Chapter 8: The Boss Was Afraid of Me

I stared at the photograph on the basement wall for a long time.

"Mother — Final Boss Compatibility: Unknown."

What kind of ridiculous game was this?

I turned around and looked at my husband. "Explain."

He remained frozen at the top of the stairs.

Liam and Penny stood behind him, both unusually quiet.

I pointed at the photographs. "Why are there pictures of players down here? And why is mine the newest one?"

My husband slowly walked downstairs.

"Because this house has been waiting for you."

I frowned. "That makes no sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense to you."

He stopped in front of me.

"You're the first person who has ever treated us like a family instead of monsters."

I blinked.

"You are monsters."

Liam lowered his head.

Penny's little fingers tightened around the hem of her dress.

My husband smiled bitterly.

"Yes."

For some reason, his admission didn't scare me.

I pointed at the photographs again. "Then what happens if I fail?"

Nobody answered.

The system suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

"Day Three objective unlocked."

"Increase the favorability of all family members to 100."

"Current favorability: Son 90. Daughter 70. Husband 90."

"Failure condition: Family favorability below 50."

I nodded.

At least the rules were simple.

Then another line appeared.

"Hidden condition: Discover the reason the family was abandoned."

I stared at it.

"Abandoned?"

My husband immediately looked away.

That reaction told me everything.

There was a story behind this family.

And if I wanted to clear the game, I had to find it.

I walked toward the wall and studied the photographs carefully.

Every player had a number written beneath their picture.

One.

Two.

Three.

The numbers continued all the way to ninety-nine.

But the final photograph had no number.

Mine.

I reached toward it.

The moment my fingers touched the photograph, the entire basement shook.

Liam's expression changed.

"Mom, don't touch it!"

Too late.

The photographs suddenly began screaming.

Hundreds of voices filled the basement at once.

"Run!"

"Don't trust him!"

"The father is the boss!"

"The children are demons!"

"She'll die too!"

I covered my ears.

"Stop screaming!"

The voices instantly disappeared.

The silence that followed was even more terrifying.

I slowly looked at my family.

Liam was trembling.

Penny was crying.

My husband had dropped to his knees.

I had never seen any of them look this frightened.

"What happened?" I asked.

My husband whispered, "They remember us."

"Who?"

"The players."

He looked at me with tears in his eyes.

"Every player who entered this house came here believing they could escape."

"And you killed them?"

He nodded.

I looked at Liam.

"You too?"

Liam didn't speak.

Penny suddenly stepped forward.

"I didn't want to hurt them."

I crouched down in front of her.

"Then why did you?"

She began crying harder.

"Because Dad told us to."

My gaze shifted toward my husband.

He looked devastated.

"I was protecting them."

"From what?"

He hesitated.

"The game."

I didn't understand.

Then the system interrupted us.

"Warning."

"Player count has fallen below ten."

"Current survivors: 8."

I froze.

Only eight players remained.

Then the basement door slammed shut.

A deep voice echoed from somewhere above us.

"Eight players remain."

"One of them will become the next sacrifice."

My husband suddenly stood up.

"No."

The walls began bleeding.

Liam's eyes turned completely black.

Penny's tiny hands transformed into sharp claws.

I stepped backward.

For the first time, I saw the family exactly as the other players had seen them.

Terrifying.

But then my husband stepped between me and the darkness.

"Nobody touches my wife."

Liam stood beside him.

"Nobody touches Mom."

Penny wiped her tears and raised her little fists.

"She's ours."

I stared at them.

The system suddenly flashed before my eyes.

"Son's favorability has increased to 100."

"Daughter's favorability has increased to 100."

"Husband's favorability has increased to 100."

"All family members have reached maximum favorability."

I smiled.

"Then I suppose I've cleared the hardest part."

My husband looked at me sadly.

"No, honey."

"You haven't."

The system's final message appeared.

"Hidden condition incomplete."

"Discover why the family was abandoned."

Then every light in the basement went out.

In the darkness, my husband's voice trembled.

"If you really want to know the truth, you have to survive tonight."