook his head and wiped his face with the tissue. “Maybe she went out with friends and then came to the bar, not realizing it was closing earlier than usual. But why did she die in that alley? And in such a suspicious manner?”
Zoe seemed to have a realization, wiping away the tears on his face. “It must be related to Jill… Yes, it has to be him. He could have killed Sunny.”
Zoe tried to stand up. “I need to confront him. I need to ask him why he did this to an innocent girl like Sunny.”
Neil grabbed Zoe’s hand, pulling him back down and holding him tightly, wanting him to calm down and not let his emotions affect his mental state.
Neil pushed Zoe’s head onto his shoulder, urging him to sit back down on the sofa. “Don’t get too worked up. Try to calm down and think it through. If Jill is responsible, he must be very strong now. Are you strong enough to control or stop him?” Neil’s voice was gentle. “If you want to have a chance, you need to understand Jill’s current strength, his thoughts, and his true intentions.”
Zoe calmed a bit from Neil’s explanation, but he was still troubled. If he hadn’t helped Jill absorb souls for sustenance, Jill wouldn’t be able to harm anyone now.
“Have breakfast at home first. I’ll go to the police station to check on the situation.” Neil looked at Zoe intently. “Promise me you won’t go to Jill until I return, okay?”
With tears still in his eyes, Zoe nodded to Neil. Neil went back to change clothes. Before leaving, he hugged Zoe tightly and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then he took off a necklace from his neck and put it around Zoe’s. After that, he left the house.
Once Neil was gone, Zoe had no appetite. He paced restlessly around the house. Zoe sat quietly for a while, then suddenly reached up to his chest, touching the necklace Neil had given him. Although he couldn’t forget Jill’s smug face from their encounter in the wine cellar, he couldn’t just sit there pondering how to stop Jill without taking action. If he wanted to make a difference, he had to confront Jill himself and couldn’t drag Neil into danger since this was his issue with Jill. With that thought, Zoe stood up and left the house determinedly.
Standing alone in front of the cellar door, Zoe’s hands were sweaty. He wasn’t sure what to do when facing Jill. With Jill being so powerful now, would he even want to talk to him? But regardless, he had to stop this; otherwise, more people would die under Jill’s power. Before Zoe could think further, the cellar door creaked open, startling him and making him step back a few paces. Then, a chilling voice called out from below.
“Have you come, Zoe? Aren’t you afraid to come down here?”
Indeed, it felt like ice was running through Zoe’s veins. He was truly terrified of Jill, especially by the provocative tone of his voice. Gathering his courage, Zoe descended the stairs as the light automatically turned on. The basement was much colder than outside, partly due to its underground construction and mostly because of the chill emanating from Jill’s ghostly presence.
Jill leaned against the wine rack, smiling at Zoe. His face showed no hint of worry, only a calm, self-satisfied demeanor.
“What brings you here, Zoe? Did you miss me or is there something else?”
“Did you kill someone?” Zoe’s voice was icy.
Jill feigned surprise. “Me? When did I kill anyone?”
“Don’t play games with me, Jill. I’m not a child.”
Zoe stared intensely into Jill’s dark, hollow eyes, his cold gaze making Jill pause. After a moment, Jill suddenly burst into cold, sinister laughter, a sharp contrast to the weak laughter of a typical ghost, sending shivers down the spine.
“Are you talking about the girl who died in the alley behind the bar? Don’t blame me for that. A young, beautiful girl like her wandering alone at night, drunk—if it wasn’t me, she’d have encountered some other thugs. She might have been worse off, perhaps even raped and left naked in the street.”
“Shut up, you’re despicable.” Zoe shouted.
“Despicable? Who’s really despicable here, Zoe?” Jill circled around Zoe. “It’s not me, it’s you. Perhaps you’ve forgotten. Let me remind you. Remember the day Olwen fell from the second floor at the orphanage? I was just a fragile ghost back then, not even daring to think of scaring anyone. But because of you, you used my power to make me strong and helped you push that boy out of the window.”
Jill sighed. “After that, I grew stronger by consuming other souls. It felt incredibly new and wonderful, like being revived. I couldn’t help but think about it, Zoe. What if I could consume more souls?”
“What about Alger?”
“That time I saved you. He really wanted to kill you, I just acted as a catalyst to help you kill him.”
“And Finn? He had no intention of killing me; he only took my letter, and I wanted it back. But he died overnight, and I don’t remember what happened. It was you who killed Finn, wasn’t it?”
Jill defended himself. “That was an accident. I intended to help you read the letter, but he was too weak to withstand my intrusion, so he died.”
Zoe’s hands clenched into fists, trembling with rage. “What about Silat? Did you know he was hiding in the bathroom, waiting for me, and you didn’t tell me? You wanted to use me to kill him, and once again, you got to consume another soul, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know he intended to harm you,” Jill said nonchalantly. “And that pervert deserved to die. Who knows how many people he might have hurt if he had lived. I was actually doing a good deed.”
“Shut up.” Zoe glared at Jill. “Do you think I won’t do anything to you?”
In his fury, Zoe seized Jill by the wrist. Jill’s eyes widened in shock; it couldn’t believe Zoe was doing this. But before Jill could react further, Zoe’s hand tightened around its neck. Jill was in pain, feeling as if its ghostly form might tear apart from the pressure. Jill thought that souls couldn’t feel pain, but the agony made it scream and struggle with all its might.
Strangely, Jill’s entire being was heating up, with the icy mist inside it evaporating as if trying to escape. Jill felt itself weakening, as Zoe used his power to release Jill’s energy, causing it to revert to a normal ghost, or worse, Zoe might shatter its ordinary soul completely.
In agony, Jill screamed, its voice trembling with desperation. “Zoe, stop, please, stop, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Please, Zoe, spare me…”