Chapter 6 - Shattered Glass
The sound of breaking glass hung in the air like a gunshot. For a fraction of a second, nobody moved. Then, the piercing, terrified wail of the baby cut through the silence of the hallway.
"The baby!" Maya screamed, shoving past Arthur and Diane with reckless abandon.
She sprinted down the carpeted corridor, her heart pounding against her ribs as she reached the guest bedroom. The window overlooking the side yard was smashed inward, shards of glass glistening like diamonds across the floral duvet. A cold gust of wind whipped the sheer curtains into a frantic dance. The car seat was tipped on its side, and the baby’s cries echoed frantically against the walls.
Maya lunged forward, scooping the car seat into her arms and checking the infant. Aside from being terrified by the noise, the baby was unharmed. But the window frame held a terrifying message: a heavy silver ring identical to the one in the faded photograph had been wedged directly into the wooden sash.
"Mom! What was that?" Marcus cried out as he and Zuri ran down the hallway behind her, stopping abruptly at the doorway of the shattered room.
"Stay back! Don't step on the glass!" Maya yelled, her voice bordering on hysteria. She pulled the children back into the safety of the corridor, shielding them with her body.
Footsteps rushed down the hall behind them. Diane appeared in the doorway, her face pale, the iron poker still gripped tightly in her hand. She took one look at the broken window and the silver ring wedged in the frame, and all the fight seemed to instantly drain out of her. The rigid posture she had maintained for decades collapsed, leaving behind a frail, terrified sixty-year-old woman.
"He's already here," Diane whispered, her voice barely audible over the howling wind outside.
"Who? Who is he?!" Maya demanded, tears of frustration finally spilling over her lashes. "Diane, you need to talk to me right now, or I swear I'm taking my kids out this door and running until I drop!"
"There's nowhere to run, Maya," Diane said, turning her hollow eyes toward her niece. "Arthur didn't break that window. He was just the distraction. The person who wants your family... has been inside this house since before we even opened the front door."
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A slow, heavy creak echoed from the attic stairs located just outside the guest bedroom.
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