"Where's my phone? Quick, help me find my phone."
Deanna looked around but couldn't see her phone.
Then she remembered, she had been in a daze earlier and was helped inside by Shannon, leaving her phone behind.
Shannon realized this too and offered, "The phone should be outside. Missus, wait a minute, I'll get it for you."
"Alright, thank you."
Deanna didn't refuse. To be honest, she didn't dare go outside, fearing she might see the gruesome sight of the dead cat.
In a short while, Shannon brought Deanna's phone.
After thanking Shannon again, Deanna called home.
The call was quickly answered by Sam, who asked, "Missus, do you need something?"
"Sam, could you please check if Whiskers and Luna are at home?"
Deanna clutched the phone tightly as she spoke.
Although puzzled, Sam complied and sent someone to check.
Soon, he received a report and informed her, "Missus, Whiskers and Luna are both in the garden."
"Good, they're both there. That's good."
Deanna breathed a sigh of relief and hung up the phone.
Shannon observed her and asked, "Missus, you're worried that person might harm Master Gregory's and Miss Chloe's cats?"
Deanna didn't deny it. "Something like that."
After speaking, she took a trembling sip of water from her cup.
Shannon noticed that Deanna hadn't calmed down from the earlier bloody scene. It might take days for her to recover.
Indeed, half an hour later, Leighton knocked and entered the room. "It's cleaned up outside. You can come out now."
Shannon nodded, signaling her sister to leave first, then turned to Deanna.
"Missus, you..."
"I can't focus on work right now. Have Leighton bring the documents from my desk to the car. Give me a day to recover," Deanna spoke with a pale face.
Shannon agreed without objection and went out to instruct her sister.
Within ten minutes, the three of them were on their way home.
Upon returning, Old Ashley was surprised to see her granddaughter back before dark.
"Why are you back so early today? You don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"
"Maybe I didn't sleep well last night. I'm a bit uncomfortable. I'll rest upstairs for a while."
Deanna didn't want to worry her grandmother and told a white lie.
Shannon and Leighton knew Deanna wasn't telling the truth but didn't expose her.
Believing Deanna was genuinely unwell, her grandmother urged her to rest upstairs and forbade Shannon from bringing documents into Deanna's room.
With no choice, Deanna had to rest.
But her sleep was restless.
She dreamt of the cat that had been brutally killed, screaming at her and attacking her, even biting off her ear.
In the end, she heard the cat speak, saying it would seek revenge and pounced on her.
Deanna woke up with a scream.
She sat up in bed, pale-faced and drenched in sweat, looking terrified with her chest heaving.
At that moment, the door burst open from outside, and Lance rushed in anxiously. "What happened?"
He saw Deanna sitting on the bed, still shaken, with concern in his eyes.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Lance asked as he sat beside her and pulled her into his arms.
Deanna nestled against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. Her anxious heart finally calmed down a bit.
Before she could explain, a shadow jumped onto the windowsill followed by a soft meow.
Almost simultaneously, Deanna screamed in fear and buried her head in Lance's chest, trembling and sobbing, "Don't come after me. It wasn't my fault."
Lance held Deanna tighter, feeling her fear. His brows furrowed deeply.
On the windowsill, Luna looked at her owner curiously, meowing again when Deanna didn't even glance at or hold her.
Deanna trembled even more.
She clutched Lance's arm tightly and said in a trembling voice, "Can you make it stop meowing?"
Seeing this, Lance picked up a pillow and threw it at Luna.
Luna jumped in fright and leapt off the windowsill.
Watching Luna disappear from sight, Lance gently patted Deanna's back. "It's okay. I chased Luna away. Don't be afraid; I'm here."
His comforting words seemed to work as Deanna's trembling gradually subsided.
"Lance, is Luna really gone?"
Deanna didn't dare lift her head and clung tightly to Lance's clothes, asking again for reassurance.