Chapter 2: The Face in the Darkness
I stopped breathing.
For three seconds, maybe five, I couldn’t even move.
The image on my phone froze in my hands.
The figure standing beside Emily’s bed wasn’t a shadow.
It wasn’t a trick of the camera.
It was a person.
A real person.
My first thought was that someone had broken into the house.
My second thought was much worse.
How long had they been there?
My thumb hovered over the emergency call button.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to run into Emily’s room immediately.
But something stopped me.
The figure on the screen wasn’t moving toward my daughter.
It was just standing there.
Watching.
I zoomed in with shaking fingers.
The camera quality wasn’t perfect. The room was dark except for the soft glow of Emily’s night light.
But I could see enough.
A hand.
A shoulder.
The outline of a face.
Then the person slowly turned.
And my entire body went numb.
Because I recognized that face.
“Daniel…”
The name escaped my mouth like a whisper.
My husband.
My own husband was standing in my daughter’s bedroom at 2:00 in the morning.
For a moment, relief rushed over me.
A terrible misunderstanding.
That was all.
Daniel must have gotten up without waking me.
Maybe Emily had cried.
Maybe he had gone in to comfort her.
There had to be an explanation.
There had to be.
But then I noticed something.
Daniel wasn’t wearing pajamas.
He wasn’t carrying water.
He wasn’t holding a blanket.
He was dressed exactly like he had been earlier that evening when he came home from the hospital.
Dark pants.
A gray shirt.
His shoes were missing, but everything else was the same.
Why would he go into Emily’s room like that?
Why wouldn’t he tell me?
My heart started beating faster.
I watched the screen.
Daniel stood beside the bed and looked down at Emily.
Then he did something that made my stomach twist.
He slowly reached toward the mattress.
Not toward her hand.
Not toward her face.
Toward the empty space beside her.
The same place Emily said someone had been lying.
I covered my mouth.
My mind was racing.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Then the camera feed flickered.
For one second, the screen went black.
When it returned, Daniel was gone.
I jumped out of bed.
“Daniel?””
No answer.
I looked beside me.
The bed was empty.
The room door was slightly open.
I hadn’t heard him leave.
I grabbed my phone and walked into the hallway.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Every floorboard sounded painfully loud beneath my feet.
I reached Emily’s door.
My hand touched the handle.
I paused.
A strange fear settled over me.
Not fear of someone breaking in.
Fear of discovering something about my own family that I couldn’t take back.
I opened the door.
Emily was still asleep.
Exactly as she had been on the camera.
Her breathing was slow.
Her stuffed rabbit was tucked under her arm.
The room looked peaceful.
Normal.
Except for one thing.
Daniel wasn’t there.
I checked the closet.
Empty.
The bathroom.
Empty.
The hallway.
Empty.
I walked back to my bedroom.
And there he was.
Daniel was lying in bed.
His eyes were closed.
His breathing was steady.
Like he had never left.
I stood there frozen.
My husband opened his eyes.
“Emma?””
His sleepy voice startled me.
“What are you doing up?””
I stared at him.
The question almost made me laugh.
“What are you doing up?””
He frowned.
“I’m not.””
I looked at him carefully.
“Daniel.””
“What?””
“Were you just in Emily’s room?””
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
A tiny pause.
A fraction of hesitation.
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I felt something inside me crack.
“Don’t lie to me.””
He sat up.
“Emma, what are you talking about?””
“I saw you.””
His eyebrows pulled together.
“Saw me where?””
“In Emily’s room.””
He stared at me.
Then he shook his head.
“You’re tired.””
My jaw tightened.
“I’m not imagining this.””
“Emma—”
“I saw you standing beside her bed.””
The room became quiet.
Daniel looked away.
Only for a moment.
But that moment told me more than words.
“Why were you there?””
He rubbed his face.
“I wasn’t.””
“Daniel.””
“Emma, it was probably a reflection or something on the camera.””
I froze.
“You know about the camera?””
The silence that followed was different.
Heavy.
Daniel looked at me.
Then looked toward Emily’s bedroom door.
“How long has it been there?””
My skin went cold.
“You didn’t answer my question.””
Neither did he.
Instead, he got out of bed.
“Where’s your phone?””
I stepped back.
“Why?””
“I want to see the footage.””
“No.””
The word came out before I could think.
Daniel stopped.
His expression hardened.
“Why wouldn’t you let me see it?””
“Because I’m asking you a question first.””
He stared at me.
Then quietly said, “Emma, you’re scaring yourself.””
I felt anger rising.
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“But what scares me is that you’re more interested in proving I’m wrong than finding out why our daughter is afraid.””
Daniel looked hurt.
For a second, I saw the man I married.
The man who held my hand when my father died.
The man who stayed awake all night when Emily had pneumonia.
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to believe my fear was wrong.
Then my phone vibrated.
Both of us looked down.
A notification appeared.
*Motion detected: Emily’s bedroom.*
My blood turned cold.
Daniel saw it too.
The color drained from his face.
Neither of us moved.
The camera was still recording.
And whoever had been in Emily’s room…
Was there again.
I grabbed my phone.
This time, Daniel didn’t stop me.
I opened the live feed.
The bedroom appeared on the screen.
Emily was sitting up.
Her eyes were open.
She was staring at the corner of the room.
My heart nearly stopped.
“Emily…”
I whispered her name.
Daniel stepped closer.
“What is she looking at?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
The camera angle showed the corner clearly.
The same corner where the figure had appeared before.
Emily slowly lifted her hand.
She pointed.
Then she spoke.
Even through the phone speaker, I heard her tiny voice.
“Mom…”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What is it, sweetheart?”” I whispered.
Emily looked directly toward the corner.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
“He came back.””
Daniel went completely still.
I turned toward him.
“You know who she means?””
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel?””
His face had changed.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
Fear.
Real fear.
And that was when I realized something.
My husband wasn’t surprised that Emily was scared.
He was surprised that she could see him.
The camera image suddenly shifted.
The room became darker.
Emily’s eyes moved slowly toward the side of her bed.
Then she whispered:
“Mom… he says you’re not supposed to know.””
My hand shook.
“What?””
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Emma, turn it off.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His voice dropped.
“Because you don’t understand what you’re seeing.””
I pulled my arm away.
“No.””
I stared at the screen.
“Then explain it.””
Daniel said nothing.
And that silence was the answer I was afraid of.
Because my husband knew something.
Something about Emily’s room.
Something about those seven nights.
Something he had been hiding from me.
Then the camera caught one more movement.
The closet door.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Opening by itself.
May you like
And from inside the darkness…
A second figure stepped out.
