Insurance Office at Midnight: The Story of the Victims
Prologue
The office of White Oak Insurance had seen better days. Located in the heart of a city that had long since forgotten its glory days, the building was a relic of a past era, its brick walls cracked, and the signage faded. Yet, despite its dilapidation, the company had a long and storied history, surviving decades of economic upheavals, mergers, and acquisitions. No one thought much about White Oak, except for the employees who worked there.
But in the dead of night, when the last of the office workers had gone home, the building became something else. A place where whispers of the past lingered and the walls seemed to remember the tragedies they had witnessed. And no one knew this better than the late-night shift workers—those who stayed after hours to handle the overflow of claims, paperwork, and policies that never seemed to end.
One night, on an evening much like any other, something changed. It started with a noise. A soft rustling in the corner of the office, followed by the flicker of the fluorescent lights overhead. The kind of disturbances that might be easily dismissed, but then the things that began to happen could no longer be ignored.
Chapter 1: A Night Like Any Other
Lucas Tyler had only been with White Oak Insurance for six months. He was young, eager to prove himself, and determined to move up the corporate ladder. But the late-night shifts were starting to wear on him.
It was 2:00 AM when Lucas glanced up from his desk, rubbing his eyes from the exhaustion of scanning endless claims forms. The office was eerily silent, the hum of the fluorescent lights above him the only sound. His co-worker, Beth, was at her desk across the room, her head resting on her arms. She had fallen asleep while reviewing a policy.
Lucas was just about to go over to wake her when he noticed something odd. A file that wasn’t there a moment ago had appeared on his desk. It was an old-fashioned folder, made of leather, with a faded stamp that read: "Claim of the Departed."
He frowned. He had never seen that particular file before. He reached for it, his fingers trembling slightly as he opened the folder. Inside was a policy that seemed... wrong. The print was faded and the signatures were in ink that appeared to be over a century old. The names on the policy were unfamiliar—Sarah and William Lawson. There was a date, 1923.
"Beth, wake up," Lucas whispered, but there was no response.
He shook her shoulder gently. "Beth," he repeated.
Beth groggily lifted her head. "What’s going on?" she mumbled.
"Look at this," Lucas said, handing her the file. "Where did this come from?"
Beth squinted at it and let out a small gasp. "That’s... that’s not one of ours."
Lucas nodded. "I thought so. But look at this. It’s like a claim for... a death benefit, but it's marked as ‘Denied.’"
Beth leaned in, her eyes scanning the document. "That’s... strange. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s almost as if—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the lights flickered and then went out completely. The room plunged into darkness.
Lucas cursed under his breath. "What the hell?"
Chapter 2: The Victims
The lights flickered back to life after a few moments, but the atmosphere in the room had changed. The air felt heavier, as if something was pressing down on them. Beth looked around nervously.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Lucas frowned, trying to shake off the unease settling in his stomach. "It was probably just a power surge," he said, though he didn't sound convinced.
Then, the whispering started.
At first, it was so faint they thought it was just their minds playing tricks on them. But the voices grew louder, the words barely audible but unmistakable. They were coming from somewhere inside the room, but there was no one else there.
Beth’s face drained of color as she stood up. "Do you hear it? It’s coming from the file!"
Lucas, in a daze, slowly reached for the leather folder. As soon as his hand touched it, the whispers stopped. The office was dead silent once more, but the tension was palpable.
"Lucas, I think we should get out of here," Beth said, backing away slowly.
But before either of them could leave, the door to the office slammed shut with a force that rattled the windows. Both of them jumped.
"Okay, that’s not normal," Lucas said, panic creeping into his voice.
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Beth could see her breath in front of her, even though it was summer outside.
"Do you think we’re being haunted?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Lucas nodded slowly. "It feels like it, doesn’t it?"
Suddenly, the lights flickered again, and when they came back on, a figure stood in front of them.
It was a man, dressed in what appeared to be a suit from the 1920s. His face was pale, his eyes hollow and sunken. His expression was grim, and his mouth moved as though he were speaking, but no words came out.
Beth screamed. "Who the hell is that?"
The figure raised one hand slowly, pointing at them. As he did, the room seemed to grow colder still. The file on Lucas’s desk opened on its own, and the names on the policy—the same names as the man’s—began to glow a faint red.
The man’s lips moved again, but this time, his voice was clear. “You cannot escape. You are bound by the claim.”
Beth grabbed Lucas’s arm. "We need to get out now!"
But as they turned to the door, it slammed shut again, this time with a deafening bang. They were trapped.
Chapter 3: The Claimant's Curse
The man’s ghostly figure advanced toward them, his movements slow and deliberate. He pointed directly at Beth. “The claim was denied, but it was never forgotten,” he whispered.
Beth’s eyes widened in terror. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The ghost’s voice grew louder, more insistent. “I was William Lawson. My wife, Sarah, died because of their negligence. They denied her claim, and I made them pay. But I was betrayed. They erased me. They erased us.”
Lucas’s heart pounded. He glanced at the leather folder. The policy, glowing faintly, seemed to pulse with energy. The words began to shift, rearranging themselves into a message: "The claim of the departed has not been settled."
"You’re dead," Lucas said, his voice shaking. "Why are you still here?"
William Lawson’s ghost seemed to look at him with pity. “Because I was wronged. My soul cannot rest until the claim is settled. Until justice is served."
Beth started to cry. "What do you want us to do?"
The ghost’s eyes turned cold. “Find the claim. Make them pay for what they did to me and my wife. The office of White Oak Insurance holds the key.”
Suddenly, the walls around them creaked, and the air grew thicker. A new figure appeared beside William Lawson. It was a woman—Sarah Lawson—her face gaunt and pale, her eyes locked onto them with an intensity that was unnerving.
Together, the two spirits stepped forward. “Make them pay,” Sarah whispered, her voice echoing around the room.
Lucas’s mind raced. "How? What do you want us to do?"
The ghosts began to fade, their voices trailing off. “You know what to do... find the claim... before it is too late.”
Chapter 4: The Last Claim
The door opened. The oppressive atmosphere lifted. The ghosts were gone.
Beth collapsed into the chair, her breath coming in short gasps. "What the hell just happened?"
Lucas stood frozen, staring at the now-empty space where the ghosts had stood. "We need to get that claim processed," he muttered, his voice distant. "We need to find a way to finish what was started."
They both stared at the leather folder, still sitting on Lucas’s desk. Slowly, they opened it again. Inside, Lucas found a hidden letter—one that had been folded and sealed away. It was from the CEO of White Oak Insurance, written in a delicate hand.
"To whoever finds this: The Lawson claim was never intended to be processed. They were a nuisance, and we removed them from the records. Their claim was denied, but their names will never be forgotten. Do with this information as you will."
Beth recoiled. "My God, they really did this."
Lucas nodded grimly. "And now, we’re the ones who have to make things right."
As the office clock struck 3:00 AM, the two of them made a decision. They would finally resolve the claim of Sarah and William Lawson—no matter what it cost them.
The spirits of the victims were not done. And White Oak Insurance would never be the same again.
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