Chapter 2 - The Silent House
I slammed my shoulder against the nursery door, but the solid wood barely moved.
Lily began to cry loudly in the darkness, terrified by the sudden noise and absolute pitch black.
“Maria, use your phone flashlight!” I yelled, my heart hammering furiously against my ribs.
A small beam of light pierced the darkness, revealing Maria’s terrified, tear-stained face.
“Mister Daniel, I swear I never touched her,” Maria sobbed, holding the phone up with shaking hands.
“I know, Maria, I saw the video,” I reassured her, gently rocking Lily until her cries turned into soft hiccups.
I handed my daughter to the housekeeper so I could focus on finding a way out of this trap.
I kicked the doorknob with the heel of my shoe, putting all my weight into the strike.
The metal mechanism shattered on the third kick, and the heavy door finally swung open into the hallway.
The rest of the house was completely silent and still engulfed in suffocating darkness.
I grabbed a heavy bronze statue from the hallway table, gripping it tightly as a makeshift weapon.
We slowly made our way downstairs, checking every corner and shadow for any sign of my wife.
The front door was standing wide open, letting in a cold gust of evening wind.
Claire’s car was gone from the driveway, and the massive iron front gates were left wide open.
I rushed back inside to check the living room, desperate to figure out what she was doing.
On the coffee table, illuminated by the moonlight, sat a strange, unfamiliar black phone.
I picked it up and pressed the power button, watching the bright screen illuminate my face.
There was only one unread text message on the screen, sent just two minutes ago.
The message read, "Is the husband out of the picture yet, or do we need to send the cleaner?"
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I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized Claire was not just a terrible mother.
She was part of something far more dangerous, and my life was actively on the line.
