No trace of me stepping outside, nor of any pink balloon.
How could this be?
The footage must have been tampered with!
My unease grew.
If there was nothing to hide, why mess with the surveillance?
Was the hotel in cahoots with the old woman?
Trying to lure me out to harvest my organs, to sell me off...
But, I had no tangible evidence to show the cops!
Both Mike and Mandy had been acting off all day.
Now, who could I trust?
Beads of sweat dotted my forehead, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
A female officer noticed my distress, exchanged a look with her partner, and then softly patted my shoulder, "Take it easy. Maybe you're just under a lot of stress?"
They clearly didn't believe me.
They thought I was hallucinating.
My voice cracked, barely holding back tears, "No, please believe me. There really was an old woman. She warned that my husband was going to kill me. She knew our names..."
The cops were skeptical and eventually left.
My mind was a whirl, all I wanted was to pack up and leave this bizarre hotel as fast as possible.
In the midst of packing, my phone rang unexpectedly.
It was Mike.
Probably wondering why I wasn't there yet.