Chapter 6: The Voice On The Phone
Nobody touched the phone.
Not for several seconds.
The screen continued glowing in the darkness.
*MOM CALLING*
Lily stared at it.
Her face had gone completely white.
“That’s impossible.””
I looked at her.
“What is it?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Sarah stepped closer.
“Lily, where did you get that?””
“I didn’t.””
The phone kept ringing.
Sarah looked terrified.
“Don’t answer it.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
She whispered:
“Because my phone number died seven years ago.””
The ringing stopped.
Everyone remained silent.
Then a message appeared.
One sentence.
*You should have let the fire finish its job.*
My stomach turned.
I immediately called Marcus.
No signal.
I looked at the phone.
No service.
But the message had arrived.
Someone was close.
Someone was watching.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
I moved instantly.
“Stay behind me.””
Sarah grabbed Lily.
I walked toward the staircase.
Every instinct I had screamed that this was wrong.
The farmhouse was supposed to be empty.
Daniel and Nora were gone.
The police had secured the area.
So who was inside?
I reached the second floor.
A door at the end of the hallway slowly opened.
I raised my weapon.
“Come out.””
Nothing.
Then a voice answered.
“Ethan.””
I froze.
Not because I recognized it.
Because I didn’t.
A woman stepped into the hallway.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar across her cheek.
Sarah gasped behind me.
“No.””
The woman smiled.
“Hello, Sarah.””
Sarah grabbed Lily’s shoulders.
“Who are you?””
The woman looked at me.
“I’m the person who has been protecting your daughter.””
I stared.
“Then why were you threatening her?””
Her expression changed.
“I wasn’t.””
She pointed toward the phone.
“That message wasn’t from me.””
“Then who sent it?””
The woman looked toward the window.
Her face became serious.
“Someone who believes Lily belongs to them.””
I felt my anger rise.
“She is my daughter.””
The woman nodded.
“That’s exactly why they want her.””
I stepped closer.
“Who?””
She hesitated.
Then said:
“The same people who started the fire.””
Sarah whispered:
“I thought they were gone.””
The woman looked at her.
“They were.””
A pause.
“Until they realized the child survived.””
Lily held onto me.
“Daddy…”
I looked down.
“I’m here.””
The woman watched us.
Then slowly reached into her coat.
She pulled out a photograph.
She handed it to me.
My fingers shook as I took it.
The picture showed Lily.
But younger.
Maybe three years old.
Standing beside a hospital bed.
And lying in that bed…
Was another child.
A girl who looked exactly like her.
My breath stopped.
“There were two babies that night,” the woman whispered.
I looked at Sarah.
Her face was filled with horror.
“No…”
The woman nodded.
“Yes.””
I stared at the photograph.
Two children.
One fire.
One survivor.
But if that was true…
Where was the other child?
The woman’s voice dropped.
“Ethan, your daughter was never the only secret Nora was hiding.””
She pointed at the photograph.
“The other baby is alive.””
My heart pounded.
“Where?””
The woman looked toward Lily.
Then answered:
“Living inside your house.””
I felt the world tilt.
Because suddenly, every locked door, every missing file, every lie from the last seven years had a new meaning.
May you like
Someone hadn’t just stolen my daughter.
Someone had replaced her.
