Chapter 4: The Man Who Had Been Watching Us
The darkness lasted three seconds.
But those three seconds changed everything.
“GET DOWN!”” Detective Bennett shouted.
I dropped to the floor, pulling Ava against my chest.
Something crashed near the entrance.
Then came the sound of a struggle.
“Don't move!”” Bennett yelled.
A flashlight clicked on.
Harold was standing beside the doorway.
His pink backpack lay on the floor.
And he was holding a small black pistol.
“Harold,” I whispered.
“What are you doing?””
He looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.
No kindness.
No concern.
Just cold calculation.
“I'm sorry, Marcus.””
Detective Bennett raised her weapon.
“Put it down!””
Harold laughed.
“You still don't understand, Laura.””
My stomach tightened.
He knew her name.
He knew the detective.
And apparently, they knew each other.
“Harold, please,” I said.
“Ava is here.””
He glanced at my daughter.
For a moment, something almost resembling regret crossed his face.
Then he pointed the gun toward the ceiling.
“I'm not here for the child.””
“Then what do you want?””
“The photographs. The documents. Everything you found downstairs.””
Detective Bennett moved slightly to the left.
“Harold, don't make this worse.””
He looked at her.
“You should have stayed retired.””
The detective's face went pale.
I stared between them.
“What is happening?””
Harold sighed.
“Your wife made a terrible mistake four years ago. She thought she could expose people who had more power than her.””
“Who?””
He ignored me.
“Give me the phone, Marcus.””
I tightened my grip on it.
Danielle was still connected.
“Marcus?”” she whispered through the speaker.
Harold heard her.
His expression changed.
“She's alive?””
I stood slowly.
“You knew.””
He lowered his gun slightly.
“I knew she wasn't dead.””
The words hit harder than a physical blow.
For four years, this man had lived two houses away.
He had brought birthday presents for Ava.
He had helped me repair the pool.
He had stood beside me at Danielle's memorial service.
And all that time, he knew.
“Why?”” I asked.
Harold looked down.
“Because I was paid.””
I felt sick.
“By whom?””
He glanced toward the staircase.
“Dr. Shaw.””
Detective Bennett seized the opportunity.
She lunged forward.
Harold fired.
The shot shattered the glass cabinet behind her.
Ava screamed.
I threw myself over my daughter.
A second shot followed.
Then a heavy thud.
When I looked up, Detective Bennett was on top of Harold, forcing his arm behind his back.
“Drop it!”” she shouted.
The gun slid across the floor.
Two uniformed officers rushed in from the front entrance.
Within seconds, Harold was handcuffed.
He didn't resist.
He simply looked at me.
“You should never have opened that hatch.””
I approached him.
“Where is my wife?””
He smiled sadly.
“You're asking the wrong question.””
“What does that mean?””
Harold leaned closer.
“Danielle wasn't the only woman in that room.””
Before I could respond, the detective pulled him away.
I immediately called Danielle back.
The line was still open.
“Danielle? Are you there?””
A weak voice answered.
“Marcus?””
“I'm here. Harold has been arrested.””
“No,” she whispered.
“He wasn't supposed to come himself.””
“What are you talking about?””
“He was supposed to send someone else.””
“Where are you?””
A long silence followed.
Then she said, “Under the house.””
I looked toward the underground staircase.
“The room beneath the pool?””
“No. There's another room beneath that one.””
I felt my stomach turn.
“Danielle, how many rooms are there?””
“Three.””
Three.
I looked at the officers securing the house.
“I'm coming for you.””
“Marcus, wait. There's something you need to know about Ava.””
I looked at my daughter.
She was holding her stuffed rabbit tightly.
“What about her?””
Danielle began crying.
“When I gave birth, Dr. Shaw told me Ava had a medical condition. She said our daughter needed special treatment.””
I remembered the hospital.
The long nights.
The doctors who refused to answer my questions.
Danielle's sudden disappearance.
“What condition?””
“She lied. Ava was perfectly healthy.””
“Then why?””
“Because they wanted to study something. Something connected to my family.””
I couldn't understand.
Danielle continued.
“Your daughter has a birthmark behind her left ear. Have you ever noticed it?””
I looked at Ava.
There was a tiny crescent-shaped mark behind her ear.
“Yes.””
“Marcus, that's why they chose her.””
Ava suddenly lifted her head.
“Daddy?””
I knelt.
“What is it, sweetheart?””
She pointed toward the ceiling.
“Mommy says the singing lady is coming.””
I looked up.
A soft melody drifted through the ventilation system.
Three notes.
A pause.
Three more.
The same lullaby.
Then my phone crackled.
Danielle screamed.
“GET AVA OUT OF THE HOUSE!””
A loud metallic bang followed.
May you like
The call disconnected.
And from somewhere beneath our feet, a woman began singing.
