Chapter 6: The Enemy Inside The House
The mansion had never felt dangerous before.
It was just a place.
A huge, quiet house with polished floors and rooms I barely entered.
But that night, every shadow looked different.
Every sound made me turn.
Someone had taken a picture of my daughter.
Someone had been close enough to watch her.
And they wanted me to know it.
Nathan doubled the security around the property.
He checked every camera himself.
I watched him from the kitchen doorway.
Five years ago, I dreamed of standing beside him again.
But I never imagined it would happen like this.
With fear between us.
With secrets surrounding us.
With our daughter sleeping upstairs while someone threatened our family.
Nathan looked up.
“You should rest.””
I almost laughed.
“Rest?””
He looked away.
“I know.””
The guilt in his voice stopped me.
For years, I imagined Nathan as the person who abandoned me.
But now I was seeing something different.
A man who had been manipulated too.
A man who had lost his daughter without ever knowing she existed.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
The words were quiet.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because forgiveness wasn’t a switch.
It was something broken people had to rebuild piece by piece.
“I don’t know if I can forgive everything yet.””
Nathan nodded.
“I understand.””
“But I know Lily deserves her father.””
His eyes softened.
“Thank you.””
Before we could say anything else, Lily appeared at the top of the stairs.
She was holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Mommy?””
I rushed toward her.
“What happened, sweetheart?””
She looked past me at Nathan.
“Daddy?””
Nathan smiled.
“Yes?””
“Can you stay until I fall asleep?””
The question destroyed him.
He walked upstairs with us.
For the first time, Nathan sat beside Lily’s bed.
He read her favorite story.
He answered every question she asked.
And when she finally closed her eyes, he stayed there for another twenty minutes.
Watching her.
Like he was afraid she would disappear.
Later, we returned downstairs.
Daniel was waiting.
His face told me something was wrong.
“We found the person who sent the messages.””
Nathan stood immediately.
“Who?””
Daniel placed a file on the table.
“The messages came from inside the mansion.””
A cold silence followed.
Nathan opened the file.
“What?””
Daniel pointed to the security records.
“The phone connected to the house network.””
My heart sank.
“Who has access?””
Nathan looked at the list.
Employees.
Security.
Family members.
Then his eyes stopped.
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward us.
The name was highlighted.
Victoria Sinclair.
The room went silent.
Nathan shook his head.
“That’s impossible.””
Daniel frowned.
“The evidence says otherwise.””
Victoria appeared at the doorway.
“What’s impossible?””
Everyone turned.
Nathan looked at her.
“You tell me.””
She saw the file.
Her face changed.
“I can explain.””
I felt my body go cold.
“Explain why you were watching my daughter?””
Victoria looked at me.
Then at Nathan.
“I wasn’t.””
Nathan’s voice was different now.
Not angry.
Not hurt.
Suspicious.
“Then why does the evidence lead to you?””
Victoria opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, every light in the mansion suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Lily screamed upstairs.
I ran.
“Nathan!””
A sound came from the hallway.
A door opening.
Then a man’s voice whispered from the darkness.
“Grace.””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
Richard Cole.
May you like
But Richard was in the hospital.
And the voice came from inside the house.
