Chapter 3 - “Why would he say that?”Sarah didn't answer.
David stared at her.
“Sarah.”
She looked toward the nursery.
“I don't know.”
“Then we'll check.”
They walked back inside.
David lifted the mattress.
The wooden base beneath it appeared solid.
He ran his hands along the edges.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a tiny indentation near the corner.
He pressed it.
Click.
The entire wooden platform shifted.
Sarah gasped.
David lifted it.
There was a hidden compartment beneath the crib.
Inside was a plastic envelope.
And three photographs.
David picked up the first.
It showed Leo asleep.
Taken from above.
The second showed David carrying Leo through the nursery.
The third was different.
It showed David asleep.
In his own bedroom.
His blood ran cold.
The photographs had timestamps.
Every one had been taken after midnight.
“Someone has been inside our house.”
Sarah whispered, “Maybe the previous owners…”
“The previous owners didn't photograph me sleeping.”
David looked at her.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
The question came out quietly.
“Have you ever seen those photographs before?”
“No.”
David believed her.
Almost.
He pulled out his phone.
“We're calling the police.”
Sarah grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Because what if they already have someone inside the police?”
David stared at her.
“That's insane.”
“So was the voice.”
He looked toward the hallway.
Then he heard a noise.
Three soft knocks.
From inside the nursery wall.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
David moved toward it.
Sarah whispered, “Don't.”
He put his ear against the wall.
Nothing.
Then another three knocks.
David stepped back.
“There.”
He tapped the wall.
The sound was hollow.
He found a small picture frame hanging near the crib.
Behind it was a seam.
A panel.
David pulled.
The panel opened.
A narrow cavity ran inside the wall.
A hidden camera stared back at them.
David felt sick.
There were wires.
Dozens.
Some led into the nursery.
Others disappeared deeper into the house.
Sarah covered her mouth.
“Someone built this.”
David followed the wires.
One ran behind the wall toward the master bedroom.
Another toward the kitchen.
Another disappeared beneath the stairs.
He pulled out his flashlight.
The cavity was large enough for a person to move through.
Then he noticed something on the floor.
Dog hair.
Black and white.
Tank.
David crouched.
Fresh.
Sarah whispered:
“Tank was in there.”
David's chest tightened.
He followed the hair toward the stairs.
At the bottom was another hidden panel.
He opened it.
The cavity continued downward.
A faint smell came from below.
Mold.
Metal.
And something else.
Chemical.
David's phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
One photo.
Leo standing in the nursery.
The timestamp was five minutes ago.
David looked at his son.
Leo was in Sarah's arms.
Safe.
David stared at the picture.
The photographer had been standing inside the nursery.
Then another message appeared.
DON'T CALL THE POLICE.
David typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
The reply came instantly.
THE PERSON WHO KEPT LEO ALIVE.
David's eyes widened.
He typed again.
FROM WHAT?
Three dots appeared.
Then:
FROM HER.
David looked at Sarah.
She was still holding Leo.
The phone vibrated once more.
Another photo appeared.
Sarah.
Holding a newborn baby.
David knew that photograph.
He had seen it before.
But something was wrong.
The baby wasn't Leo.
David slowly looked at Sarah.
“Who is that baby?”
Her face drained of color.
“I don't know.”
“You're holding him.”
“I don't remember.”
David zoomed into the photograph.
Written on the back of the digital image was a date.
Two years before Leo was born.
Then beneath it:
SUBJECT A-17.
Sarah whispered:
“David…”
“What?”
“I think…”
She looked toward the hidden passage.
“I think someone has been watching our family since before Leo existed.”
A sound came from beneath the floor.
A muffled whine.
David froze.
“Did you hear that?”
Sarah nodded.
The sound came again.
A dog.
Alive.
David grabbed the flashlight.
He opened the hidden door beneath the stairs.
May you like
Darkness waited below.
And from somewhere inside it, Tank barked once.
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