The next morning, a tense silence filled Mindy's apartment as Emily, Mindy, and Camille prepared for work. The events of the previous night weighed heavily on their minds, leaving them restless and on edge. Emily couldn't stop thinking about the eerie similarities between Doug and Derek, and the ominous presence that seemed to follow them everywhere they went.

As they moved through the apartment, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy, the atmosphere felt thick with unspoken fears. Camille was quietly sipping her coffee, her brow furrowed in thought, while Mindy busied herself with straightening up the living room. Emily, still feeling the residual anxiety from the night before, was checking her phone, half-expecting another harassing message or call from Doug.

But just as they were starting to relax, a loud, sickening thud echoed from the kitchen. All three women froze, their hearts leaping into their throats. Slowly, they turned toward the source of the noise, their eyes widening in horror as they saw what lay on the kitchen table.

A dead rat.

Its lifeless body was sprawled across the table, its eyes glazed over and its tiny mouth slightly agape. The sight was enough to send a shiver down their spines. But it wasn't just the dead rat that made their blood run cold—there was a note underneath it.

"What the hell…?" Mindy gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she stared at the gruesome scene. "Who would…?"

Camille, her face pale with shock, took a hesitant step forward. "Oh my God… This is disgusting."

Emily's stomach churned with nausea as she looked at the dead rat. "What is this? Who would do something like this?"

Mindy, ever the practical one, grabbed a nearby dustpan and broom and cautiously approached the table, her face twisted in disgust. "I'm going to get rid of this thing. I can't even look at it."

As Mindy carefully scooped up the rat and dumped it into the trash can, Camille reached out with trembling hands to pick up the note. The piece of paper was stained with something dark—likely blood—and the words were scrawled in an almost manic handwriting. Camille's eyes scanned the note, her expression growing more horrified with each word.

"It's from Doug," Camille said, her voice shaky. "He left us this… this thing, as a threat."

Emily's heart skipped a beat. "What does it say?"

Camille's voice wavered as she read aloud: "'You're nothing but vermin, Emily. Filthy, useless rats. I'll exterminate you all, one by one. You think you're safe? You're not. You're already dead.'"

The words hung in the air like a noxious cloud, filling the room with a sense of dread that was almost suffocating. Camille swallowed hard, her face contorted in a mixture of fear and revulsion. "There's something really sickening about this guy, Emily. This isn't just stalking anymore. This is… sadistic."

Emily took the note from Camille's hands, her own trembling as she reread the message. The venom in Doug's words was unmistakable, and it sent a chill down her spine. "Why the rat?" Emily asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mindy, who had just returned from disposing of the rat, grimaced at the mention of the word. "Ugh, don't even say it. That was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. And now I'm going to be paranoid about every little sound in this apartment."

Camille shook her head, her disgust evident. "He's trying to scare us, to make us feel like we're nothing. But why? What's his endgame?"

Before anyone could speculate further, Emily's phone began to ring, the sound slicing through the tense silence like a knife. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Sylvie. A sense of dread settled over her as she answered the call.

"Sylvie?" Emily said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Sylvie's voice was cold, almost businesslike. "Emily, we need to talk. Effective immediately, you are fired from Savoir."

Emily's heart plummeted. "What? Fired? Sylvie, why?"

"And Camille," Sylvie continued, ignoring Emily's question, "you are no longer employed by Savoir either. HR received a visit this morning from a man named Aimé. He claimed he was from Paris HR and questioned everyone about what happened last night."

Camille's eyes widened in shock as she overheard the conversation. "What? Aimé? Who is that? I've never heard of him."

"Neither have I," Sylvie replied, her voice tinged with suspicion. "No one in the office has. But he was very specific about the incident at the party and your involvement. I'm sorry, but this decision is final."

Before Emily could protest, the call ended abruptly, leaving her with the dead line and a sinking feeling in her gut. She slowly lowered the phone, her face drained of color as she processed what had just happened.

"I've been fired," Emily said numbly. "And so have you, Camille."

Camille's face twisted in disbelief and anger. "Fired? Because of some guy named Aimé? This doesn't make any sense. Who is he? Why would he care about what happened last night?"

Emily shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around the situation. "I don't know. But this doesn't feel right. Something's off."

Mindy, who had been watching the exchange with growing concern, finally spoke up. "Do you think this Aimé guy is connected to Doug somehow? I mean, it's just too much of a coincidence that he shows up right after everything that happened."

Camille nodded, her mind racing. "It's possible. Doug could have sent him to mess with us, to get us fired and isolated. It's a classic move—cut us off from our support system."

Emily's mind was spinning with possibilities, but one thing was clear: they were being targeted, and whoever was behind this was playing a dangerous game. "We need to figure out who Aimé is. If he's not really from HR, then we need to find out what his connection to Doug is."

"Agreed," Mindy said, her voice firm. "But we can't do it alone. We need help."

Camille nodded. "We'll reach out to Gabriel. He has connections in Paris—maybe he can help us figure out what's going on."

Emily felt a flicker of hope at the mention of Gabriel. "Yes, let's do that. But we need to be careful. Doug is clearly escalating, and we don't know how far he's willing to go."

The three women shared a determined look, knowing that they were in for a fight. The morning had begun with a horrifying discovery, but they were resolved not to let fear control them. They would find out who Aimé was, expose Doug's twisted game, and take back control of their lives—no matter what it took.