If You Find Me, I'll Let You Heh Heh Heh

Edward finished another day at school. The moment he entered the house, he headed straight for his mother, Sarah, who was busy in the kitchen, and urgently asked how things had gone with Carrie.

Sarah stopped what she was doing and turned around with a gentle smile. "It's been settled. Carrie's mother is mentally unstable and will be committed to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. As for Carrie, she'll be staying with us for the time being."

Edward nodded slightly at the news. Just then, his father John called everyone over to the dining table for dinner.

The family sat around the table. The fragrance of the food filled the air, but it did nothing to break the somewhat stifling atmosphere.

John made a few polite remarks, trying to help Carrie relax, but she still seemed shaken. She remained timid and withdrawn, keeping her head lowered as she ate in tiny bites.

After dinner, John smiled as he linked his arm through Sarah's. "Honey, let's have some time alone tonight." Sarah readily nodded, and the two left the house hand in hand.

At that moment, only Edward, Lily—who was also Malkis—and Carrie remained in the house.

Edward looked at Carrie encouragingly, then turned to Lily. "Malkis, guide Carrie. Teach her how to control her superpower."

Carrie froze slightly, a trace of unease and doubt flashing through her eyes. "I... can I do it?"

Edward looked at her firmly, his gaze full of trust. "I believe in you, Carrie. You can definitely do it."

Carrie gently bit her lip. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly nodded. "Mm."

Malkis's lips curled into a confident smile.

For a demon like her, teaching Carrie to control her superpower was child's play. She walked over to Carrie's side and patiently began explaining and demonstrating.

Under Malkis's careful guidance, Carrie gradually immersed herself in the practice.

After practicing for a while, a miracle happened. Carrie was actually able to make relatively light objects move with simple control. A small teacup slowly slid across the tabletop under the command of her thoughts.

"Carrie, you're amazing!" Edward praised excitedly from the side.

At Edward's praise, a blush instantly spread across Carrie's cheeks—a blush born of shyness.

She raised her head, her eyes sparkling with surprise and pride. At that moment, it was as though she saw a new hope for her life.

Just as they wanted to continue practicing, the telephone rang.

Edward frowned and quickly walked to the landline, picking up the receiver. "Hello, this is the Connor Household!"

"Heh heh heh, Edward Connor, your parents have left, haven't they?" A strange altered voice came from the other end of the line. It sounded as if it came from the depths of a dark valley, carrying an indescribable chill.

The instant Edward heard it, he realized the caller had deliberately disguised their voice. His brow furrowed as he snapped, "Who are you? Cut the act!"

"Heh heh heh, why don't you Guess Who I Am?" The other party seemed determined to toy with Edward. That bizarre laughter echoed through the receiver, making his skin crawl.

Edward snorted coldly and answered without hesitation, "I'm not guessing." Then, with a click, he hung up.

Carrie looked at Edward anxiously. "Who was that?"

"Just a prank call. Don't worry about it." With that, he turned and returned to the sofa.

However, before he could settle down, the telephone shrilled again.

With a sigh, Edward picked up the receiver again. The same deep, altered voice came from the other end.

"Who the hell are you? There's a limit to how far you can take a prank!" There was obvious anger in Edward's voice now.

"You can guess!" The caller remained relentless, their teasing tone seemingly intended to challenge Edward's patience.

"You guess whether I'll guess." Edward could no longer be bothered arguing with them and decisively hung up again.

But as if the phone had been enchanted, it rang again soon afterward.

This time, Edward simply pressed the button for the answering machine. Beep beep beep. "This is the Connor Household. Please leave a message after the beep!"

"Oh, Edward, do you think pressing the answering machine button will help?" The voice came again.

Edward's heart skipped a beat. How did he know? Could he be watching the house from somewhere nearby? The situation gave Edward an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as though he had seen it in some movie before. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember which movie it was.

"Kid, this joke's getting out of hand! You'd better hope I don't find you."

Edward picked up the receiver and issued the warning while striding over to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. With a swish, he pulled the curtains shut, then turned and gave Lily a look, signaling her to take Carrie and hide.

Then, with a thought, Edward retrieved the Ebony and Ivory Pistols from the system space.

"Heh heh heh, Edward, do you think I don't know what you're doing just because you closed the curtains? What are you doing with those guns?" The eerie voice came from the phone again, as if it could see Edward's every move.

Could this guy be hiding somewhere inside my house right now? Edward immediately swept his gaze across the entire living room, alert and sharp-eyed as he tried to identify every possible hiding place.

The space beneath the sofa looked highly suspicious. The cabinets could conceal someone too. Or perhaps the guy was hiding near one of the upstairs bedrooms?

But if he really was hiding in the house, Edward should have been able to hear his voice.

Edward held his breath and stayed silent, listening closely as he tried to locate the source of the mysterious person's voice.

Yet apart from the voice continuously coming from the phone and needling his taut nerves, the surroundings were deathly silent.

"Edward, want to play hide-and-seek with me? If you find me, I'll let you heh heh heh!"

(Ghostface—Scream)