Determined, Stacey devised another plan. She would attend the auction herself and bid on her apartment. Though she didn’t have much, she’d managed to save a modest amount, and, with a bit of reluctance, she reached out to her parents for a loan. With their support, she gathered what funds she could.
The morning of the auction, Stacey woke early, her resolve unwavering. She dressed carefully, calming her nerves with a final look in the mirror before heading out. Arriving at the venue, she mingled in the crowd, purposefully avoiding Mr. Perkly ’s gaze, but chatting with others, planting seeds of doubt about her building’s eerie reputation.