Sleep evaded Ellis like a phantom. He tossed and turned in his large, lonely room in the Royale mansion. The revelation from the technicians still hung heavy in the air – someone had been keeping tabs on Mr Cyrus, yes. But who? Ever since he got there, Ellis had viewed the Royale household as an impenetrable sanctuary. Escaping the harsh realities of poverty only months ago, to be welcomed by the kind-hearted Mr Cyrus, Ellis thought the Royale household to be a place devoid of malice — excepting the understandable malicious treatment given to him by his elder half siblings. Suspicion gnawed at Ellis like a persistent rat. Who could be up to something like this? There were many people in the Royale household; the staff making the majority of them. There was Mr Billy, the ever-present, watchful butler who was silent and only spoke when he was spoken to. Could he be the one? His stoic demeanor and unwavering loyalty to Mr Cyrus seemed genuine, yet Ellis thought he could see a flicker o

Ellis arrived at Zoey's apartment as planned. In her parking lot, he found her just coming down from a taxi. Ellis smiled and took the small bag which contained the chocolates he got for her, and came down from the car. "Hey, Zo," he called on her. A surprised Zoey turned to look at Ellis. A delightful smile played at her lips, and Ellis was relieved that what he had been fearing had not happened. He thought that she would still be mad at him from their last encounter. Zoey walked up to him and gave Ellis a tight hug. "Come on in, I just went out to get a few things. I was hoping to arrive before you.." She said. "You arrived only a few seconds after I had, so it's okay. Here, I got you something." He handed her the small bag. Zoey looked at the bag and smiled thankfully. "Thank you. I haven't had these in a while. You always used to buy these, and I can't afford it on my own. Even if I could, I would have to have lost my mind to buy chocolates that are worth some people's month

Ellis was not ready for the trouble that he was about to encounter. George and his small family had met him and Zoey on their way out and as they all — except Zoey — knew, George was going to start up something. Zoey didn't really know the extent of animosity that George had against Ellis. Ellis hadn't told her about it because it felt like something that should be resolved internally. The air was thick with tension as George accosted Ellis and Zoey just as he opened the door to Mr Cyrus's hospital room. George's face was flushed with anger, his eyes narrowed into slits as he jabbed an accusing finger at Ellis."How dare you show your face here ! You tried to kill him. Have you no shame?" George spat out, venom dripping from his words. He was about to repeat the very words that he always said to Ellis ever since Mr Cyrus's collapse. "My father was healthy as a horse until you came sniffing around. Now he's lying in that bed, clinging to life, because of you!"Lisa laid a hand on Geor

Ellis had forgotten an important file he was supposed to submit to the hospital, so he went back to the Royale mansion to get it before he could visit his father. He had just entered the mansion when he began to hallucinate. It seemed almost like his nightmares were happening in broad daylight. He began to feel a sense of unease within the cavernous walls of the sprawling Royale mansion. First, he began to hear weird voices. As the only remaining Royale in the mansion after Marcus’s arrest and his father’s collapse, Ellis easily attributed his fears to his loneliness. But he was more than sure that something sinister was at play.At first, except for missing his father, Ellis had no problem with having the place to himself even after being accused of something he did not do. It was a good break from people. Well, until he found out about Yelena and it no longer was. He was beginning to believe Zoey, maybe there was a hex on the house. He had been relatively better when he was at Zoey’

Ellis could not tell the person behind his auditory and visual hallucinations, because of course, the doctors had attributed them to stress and loneliness. But in truth, someone was tampering with his mind. And it was Yelena. It had started as merely a game to Yelena - a bit of harmless mischief to amuse herself and scare Ellis, since she knew that Ellis had found out about her. Ellis himself did not know, but there was a bug in his own room that the technicians had not seen on the day that they saw the one in Mr Cyrus’s room. Apart from shape shifting, she possessed a unique gift, one that allowed her to reach into the minds of others and plant insidious whispers that could slowly erode their grips on reality. At first, she only used her powers sparingly while working as a maid at the vast Royale estate. A fleeting murmur in the ear of the house keeper to make her question if she had remembered to lock the windows. A hint of disembodied voices reaching one of the befuddled househo