Emma felt lucky to have found a place to live so quickly, and this flat seemed perfect. It was small but bright, on a quiet street near the park. After her recent breakup with her boyfriend, she wanted a new start, away from all the things that reminded her of her old life.
She had found the place through an online ad which said, “Room to rent. Must like peace and privacy.” It sounded perfect.
When she arrived to see the flat, Daniel opened the door. He was tall and polite, with a calm voice. The flat was clean and tidy, with books on the shelves and the smell of coffee. “It’s quiet here,” Daniel said. “I work from home, so I like things to stay that way.” He seemed kind and trustworthy. Emma moved in the next week.
At first, everything was excellent. Daniel was friendly but not too talkative. He made tea for both of them in the evenings, and they sometimes watched TV together. Emma told her friends that she was finally feeling safe again. But after a few weeks, strange things began to happen.
One morning, her phone was not where she had left it. Another day, her laptop said, “Password changed successfully.” She was sure she hadn’t changed it. When she asked Daniel, he laughed softly. “You probably forgot,” he said. “You’ve been under stress.”
Emma wanted to believe him, but soon she noticed more strange things. Her bedroom door, which she always locked, was sometimes open when she came home. She often heard quiet footsteps in the hallway late at night. Once, when she woke up suddenly, she saw a shadow move outside her door. Her heart beat fast, but when she opened it, the hallway was empty.
A few days later, Emma found something that made her feel sick. While looking for a charger, she opened a drawer in the living room. Inside were printed photos—of her. Some were from before she had moved in, taken from far away, near her old flat and at the park. Her hands started to shake. When Daniel came in, she quickly closed the drawer.
He smiled as if nothing was wrong. “You shouldn’t look through other people’s things, Emma,” he said quietly. “That’s not polite.” His eyes stayed on her a little too long.
That night, Emma couldn’t sleep. She decided she had to leave, but she was afraid. Daniel knew her passwords and had copies of her keys. So, she made a plan. The next day, she told him she was visiting a friend for the weekend. He smiled again. “Of course. Have fun.”
When he went out to buy food, she packed her bag, grabbed her passport, and ran. She didn’t look back. From a café nearby, she called the police and told them everything.
Two days later, they arrested Daniel. He wasn’t who he said he was. The real Daniel had disappeared years ago. The man Emma had lived with had another name — and a history of following women.
Weeks passed before Emma could sleep properly again. She moved to a new city and found another flat — this time, she lived alone. But sometimes, when she looked at her phone, she saw a message from someone she didn’t know.
The profile picture was always the same: a photo of a quiet street and a door that looked very much like hers.
📒 Key vocabulary
- flat – an apartment; a place to live in a building
- ad – short for advertisement; a notice about something for sale or rent
- tidy – clean and organized; not messy
- trustworthy – someone you can trust; honest and reliable
- footsteps – sounds made by someone walking
- hallway – a long passage inside a building connecting rooms
- shadow – a dark shape made when something blocks light
- drawer – a box-shaped part of furniture that slides out to store things
- shake (shake, shook, shaken) – move slightly because of fear or emotion
- arrest (arrest, arrested, arrested) – take to prison because of a possible crime
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