Chapter 17 - THE NIGHT VISITOR
Three nights later, it happened.
I woke to silence. Or almost silence.
Someone was standing beside my cot.
I kept my eyes closed. I breathed slowly. Pretending to sleep.
A hand reached down. Fingers brushed my wrist. They searched for the watch.
I held perfectly still. My heart hammering so loud I thought they might hear it.
The fingers found the watch. They pressed buttons. Tried to unlock it.
Then—my father’s voice. Low and sharp.
“Step away.”
The hand vanished.
I opened my eyes.
Standing in the moonlight was Maria. Our housekeeper. Quiet. Unassuming. She had been with us since before my mother died.
She stood trembling. The watch was still on my wrist.
“Maria?” my father said, disbelieving.
She looked at him. Tears spilled down her face.
“He has my son,” she whispered. “Hale has my boy. He said… he said if I did not delete the recording… he would kill him.”
We all fell silent.
“I did not want to,” she said. “He found me weeks ago. He threatened him. What was I to do?”
My father stood slowly. “Where is your son, Maria?”
“I do not know. He would not tell me. Only that I must help him. Or my child dies.” She sank to her knees. “I am sorry. I am so sorry.”
Julian stepped forward. “What did Hale tell you to do?”
“Watch you. Report everything. And when the time comes… open the back door.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “And that time… is now.”
A loud crash echoed through the house.
May you like
From downstairs.
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