The night was calm outside, the kind of suburban evening where everything was still, with only the faint hum of distant traffic. Inside the Hargrave household, Selene and Mitch were winding down in the living room. Mitch sat on the couch with a tablet on his lap, aimlessly scrolling through news articles, while Selene folded laundry, occasionally glancing at the television, which murmured a game show neither of them were paying much attention to. It was an ordinary evening quiet and predictable, like every other night in their household. Until it wasn’t. A faint metallic clink came from the kitchen, barely loud enough to register. Selene paused, her hands lingering over a pair of socks she was folding. "Did you hear that?" she asked in a whisper, her red-wine eyes flicking toward Mitch. Mitch looked up from his tablet, brow furrowing. "Probably nothing. Maybe the fridge..." he mumbled, though his voice lacked conviction. The next sound wasn’t so easy to ignore a heavy thud followed by the creak of a door. Both of them froze. Mitch slowly set his tablet down as the hairs on his arms rose. Selene’s heartbeat quickened, her eyes now locked on the entryway leading toward the hallway. Something felt wrong. Very wrong. Before either of them could react, a shadow appeared in the doorway tall and deliberate, with slow, measured steps. The figure stepped forward, and the dim light revealed a man clad in black from head to toe, his face masked beneath a dark hood and bandana. In one hand, he carried a metal crowbar, its heavy weight catching a glint from the television’s glow. Selene gasped, but the sound barely escaped her lips before the man moved with startling speed. In an instant, he was on them one hand clamping down on Mitch’s shoulder and shoving him back into the couch, the other motioning toward Selene in a warning. The crowbar’s presence loomed between them, silent and cold. "Don’t... don’t hurt us" Mitch stammered, raising his hands instinctively. But the man said nothing. Not a single word. He moved with eerie precision, as if performing a task he had done many times before. Selene’s mind raced. Why isn’t he saying anything? Before they could protest further, the intruder reached into a bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a roll of thick rope and a roll of duct tape. The next moments were a chaotic blur Mitch was yanked off the couch and forced into a chair, his arms pinned behind him with the rope. Selene tried to scramble away, but the man was faster. He grabbed her wrist with an iron grip and dragged her toward another chair, forcing her down roughly. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. This can’t be happening. This can’t be real. Both husband and wife were tied tightly to the chairs, the ropes digging into their skin. Every twist of the rope was deliberate, binding their arms behind them and securing their legs to the chair legs. It was suffocatingly tight, ensuring they had no chance to struggle. The last thing the man did was press duct tape over their mouths, silencing any attempt at speech. Selene whimpered behind the gag, her eyes wide with fear. The silence in the room was deafening. The television still murmured in the background, the cheerful host of the game show asking questions neither Mitch nor Selene could answer. The juxtaposition of normalcy and horror made the situation even more surreal. The intruder, still silent, began his grim work. With methodical efficiency, he moved through the house, searching drawers, cabinets, and closets. He emptied jewelry boxes, swept gadgets off counters, and stuffed valuables into his bag all within view of the helpless couple. Selene’s stomach churned as she watched the man toss their personal belongings aside like trash, the crowbar occasionally scraping the floor as he moved. She squirmed in the chair, the rope biting into her skin as she struggled against it. Her long hair, now a disheveled mess, fell across her face, clinging to the tears that welled in her eyes. She wanted to scream, but the gag muffled every sound, turning her cries into pitiful whimpers. Mitch, beside her, was equally powerless, his eyes filled with quiet terror. He had always prided himself on being a reliable, if boring, husband someone who could protect her. But now he was just as helpless as she was, tied up like a puppet, forced to watch as the intruder tore through their life. Time seemed to stretch and distort. Five minutes? Ten? An hour? They couldn’t tell. All they knew was the overwhelming presence of the silent figure moving from room to room, the crowbar never far from his reach. Selene’s mind raced. Why isn’t he talking? Why doesn’t he say anything? The absence of words made everything worse there was no threat to reason with, no demands to meet. It was as if the man didn’t care about them at all, only about what he could take. And that made him more terrifying than any shouting thief. At one point, the man returned to the living room, his eyes briefly locking with Selene’s. Her breath hitched. Even though his face was masked, she could feel the cold detachment radiating from him. She squirmed again, her body trembling beneath the ropes, and tried desperately to communicate with her eyes Please… please, just leave us alone...

She whimpered through her gag, eyes darting between the intruder and Mitch, not sure what to do. Please... please don't take anything else... just let us go. Her heart raced as he disappeared into the kitchen, wondering what he would find there.

Tears welled in her eyes as she saw the knife in his hand, and she closed them tightly, afraid to see what he would do next. Please don't hurt him... please don't hurt us anymore... She shivered under the ropes, trying to control her panic.

With trembling hands, she nodded gratefully at the man as he removed the gags. "Thank you," she whispered hoarsely, her voice strained and raw from trying to speak through the tape. She looked over at Mitch, his expression a mix of relief and fear. They were both bruised and shaking, but at least they could breathe again.

She glanced at Mitch in alarm, her eyes wide with confusion. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered. "We don't have that kind of money. Please, just go." Her voice trembled and her hands shook as she tried to convince the intruder to leave them alone.

"I-I don't know! I swear, we don't have them!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "He must be mistaken. We just need more time to get the money together." Her voice broke as she tried to plead with him, but he only stood there, expression unreadable beneath his mask.

"P-Please, you don't understand! We can't just give him that kind of money... we don't have it!" She choked back a sob, her voice shaking. "We're not like you, we're ordinary people with ordinary lives..." Her gaze flickered to Mitch again, their eyes meeting in mutual fear and desperation.

"Please, just leave us alone... take something else!" she begged, her voice breaking with emotion. "Just don't hurt us anymore..."

"Please..." She pleaded, her voice shaking even more. "We'll find a way to get the money... I promise." Tears streamed down her face as she watched the intruder, praying he would believe them and spare their lives. She knew they were in deep trouble, but the thought of losing everything terrified her more than anything else.

Selene's eyes widened with relief and hope as the man spoke. "Really?" she breathed, daring to believe him. "Thank you... thank you so much..." Her heart thundered in her chest as she waited for his reply, afraid that he might change his mind at any moment.

"But," he continued, a note of warning in his voice, "you'll have to repay me somehow." His gaze flickered toward them coldly, assessing their worth and the potential complications. Selene swallowed hard, understanding that this might not be the end of her troubles after all. But for now, at least they had a chance to live another day.

"Yes," she said shakily, her voice still trembling with fear and gratitude. "We'll find a way to repay you." Her gaze darted toward Mitch again, silently urging him to agree as well. "Just... just please let us go. We promise we won't tell anyone about this." The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but she had to say them nonetheless. She didn't know what the intruder expected from them, but she knew they couldn't afford to anger him further.