Episode 19: Strange Visitors at Madam Joy’s Door
The knock came again, louder this time, not the kind that asked permission, but the kind that expected the door to open without question or delay.
Madam Joy did not move immediately, because in the city, hesitation was sometimes safer than curiosity, especially when visitors announced themselves with force instead of respect.
Uli stood still beside the window, her heart beating faster, because something inside her recognized danger before her mind could explain it clearly.
Prince Promise’s voice came softly through the phone.
“Uli… what is happening?”
She lowered her voice.
“Someone is at the door.”
His tone changed instantly.
“Do not open it.”
Madam Joy walked slowly toward the door, her steps controlled, her face calm, but her eyes sharp with caution shaped by years of experience.
“Who is there?” she asked firmly, without unlocking anything.
A voice answered from outside.
“Delivery.”
Madam Joy’s expression did not change.
“What delivery?” she asked.
There was a pause.
Then another voice spoke.
“Open the door and you will see.”
Uli felt a chill run through her, because that answer did not belong to anyone bringing something—it belonged to someone hiding something.
Prince Promise spoke again urgently.
“Listen to me carefully… do not open that door.”
Madam Joy stepped back slightly, her instincts now fully alert.
“No one ordered anything today,” she said quietly to Uli.
The knock came again.
Harder.
Impatient.
And this time, it carried something else—authority that did not belong to ordinary visitors.
Madam Joy turned to Uli.
“Go to the back room,” she said calmly, “and stay quiet.”
Uli hesitated.
“What if—”
“Go,” Madam Joy repeated firmly.
Uli obeyed, moving quickly but silently, her heart pounding as she disappeared into the inner room, her phone still pressed to her ear.
“I am here,” Prince Promise whispered, “do not panic.”
At the door, Madam Joy stood still, her hand resting near the lock but not touching it, because she understood that opening the door could change everything.
“Last warning,” a voice outside said, colder now, “open the door.”
Madam Joy smiled faintly.
“In this house,” she replied calmly, “we do not respond to warnings.”
Silence followed.
But not the safe kind.
The kind that comes before something breaks.
Then suddenly—
A loud force hit the door.
The wood shook.
Uli gasped quietly in the inner room, covering her mouth, because the illusion of safety had just shattered completely.
Prince Promise’s voice tightened.
“Uli… listen to me… if anything happens, leave through the back immediately.”
Another hit.
Stronger.
The lock strained.
Madam Joy stepped back now, her calm shifting into readiness, because she knew they would not stop.
“They are not here to talk,” she said quietly to herself.
The third hit broke part of the frame.
The door opened slightly.
And two men stepped in.
Not rushed.
Not loud.
But certain.
The kind of men who did not question their purpose.
Madam Joy faced them directly.
“You are in the wrong place,” she said calmly.
One of the men smiled slightly.
“We are exactly where we need to be.”
Uli watched through the narrow gap of the inner door, her breath shallow, her hands trembling, because she recognized something terrifying—
These were not strangers.
They carried the quiet confidence of people sent by power.
“Where is the girl?” the second man asked.
Madam Joy did not answer.
Instead, she stepped slightly to block their view.
“There is no girl here,” she replied.
The first man laughed softly.
“Do not waste our time.”
He moved forward.
And Madam Joy moved with him.