Suddenly,there was a noise in the room.Alex showed his police officer's alertness.
"There's someone else in the house."
He said as he held the knife and walked into the room, then he followed the sound to the wardrobe.

He knocked on the wardrobe door first,and sure enough,a sound came from inside.
I walked into the room.Alex motioned for me to be quiet,and I complied.I suspected it was Mark playing a prank on him.
Alex tentatively and slowly opened the wardrobe door, revealing the hidden door that connected my house to the one opposite.
He looked at me in shock,and I returned the same expression.
He paused for a moment and then turned to walk towards that hidden door.
I swiftly approached him from behind and injected an anesthetic into his neck.

He immediately went limp and fell to the ground.
I looked up and smiled at Mark,who was on the other side of the hidden door.
At 11:30 p.m.on the 24th,Alex regained consciousness.
His hands and feet were already bound inside the wardrobe.He kept struggling,and the noise of his body hitting the wardrobe door caught my attention.

I opened the wardrobe door.
Apparently,he was shocked.He stared straight at me,his eyes brimming with extreme confusion.
And I was extremely happy.
"Amanda?"His tone was a mix of doubt and fear.
"Yes,"I replied.
Mark dragged two stools in from outside and handed one to me,"Sit," he said.
"Have you been in contact all this time?"Alex asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
I sat down,let out a sigh,and coldly regarded Alex's sorry state,saying indifferently,"Prodigy of the police force,tell me your speculation."
Alex was silent for a few seconds,still staring at me.His eyes had no hostility,just an air of incredulity.
His Adam's apple twitched slightly,"Today is the 24th,or rather,it's already the 25th.So I'm the eighth victim,your Number 8," he said.
I stared at him,smiled slightly,and shook my head,"No,you're Number 10."
"What?", I said.
"you're Number 10,the tenth person I've killed."
"You've killed others that the police haven't found out about?"
"Yep,"I replied proudly,turning my head to look at Mark.
"Amanda,"Alex shouted.I stood up,glared at him,and shouted angrily,"My name isn't Amanda."
Alex was even more confused.
Mark tapped his watch,"There are 24 minutes left."
"Not so much of a prodigy after all,"I sneered.
Alex gradually calmed down,"Was all of this planned by you?"
"Of course."