Chapter 11 The Lurking Danger

• After taking a nap, Sarah immediately took a cab and made her way to unit 6, South Creek, reluctant to wait any longer even though it was already late at night. When she arrived, she keyed in the password that Desmond told her and got inside just before she was greeted by the sight of what seemed to be exactly the same as the home she remembered. Did my silly brother just rebuild the home that I remember? At the thought of that, she felt tears rolling while going down the flagstone walkway. Then, when she arrived at the door, she inserted the password once more and opened the door, successfully gaining access.
• Soon, Sarah realized the interior of the house was designed similarly to that of her own residence as they were both a cozy and warm theme, which she even herself thought was the perfect match for her outgoing and optimistic personality.
• After that, Sarah went up to the second floor and headed to Sebastian's bedroom, which was clean and tidy. A few minutes later, a framed photo caught her eye just, and she realized it was a picture of Sebastian playing tennis. In the photograph, he appeared to be energetic and lively, swinging his arm handsomely to strike the ball. Hmm. I must say that this photo was taken from a splendid angle. The moment Sarah picked the photo up, she could smell a pleasant aroma from the wooden frame, wondering if it was newly made. This photo frame seems to be new, but… Whom is he smiling at?
• After putting down the photo, she started to scan her surroundings, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. Besides the bed and clothes rack, there was only a small couch that faced the room's balcony. Therefore, it naturally occurred to her that the only thing Sebastian could have stashed something in was the nightstand's drawer.
• Thus, Sarah quickly opened the drawer and found two boxes of imported cigarettes, as well as an exquisite lighter. Then, she saw a box and opened it, only to be stunned by what she saw. A box of condoms? Was Sebastian dating someone? Surprised, Sarah knitted her eyebrows and recalled the time Desmond confidently told her Sebastian didn't have a girlfriend when she asked him about that. What's this all about? Soon, she put down the box and proceeded to search the room for anything that might suggest a woman's existence, but to no avail. However, as puzzled as she was, she quickly put that thought aside and redirected her attention to searching for the seal. "Fine, let's take a look at the study. Finding the seal is more important."
• A few minutes later, Sarah arrived in the study and turned on the lights. As soon as the light shone through every corner, she saw a row of bookshelves and a working desk in the room, somehow finding the vast space a little desolate. When she walked closer to the desk, she discovered a doll lying right under it. While the doll seemed to be handmade through sewing, its unattractive appearance indicated that it was poorly made.
• Nevertheless, Sarah's heart began to race when she saw the doll. Then, she picked it up, curling her lips upward while her eyes were filled with tears. In fact, the doll was her first masterpiece in art not long after she entered high school. At that time, her art teacher taught everyone how to make a doll with some unused old fabric and cotton wool. She gave them a week to complete the task. Then, they were told to attend a competition to make a beautiful doll. Sarah was confident back then, so she declined her mother's offer to help and insisted on finishing the work by herself. As she wanted to make a doll that looked like Snow White, she even cut her white and blue dress and extracted some of the parts from her Barbie dolls for the sake of her work.
• After that, Sarah confidently embarked on her work, looking forward to the moment that her doll would become Snow White. However, she overestimated her abilities and ended up making her doll look like a plump lady. If that wasn't bad enough, one of the doll's legs looked unevenly thicker than the other, just as its arm did the other. Apart from that, the doll had an enormous face with an eyebrow that seemed to be higher than the other. Since she used the buttons as the doll's eyes and red cloth as the doll's mouth, its appearance was especially hideous and frightening. Besides, the hair, which she took from her Barbie dolls and sewed on her own doll, stood like the fur of an angry cat.
• When Sarah showed her masterpiece to her mother and brother, they laughed in amusement. "You know what? I think we should keep your doll at home. It's going to help keep all the evil spirits away," Sebastian said, whereupon Sarah angrily chased him around the backyard.
• "Sebastian…" Tears were rolling in Sarah's eyes as she felt a stab of pain in her heart. After all, she didn't expect her brother to keep the doll in some place so obvious to him all the time. A few moments later, Sarah pulled herself together and continued to search for the seal but had no luck in it. In that instant, she felt helpless, scratching her head in frustration. "Where could it be…?"
• At that moment, Sarah suddenly heard her phone ringing. It turned out that it was a call from Wolford when he couldn't find Sarah after his nap. "Where are you, Mommy? Are you away from home?" the boy asked worriedly.
• As soon as Sarah heard her son's name, her heart was warmed and touched. Then, she took a look at the time and realized it was almost noon. It's late now. Maybe I should get home. She stood up and answered, "Don't worry, my boy. I'm fine. I'm now at your uncle's house, and I'm about to leave soon. Stay home, Wolfie. I'm going to be back soon, so wait for me."
• "Alright, Mommy."
• Thanks to the call from her son, Sarah was able to snap out of her emotional disturbance and pull herself together. I'll come again and again until I find the seal. I will! Soon, Sarah stood up and made her way to the door, but when she got there, she stopped in her tracks and turned around, heading back to get the ugly doll and poking its nose with a smile. "I think you're better off with me. I would hate for my brother's future wife to laugh at me because of you."
• Holding the doll in her hand, Sarah turned off the lights and locked the door behind her before she headed downstairs. With the illuminating streetlights around the estate, the dark night seemed especially peaceful, which Sarah found to be a heartwarming sight to enjoy. Sebastian and I will be back here together one day! At the thought of that, she immediately walked away after making sure the door was locked behind her. Then, she continued to walk down the path ahead of her and made her way out of the residential area, but little did she know that her every move was watched by two men who were sitting in a black car right opposite the estate.
• After Sarah was far enough, one of them whispered something. "We've been searching for it for days, but to no avail. Could it be inside that ugly doll?"
• "How am I supposed to know? Let's get our hands on that thing and worry about that later," the man replied.
• "Alright, let's pray that there is something useful in that thing so that we can answer Mr. Walker." The driver stepped on the gas pedal and began to tail Sarah.
• "We'll act once we're out of this residential area. I know there are no surveillance cameras along that street," the person sitting in the front passenger seat said.
• "Sure!"