Zoe Sawyer understood they wanted to see her ability with their own eyes.
But she couldn't guarantee it would happen again the next time she opened the door.
"I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything!" Zoe Sawyer said, her voice lacking confidence. She had no idea if it was random.
It might have just been a one-time thing.
Zoe Sawyer was also eager to find out for herself whether it was a fluke or if she had really obtained some kind of special power.
Evan Keller nodded and looked at Sean Hughes, who was standing next to him.
Having worked together for so long, Sean Hughes naturally understood the meaning behind Evan Keller's glance.
Sean Hughes stood behind Zoe Sawyer and helped close the door.
Meanwhile, Evan Keller called his colleagues upstairs, telling them to keep an eye on the apartment door and watch for anything unusual.
And Sean Hughes, standing behind Zoe Sawyer, turned on his phone's video recorder to document the entire process.
Zoe Sawyer stared at the door in front of her, took a deep breath, and turned the handle once more.
What appeared before her was her own living room, and Evan Keller's face.
No change!
'Could it really have been a coincidence?' Evan Keller frowned.
Just as he was about to say something, the colleague who had gone to check the security footage jogged over and told Evan Keller what he'd found.
The building's hallways had cameras on both ends, and they confirmed that no footage showed Zoe Sawyer leaving her apartment.
The murderer had also confessed as soon as he was caught. He had stalked the victim for a long time and, after confirming she lived alone, chose that time to strike.
The killer was also confused about Zoe Sawyer's appearance, wondering why another person had suddenly shown up.
However, he recognized her. The person who had suddenly appeared was the resident from downstairs—his next target.
He was planning to pack his things and go downstairs to send Zoe Sawyer to her grave, but before he could even leave, the police showed up and cornered him at the scene.
As he was being led away, the killer's expression was savage. 'If I'd known, I would've just gone downstairs and slaughtered that woman!'
Hearing this, Evan Keller gave Zoe Sawyer a complicated look. He never expected that her actions, by a strange twist of fate, had actually saved her own life.
The case was now clear, so there was no need for Evan Keller to stay any longer.
He told his subordinates to wrap things up quickly.
Before leaving, Sean Hughes patted Zoe Sawyer's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, the matter is resolved. You're safe now."
After a moment's thought, he added, "If this kind of situation happens again, remember to give us another call."
Zoe Sawyer nodded, exchanged phone numbers with Sean Hughes, and watched the group leave.
After they were gone, Zoe Sawyer sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a long time.
Finally, the vibration of her phone snapped her back to reality.
She looked down and saw that the food she had ordered had arrived.
She answered the call and asked the delivery person to leave it at the door. As Zoe got up to open the door, she thought about what had happened that morning.
Her heart skipped a beat. 'It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?!'
But a strange, bad feeling made Zoe Sawyer take out her phone. She hovered her finger over Sean Hughes's number, ready to call the police at the first sign of trouble.
Zoe Sawyer looked through the camera on her door lock and saw a normal hallway. Nothing seemed out of place.
She could even see the takeout bag the delivery person had left on the floor.
Zoe Sawyer took a deep breath, gently turned the doorknob, and pulled the door open just a crack.
Unlike the brightly lit hallway she had just seen, a warm, orange light streamed in from outside.
Then came the relentless sound of chopping.
The force was so great, it seemed like the table was shaking with every blow.
Zoe Sawyer peeked her head out and saw, about five meters directly in front of the door, a bald, shirtless man hacking at something with a bone cleaver.
"Number Two, ease up a bit. There are still several more to go. If you use up all your strength now, what'll you do when you can't chop later?" a gruff male voice called out from ahead.
As soon as he spoke, the chopping, which had sounded forceful enough to shatter the table, quieted down a little.
Zoe Sawyer hid behind the door and carefully started recording on her phone.
While making sure she was safe, she zoomed in and recorded everything she could see, then focused the camera on the bald man.
Soon, the man grabbed something from the table and casually tossed it behind him, and it landed right in front of Zoe Sawyer.
She saw a severed arm suddenly land in front of her, a ring still on one of its slender fingers.
A cold sweat broke out on Zoe Sawyer's back, and she almost dropped her phone.
Fighting down her nausea, she pointed the camera at the severed arm in front of her while also paying close attention to the conversation between the two men.
"I told you not to just toss things around! What if something gets left behind? Fifth Lady and the others will be here soon, so pick up the pace." The man who'd told the bald one to ease up chided him upon seeing his action, then started walking back toward the door.
Zoe Sawyer quickly pulled her phone back and shut the door.
In the instant before the door closed, Zoe Sawyer saw a short man limping toward her.
Zoe Sawyer leaned her back against the door panel. The image of the severed arm made her hands and feet tremble as she dialed the number Sean Hughes had given her.
"Zoe Sawyer? What's wrong? Are you scared? Do you need me to come over and stay with you tonight?" Sean Hughes was organizing case files when he got Zoe Sawyer's call and assumed she was frightened, his tone full of concern.
After all, for an ordinary person to suddenly see a dead body, the shock would be quite immense.
It was understandable that Zoe Sawyer might not be able to sleep for a while.
Evan Keller glanced at Sean Hughes. Today's case wasn't complicated and was almost wrapped up. If he wanted to go over and keep Zoe Sawyer company, it wouldn't be a problem.
Zoe Sawyer shook her head frantically, then remembered Sean Hughes couldn't see her. Her voice trembling, she explained, "It's not that. I saw it again... something like what happened this morning."
Hearing Zoe Sawyer say this, Sean Hughes, who had been sitting in a somewhat relaxed posture, immediately sat up straight, his expression turning serious.
He waved over Evan Keller, who was looking his way, and while questioning her, put the phone on speaker so Evan could also hear Zoe's voice.
Perhaps the initial shock had passed, because Zoe Sawyer wasn't as scared now.
After taking a deep breath, she recounted what she had seen. "I ordered some takeout, and after it was delivered, I asked them to leave it at the door. When I went to open the door to get it, I had this strange feeling, a premonition that it would be different if I opened it."
"So I only opened the door a tiny crack, and sure enough, I saw something different."
Thinking about what she had seen and recorded, a hint of fear crept into Zoe Sawyer's voice.
"Can you come over? I recorded a video. That severed hand... it was just thrown right in front of me."