Chapter 4 - The Midnight Dig
The sound of shattering glass sent everyone into a panic.
Arthur sprinted toward the kitchen.
Evelyn screamed for the bodyguards.
Clara used the distraction to grab her crutches and pull herself out of her wheelchair.
She hobbled toward the hallway, hiding behind a heavy velvet curtain.
Peeking into the kitchen, she saw the back window broken wide open.
Muddy footprints tracked across the white marble floor.
They were small footprints.
The boy was back.
That night, a severe thunderstorm rolled over the estate.
Lightning flashed, illuminating Clara’s dark bedroom.
She couldn't sleep.
She kept thinking about the boy, the bubbling rug, and her father’s terrified face.
Clara slipped out of bed and moved to her window.
Down in the garden, illuminated by a flash of lightning, she saw a figure.
It was the boy in the oversized oatmeal shirt.
He was holding a rusty shovel.
He was digging near the old oak tree where Clara's mother used to sit.
Clara knew she had to talk to him.
She grabbed her crutches, put on a thick raincoat, and sneaked out the side door.
The rain was freezing, instantly soaking her hair.
"Hey!" Clara whispered loudly over the roaring wind.
The boy spun around, raising the shovel defensively.
When he saw it was Clara, he dropped it.
"You shouldn't be out here," he warned, his teeth chattering.
"What are you looking for?" she asked, limping closer.
"My mom buried something here before they fired her," he said.
"She said if anything ever happened to her, I needed to dig it up."
Clara felt a cold dread in her stomach.
"Did something happen to your mom?"
The boy wiped rain from his eyes.
"She didn't come home last night."
He dropped to his knees and pulled a heavy metal lockbox from the mud.
Suddenly, a bright, blinding beam of light hit them.
A heavy hand grabbed the boy by his torn suspender, lifting him into the air.
It was Evelyn’s personal bodyguard, a massive man named Thorne.
May you like
He pulled a black pistol from his coat and pointed it directly at Clara’s chest.
"You kids are digging your own graves," Thorne growled.
