Chapter 1: The Apartment That Lied
The apartment looked perfect online.
That was the first mistake.
The second mistake was believing the pictures.
The third was paying the deposit before seeing the place.
By the time I discovered all three mistakes, I was standing outside a four-storey building in the middle of a rainy evening, holding two suitcases and questioning every decision that had brought me there.
The building looked nothing like the photographs.
Online, it had looked bright, modern and peaceful.
In reality, the paint was peeling, one window was cracked, and something that looked suspiciously like a sock was hanging from the second-floor balcony.
I checked the address again.
14 Westbury Lane. Apartment 4B.
Correct.
I sighed and dragged my suitcase toward the entrance.
A handwritten notice was taped to the door.
PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR.
Underneath, someone had added:
WE HAVE A CAT.
I opened the door.
A cat immediately ran past me.
I froze.
“Okay.”
The cat disappeared down the hallway.
“That's encouraging.”
I dragged my luggage upstairs.
There was no elevator.
Of course.
By the time I reached the fourth floor, my arms were shaking and my enthusiasm had officially died.
I knocked on Apartment 4B.
Nothing.
I knocked again.
A loud voice shouted from inside.
“IF THAT'S THE LANDLORD, WE'RE NOT HOME!”
I stared at the door.
“I'm not the landlord.”
The door opened.
A tall blond guy stood there wearing sweatpants and holding a wooden spoon.
He looked at me.
Then at my luggage.
Then back at me.
“Oh.”
He stepped aside.
“You're the new roommate.”
I frowned.
“Yes.”
He looked genuinely concerned.
“You actually came.”
“Was I supposed to?”
“No.”
He walked away.
I stood in the doorway.
“Should I leave?”
He turned around.
“No, no. Come in.”
I entered.
And immediately understood why the rent was so cheap.
There were shoes everywhere.
A bicycle was leaning against the wall.
Someone's laundry was hanging from a chair.
A half-eaten pizza sat on the coffee table.
And a man was asleep on the sofa with a laptop balanced on his chest.
A woman sitting cross-legged on the floor looked up from a bowl of noodles.
She smiled.
“You must be the new one.”
“The new one?”
“Don't worry. You'll get a name eventually.”
I stared at her.
The blond guy sighed.
“That's Maya.”
Maya waved.
“Hi.”
He pointed at the sleeping man.
“Daniel.”
Daniel snored.
The blond guy pointed toward the kitchen.
“Kenji.”
A man in glasses appeared from behind the refrigerator.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
A woman wearing headphones lifted one hand without looking away from her phone.
“Lena.”
A muscular guy came out of the bathroom carrying a mop.
“Marcus.”
Then the blond guy pointed at himself.
“Oliver.”
I counted them.
Maya.
Daniel.
Kenji.
Lena.
Marcus.
Oliver.
Six.
I looked around.
“There's supposed to be seven people here.”
Everyone suddenly became quiet.
Oliver cleared his throat.
“Yes.”
“Where's the seventh?”
Maya slowly lowered her noodles.
“She'll appear.”
I waited.
Nothing happened.
“So… she doesn't live here?”
“She does.”
“Then where is she?”
Oliver looked toward the hallway.
“Probably somewhere she's not supposed to be.”
I frowned.
“That's reassuring.”
Marcus dropped the mop against the wall.
“Don't worry. You'll get used to it.”
“I've been here thirty seconds.”
“Exactly.”
Oliver picked up my suitcase.
“Come on. I'll show you your room.”
We walked down the hallway.
There were eight doors.
I stopped.
“Why are there eight bedrooms?”
Oliver kept walking.
“Old building.”
“Six roommates, one missing roommate, eight bedrooms…”
He stopped.
Then turned around.
“There are seven of us.”
“Right.”
“So why are you counting?”
“Because I can count.”
He stared at me for a moment.
Then smiled.
“You'll fit in perfectly.”
We continued walking.
He pointed toward the first room.
“Maya.”
Second.
“Daniel.”
Third.
“Kenji.”
Fourth.
“Lena.”
Fifth.
“Marcus.”
Sixth.
“Mine.”
Then he pointed toward the seventh.
“That's Sophie.”
“Sophie?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
He shrugged.
“Probably in the apartment.”
“And the eighth?”
Oliver's smile disappeared.
“Don't worry about that one.”
I looked at the door.
It was different from the others.
Black.
No name.
No number.
Just a tiny silver lock.
“What is that?”
“Storage.”
“Why does storage have a bedroom door?”
“Because this building is weird.”
He opened my door.
“Your room.”
I dropped my bag inside.
For the first time that evening, I felt slightly hopeful.
Then Oliver added:
“Oh, one more thing.”
I looked at him.
“House rules.”
He pointed toward a whiteboard hanging in the hallway.
APARTMENT RULES
Clean what you use.
Replace what you finish.
Don't touch anyone else's food.
Don't invite strangers without telling everyone.
If you break something, pay for it.
Keep the front door locked after midnight.
Never open the black door.
I read the last rule twice.
“Why?”
Oliver smiled.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“Because your house rules include a mysterious black door.”
“Fair.”
He walked away.
I looked at the door again.
Then someone whispered behind me.
“You're the new roommate.”
I turned.
A woman stood at the end of the hallway.
Dark hair.
Grey hoodie.
Serious expression.
She looked at me for a few seconds.
Then said:
“I'm Sophie.”
“Hi.”
She glanced at the black door.
Then at me.
“Did Oliver tell you about Room 7?”
“No. He told me not to open it.”
She nodded.
“Good.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
Then smiled.
“Because the last person who opened it disappeared.”
My smile vanished.
“What?”
Sophie walked away.
I stood there.
“Sophie?”
She didn't turn around.
“Was that a joke?”
“No.”
Then she disappeared into her room.
I looked at the black door.
For the first time, I noticed something strange.
There was a tiny security camera above it.
I stared at it.
The little red light was blinking.
Someone was watching.
I slowly stepped backward.
Then from inside the black room came a sound.
Three quiet knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
I froze.
Nobody else seemed to hear it.
I looked down the hallway.
Everyone was carrying on as normal.
Maya was arguing with Marcus about the missing milk.
Daniel was still asleep.
Kenji was reading.
Lena was on her phone.
Oliver was cooking.
Sophie had disappeared into her room.
I looked back at the black door.
Another knock.
Knock.
This time, I heard a voice.
Very quietly.
“Welcome back.”
My stomach dropped.
Because I had never lived there before.
At least…
I didn't think I had.
