A young man held up his phone and pointed the camera directly at Elena''s face. By now, she had developed an instinctive fear of cameras and quickly turned away. But the man was relentless. "You''re Elena Harper! You''re that homewrecking fox from the inte!"


    "No, no, no, I''m not!" Elena frantically waved her hands and tried to walk away, but the man grabbed her wrist.


    "It''s you! I know it''s you! You''re not getting away."


    "You''ve got the wrong person, really! You''re mistaken!" she pleaded in a trembling voice, on the verge of tears.


    But more and more people began gathering around, pointing, whispering, and judging.


    "You''ve got the wrong person!" she choked out the words, but her voice was swallowed by the growing crowd. Panicked, she turned and tried to escape, desperate to get away from this suffocating mob.


    Yet the bystanders followed her like stubborn leeches, refusing to let go. Every step she took, they matched. The moment she broke into a run, they started chasing her with cameras like a pack of hungry wolves.


    "Stop following me!" she screamed in frustration, but no one listened.


    She was running blindly now, unaware of where she was going. She only knew that she had to get away. Her feet pounded against the pavement as her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She didn''t even notice when she reached the street and didn''t stop to check whether the light was red or green.


    The ring horn of an oing car snapped her back to reality.


    In that fleeting moment, she realized she was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by speeding cars.


    Cold sweat drenched her back. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned around and tried to rush back to the sidewalk.


    Tires screeched, and the sound of a deafening impact followed a secondter.


    Elena felt herself lifted off the


    ground. She caught a glimpse of the


    terrified driver''s face. And behind her were the stunned, fearful ethe


    expressions of the crowd that had


    been chasing her just moments ago.


    ...


    When I saw the news online, I was taken aback. I frowned as I held my phone.


    "What is it, Serena?" Mom walked over, carrying a te of fruit. "You don''t look so good."


    I shook my head, deciding not to mention it.


    The doorbell rang, and I stood up to answer it. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Alex standing there.


    "What brings you here?" I asked, a little caught off guard.


    "I came to see Madam Burke," Alex said while holding a bag of health


    supplements. "How has she beentely?"


    "I''m doing well," Mom answered with a smile.


    I stepped aside, letting Alex in. The moment the entered, he greeted


    Mom warmly, "Madamane


    to check on you." Content


    "Alex, you''re here." Mom''s face lit up at the sight of him. "Have you eaten yet?"


    "Not yet, Madam Burke," Alex replied


    bral


    setting down the things he


    "I just got off work and


    Weat."


    haven''t had the chance to e