Chapter 4
I drove home with Lily asleep in the back seat and a police officer behind us.
I didn’t want to go back.
But Lily needed clothes.
And I needed answers.
The house felt different the moment I stepped inside.
Every wall looked guilty.
The police had sealed the bedroom, but Detective Harris let me stand in the hall.
“We’ll search the whole property tomorrow,” he said.
“Search it now.”
“We need warrants for certain areas.”
“It’s my house.”
“According to the deed,” he said, “it might not be.”
I stared at him.
He handed me a copy of a document found in Caroline’s office.
The house had been purchased through a trust.
Not mine.
Not Caroline’s.
Claire Mercer Trust.
I read the name again.
Claire.
My hands went numb.
“She owned this house?” I asked.
“Looks like it.”
“Then why was she hidden inside it?”
Harris looked toward Caroline’s locked office.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
Upstairs, Lily woke crying.
I ran to her.
She clung to my neck.
“Is Mommy going to be mad?”
The question nearly broke me.
“How long have you known someone was in the wall?”
She hid her face.
“Mommy said Mia was a secret.”
“What else did she say?”
“If I told, they would take you away.”
I held my daughter tighter.
“No one is taking me from you.”
But I was no longer sure that was true.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman’s voice said, “Ryan, listen carefully. Caroline isn’t the only one you should fear.”
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then the voice cracked.
“I’m her mother.”
I stepped into the hallway.
“You’re dead.”
“That’s what she needed you to believe.”
“Why?”
“Because I helped bury what happened to you seven years ago.”
My chest tightened.
“What happened to me?”
May you like
“Meet me tomorrow,” she whispered. “Come alone.”
Then the line went dead.
