Chapter 1 - The Voice Inside the House
Alex did not move.
The phone remained in his hand.
The message on the screen disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a black screen.
Derek was breathing hard.
The police officers exchanged a look.
Alex raised his eyes.
“What did that mean?”
Nobody answered.
He looked at Teresa.
“What did that mean?”
Teresa wiped her cheek.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m grieving.”
“You were trying to take the phone.”
“Because that phone belongs to Clara.”
“Then why were you afraid of it?”
Teresa’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Alex turned toward the coffin.
His wife’s portrait stood above the flowers.
Clara was smiling in the photograph.
That smile suddenly felt wrong.
Not because the picture was fake.
Because Alex remembered the day it had been taken.
Clara had not wanted to take it.
She had complained that Teresa insisted on a family photograph.
Alex had laughed and told her it would only take a minute.
Now he remembered something else.
After the photograph, Clara had pulled him aside.
She had whispered, “Promise me you’ll listen if I ever tell you something is wrong.”
He had kissed her forehead.
“Nothing is wrong.”
She had looked at him for several seconds.
Then she had smiled.
“Okay.”
Alex felt cold.
Officer Reynolds approached.
“Mr. Carter, I need you to step away from the family.”
Alex looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because we have questions.”
“About my wife?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask them.”
The officer glanced toward the coffin.
“First, I need to understand why the funeral was arranged before you returned.”
Alex frowned.
“What?”
The officer looked at his partner.
“You weren't informed?”
“About what?”
Officer Reynolds lowered his voice.
“The funeral home paperwork was finalized yesterday morning.”
Alex stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
Teresa immediately interrupted.
“Alex was unreachable.”
“I had my phone.”
“You were traveling.”
“I called home.”
“No one knew when you would return.”
Alex looked at Lily.
His daughter had gone silent.
She was staring at the staircase.
Alex followed her gaze.
“What is it?”
Lily shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“Lily.”
She squeezed her doll.
“Mommy told me not to go upstairs.”
Alex’s stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“She said Grandma locked something up there.”
Teresa suddenly stepped forward.
“Children imagine things.”
Lily looked directly at her grandmother.
“Mommy wasn't imagining.”
The room fell silent again.
Alex walked toward the stairs.
Officer Reynolds followed.
Teresa grabbed Alex’s sleeve.
“Don't.”
Alex turned.
“What is upstairs?”
Her fingers slowly released his arm.
“Nothing.”
A soft sound came from above.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Alex looked upward.
The sound came again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Lily whispered behind him.
“That’s Mommy’s room.”
Alex ran.
He reached the upstairs hallway and stopped in front of Clara’s bedroom.
The door was locked.
He tried the handle.
Nothing.
He looked at Officer Reynolds.
“Open it.”
The officer forced the lock.
The door swung inward.
The bedroom was empty.
But on the floor, beneath the window, was a small red ribbon.
Lily’s ribbon.
Alex picked it up.
His daughter had worn that ribbon the night Clara supposedly died.
He turned.
Lily stood at the end of the hallway.
Her face was pale.
“Daddy…”
“What?”
She pointed toward the closet.
“Mommy put me in there.”
Alex stared.
“Why?”
May you like
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because somebody was coming.”
