The Night of Shadows
The clock on the office wall blinked ten times, its harsh red digits slicing through the dim glow of the fluorescent lights. Lian Chen gathered the last of her paperwork, her fingers trembling slightly as exhaustion settled deep into her bones. The Shanghai night beyond the window was a dark canvas speckled with the neon pulse of the city’s unyielding heartbeat. Outside, the streets whispered promises and threats in equal measure, but tonight, she had no interest in listening.
Her heels clicked against the polished floor as she made her way to the elevator, the sound crisp and solitary in the empty corridor. The building, a sleek monolith of glass and steel, seemed to swallow her whole as the doors slid shut behind her. The descent was slow, each floor ticking by with a mechanical hum that only deepened her growing unease. Something felt off — an intangible tension prickling beneath her skin, as if the shadows themselves were watching.
When the elevator doors parted, the lobby was deserted except for a faint breeze stirring a crumpled flyer on the marble floor. Lian’s breath caught, her senses prickling at the eerie stillness. She clutched her bag tighter, stepping cautiously…
