The Paris Apartment

It’s Friday. Ben, a journalist, sits in his luxurious Paris apartment, ready to write an exposé of the building that is beautiful on the outside and foul on the inside. He’s annoyed that his half-sister Jess is in town to visit him. He sends her a voice note to remind her of his address when he hears mysterious sounds coming from the courtyard, then footsteps outside his apartment; the uninvited guest unlocks his door and steps into the apartment.

Jess waits outside Ben’s apartment building on Rue des Amants, annoyed that he’s not picking up his phone. She spots movement nearby, as though someone is crouching by a car, but the movement stops. She admires the beauty of the building’s architecture, surprised that Ben can afford to live there on a journalist’s salary. Anti-climb spikes surround the building, which seems extreme for such a peaceful street. She knocks at the front door, and a light turns on in an overhead apartment. A shadowy figure looks down at her.

From her penthouse suite, a woman named Sophie hears the building’s door knocker below. Her dog, Benoit, barks because the door knocker is seldom used. When she looks down into the street, she sees no one and figures