Several hours went by, as she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her chest felt so tight that she eventually had to go downstairs to drink several glasses of cold water to make herself feel better.

When she did finally fall asleep, she dreamed of that mystery man who had held her tightly, stroking her body. Just as he leaned in to kiss her, she shot awake, doused in a cold sweat.

She glanced at her alarm clock. It was only one am.

With a deep breath, she Lay back down, and pulled the quilt up over her face. She felt so helpless.

The image of that man holding her entered her mind once again.

When she gave it some more thought, the man seemed a Little familiar.

Something was telling her that she had seen him somewhere before.

She didn't understand why he was so afraid of her seeing his face. He had been her hero after all. Could it be someone she knew?

Lynch maybe?

Ariana felt disgusted at the mere thought of that scenario, and dismissed it immediately

Lynch was not that tall.

Then Theodore popped into her mind. Her husband did have a similar figure, but being paralyzed, it couldn't have been him.

She reached out her hand and studied the Band-Aid on her finger. One of her nails had broken off and she had found it in the shower. It must have happened during her struggle with the mystery man.

If that were the case, he would also be injured. Her nails were long and sharp after all.

Maybe she'd recognize the man if he had scratches on his hand.

But those scratches would no doubt heal quickly, so it might not be of much help. There were way too many people going to the party. She wouldn't be able to investigate them all.

The only thing she could really use was the footage from the security cameras.

It felt Like her thoughts were going round in circles. Frustrated, she reached for her phone. There was a flirtatious text from Lynch sent three hours before.

She smiled. He had taken her bait. She didn't reply straight away. A good fisherman knew the right time to reel them in.

*