Maria stared at the phone in her hand, still shaken by how it had mysteriously appeared in her room without any sign of a break-in.
The voice on the other end belonged to Mr. Frederick, and his next words quickly made her sit up in full attention.
"Maria, I'm sorry for frightening you this way. I had to reach you, but I also needed to know that you are okay, and most importantly, I needed to warn you about something," Mr. Frederick said, his voice firm but apologetic.
The moment he mentioned that he needed to warn her, Maria's entire body became alert. Every trace of sleepiness vanished. She was fully awake now, hanging onto his every word.
"No problem, sir. I'm doing fine now. What is it you want to warn me about?" she asked quickly, her curiosity sharp and her voice a little shaky.
"Good," he said. "First, I need you to know that many eyes are now watching you. Don't fall for all these acts of kindness around you—most of them are fake. They do not mean you well."
