"If you don't unlock that door, he'll burn alive! Are you just going to let him die?"
"I think she's hoping my son dies!" Evelyn screamed suddenly. Her eyes blazed with such hatred that, for a moment, I thought she might lunge at me again. "Now that I think about it, I don't even believe the factory fire was an accident. Who's to say she didn't set it herself?"
At this, the crowd erupted into chaos.
"What?" a man exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he turned to look at me. Others exchanged uneasy glances, their whispers growing louder.
"If that's true, I suggest you call the police. This could be murder!"
"Yeah! Call the police immediately! Who knows if her husband is already dead in there?"
"This is terrifying—murdering her own husband? That's a crime! You must report it!"
"Did the husband have life insurance?" someone asked suspiciously, their voice low but loud enough for the others to hear. "Why is the wife acting so calm? Could this be... planned?"
"Madam, you should call the police right away."
"Yes, call the police!"
The collective weight of their accusations pressed against me like a storm surge. Evelyn hesitated, clearly bolstered by the mob-like fervor of the crowd. Her eyes bore into mine with a loathing I had never seen before.
"Maya, what do you say?" she hissed, her voice thick with venom. "Should I call the police? Don't come crying and begging for mercy later!"
I met her gaze evenly, my face an expressionless mask. The tension between us stretched taut, broken only by Lucia's furious shout.
"What is this?" Lucia screamed. She turned sharply toward the crowd, her eyes blazing with frustration. "Now isn't the time for police or some conspiracy theories! We're wasting time! We need to save him!"
The crowd fell into a brief, stunned silence. Some lowered their phones, shifting awkwardly as if realizing how absurd the scene had become.
Lucia spun back toward me, her lips trembling with suppressed fury. "I'm asking you—are you going to use the card to open the door or not?"
I paused, then slowly reached into my bag, my movements deliberate. Pulling the access card out, I held it out toward her. "If you're in such a hurry, you go open it."