"Someone wants to kill you!"
Nancy Summers jolted awake at the words.
Who?
Who was speaking?
She sat up in shock. Her tiny rental room could be seen at a glance, and there was no one inside.
Could it be that her fever last night had made her hallucinate?
But no—she had heard that voice clearly just now. It had sounded like a little boy.
Could her shabby little apartment be haunted?
She looked toward the window. Two squirrels were perched on the sill, tails flicking as their beady eyes fixed on her.
When they saw she was awake, both squirrels opened their mouths wide in unison and pointed their paws at their mouths.
Nancy immediately understood. These two greedy little things were hungry.
She lived on the second floor, with a big camphor tree just outside. The squirrels that lived in it sometimes hopped onto her windowsill to beg for food.
She rubbed her throbbing head and checked her temperature with a thermometer. After two days, the fever had finally broken.
Nancy grabbed some breakfast cookies and tossed them onto the sill for the squirrels.
One squirrel was bigger, the other smaller—most likely brothers.
The little one stuffed his cheeks full of cookies right away.
It chirped and said, "Thank you, kind lady."
Nancy froze in place, dumbstruck.
Wait. Did the squirrel just speak human words?
She smacked her forehead. Had her fever fried her ears?
The two squirrels kept nibbling as they chattered to each other.
The little brother looked simple and goofy, clearly a foodie. "Hey, today's cookie is milk flavored. It's really good!"
The older brother’s bright black eyes shone with a sharp glint. "But the kind lady seems to be struggling to live herself. I mean, she's also being targeted by a murderer. I'm really worried."
The younger squirrel stopped chewing, looking strangely somber. "What should we do then? We can't even call the cops…"
Nancy realized without a doubt now—she could understand what the squirrels were saying!
So the voice that had woken her up with "someone wants to kill you" had actually come from them?
She asked quickly, "Little squirrels, someone wants to kill me? What’s going on?"
The cookies dropped right out of their paws.
The younger one’s mouth fell open into an O. "Y-You… You can understand us?"
Nancy nodded, just as bewildered. "I had a bad fever, and suddenly I can understand you."
The chittering she heard automatically turned into words in her mind.
The little one hurried to report. "That's awesome! Kind lady, we noticed a creepy man stalking your apartment downstairs lately."
The older one added. "He's clearly stalking you, and we even heard him say, I'll kill another one this month. He only leaves after you switch off the lights."
The guy they were talking about was investigating her schedule!
Goosebumps prickled across Nancy’s skin. "Did you see what he looked like?"
The older one scratched his head. "He looks exactly like the man on the poster in the park. The morning joggers mentioned that he's a muffin-ner!"
The younger swallowed hard. "A muffin-ner? Oh, muffins are awesome! He should be popular, right? Like some sort of celebrity? I mean, his face is plastered everywhere!"
Muffin-ner? Could it be... a murderer?!An uneasy dread tightened in Nancy’s chest. "Where’s the poster? What did it look like?"
The older one put down his cookie. "I took one down yesterday, and I hid it in my little home! I'll go get it for you."
He darted back to the hollow in the tree and soon returned, carrying a crumpled piece of paper in his mouth.
Nancy took the torn sheet, and her vision swam.
The bold heading "Wanted" stood out in huge letters.
This wasn’t some celebrity poster. It was a wanted notice!
"Wanted: Felix Jones (male, 37), a Ministry of Public Security Class A fugitive, suspected of multiple vicious homicides, crimes extremely heinous."
…
"Anyone providing information leading to his capture will receive a joint reward of $500,000 from law enforcement and victims’ families."
Nancy’s spine went cold.
She was being targeted by a Class A fugitive!
Her first instinct was to call the police.
She unlocked her phone, her eyes landing on the call history—"Jack." Her finger trembled.
Jack Summers, the eldest son of the wealthy Summers family, the brother she had thought as part of her family for twenty-two years. After returning from overseas, Jack had become a professor of criminology at a young age and was now a special consultant for the Townsville Police Department, enjoying expert-level treatment.
She knew Jack had been tracking Felix’s serial killings.
Jack could send the family’s bodyguards to protect her and contact the major crimes unit directly.
Nancy dialed his number, but it was cut off right away.
Almost immediately, a text from Jack appeared: "Stop bothering me! You won’t admit to your mistakes. I will never bring you back into the Summers family!"
Pain stabbed through her chest.
A month ago, a girl named Ginnie Summers had shown up with a paternity test.
That was when the wealthy Summers family realized the daughter they had raised for twenty-two years wasn’t theirs.
The Summers family ran a large pet medicine and veterinary hospital chain. From childhood, Nancy had been pushed by her parents into top veterinary schools and endless training programs.
John Summers was ruthless—if she didn’t come in first place, he’d throw her pet hamsters off the balcony.
Nancy had never dared relax, always on edge, studying hard.
By her early twenties, she was already a top veterinarian, even leading the research of the family’s new vaccine "Claw Shield."
So when the real daughter returned, the Summers family hadn’t planned to throw Nancy out.
But two weeks ago, the real daughter had broken her right leg and claimed Nancy had pushed her down the stairs.
Furious, the Summers family hadn’t even given Nancy a chance to explain. Jack had thrown her bags out that very day.
Nancy had been helpless and heartbroken. Didn’t the Summers family know how outdated that kind of framing was?
With her call cut off, she tried texting Jack about Felix—but found herself blocked.
Forget it. The Summers family wouldn’t believe a word she said now. Nancy turned instead to dial 911.
It rang a long while before someone picked up.
A kind, warm female voice came through. "Hello, this is Townsville 911 emergency services. How can we help you?"
"I think I spotted the wanted fugitive Felix downstairs from my apartment," Nancy reported, her voice trembling.
"It looked like he was scouting the place before a crime!"
She gave her address and floor number. "I live at…"
Hearing it was related to a Class A fugitive, the operator clearly grew serious. "Thank you for calling. We’ll escalate this immediately."
"Can you leave your name and contact information?"
…
After hanging up, Nancy exhaled in relief. That operator had sounded diligent and responsible.
She glanced at her phone. She had slept fitfully all the way to six in the evening.
Dusk was falling.
Her stomach growled, but she didn’t dare leave the apartment.
A quick search showed Felix committed crimes at all hours, even broad daylight.
If she had the bad luck to bump into him, she’d be done for.
"Don't worry, kind lady, we'll stay here with you."
The older squirrel sensed her fear. He patted her shoulder with his tiny paw. "I already told my brother to keep watch downstairs for you. He'll let us know if the bad guy shows up."
Nancy’s heart softened. She was actually being protected by two squirrels.
She tossed another cookie toward him. "Thank you!"
Not long after, her phone rang.
The caller ID made her freeze—it was Jack Summers.
She answered, only to hear his furious roar explode through the speaker:
"Nancy, you’ve got some nerve! When I ignore your calls, you make a false police report?"