Chapter 7 - The Interrupted Threat
The sound of tiny footsteps pounding across the kitchen floor sent a jolt of adrenaline straight through Mark’s veins. He didn't hesitate. With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged past Elena, shoving her shoulder aside hard enough to send her stumbling against the filing cabinet.
"Mark, stop!" Elena shouted, her composed facade finally cracking into genuine panic as she scrambled to regain her footing.
Mark didn't look back. He sprinted up the concrete basement stairs, taking them two at a time, his heart hammering against his ribs. He burst through the pantry door and bolted into the bright, sunlit kitchen.
The kitchen was empty, but the back door leading out to the wooden deck and the backyard was standing wide open, letting in a cool morning breeze.
"Lily!" Mark yelled, his voice echoing off the kitchen counters as he rushed toward the open door.
He burst out onto the deck. The backyard was quiet, bordered by a tall wooden privacy fence and overgrown rosebushes. Standing near the edge of the lawn, frozen in place beside the garden shed, was Lily. She was wearing her pink shirt and denim overalls, but her hands were covered in fresh, dark brown dirt up to her elbows.
At her feet lay a small metal garden trowel and a freshly dug hole in the flowerbed, no bigger than a shoebox.
"Lily, sweetie, don't move," Mark called out, his voice softening instantly as he jogged down the wooden steps of the deck and crossed the grass toward her.
Lily turned her head slowly, her long light brown hair catching the morning sun. Her face was completely smudged with dirt, and her eyes held an expression of profound, crushing exhaustion that made Mark’s chest ache.
"I had to finish the boundary," Lily whispered softly, her voice barely carrying over the morning wind. "Mommy said the boundary has to be dug every morning before the sun gets too high, or the bad things will come back inside the house."
Mark dropped to his knees right beside her in the damp dirt, ignoring the grass stains on his dark blue button-down shirt. He reached out and gently cupped her small, dirt-stained face in his hands, forcing her to look directly into his eyes.
"There are no bad things, Lily," Mark said fiercely, blinking back the hot tears stinging his eyes. "You don't have to dig anything ever again. Daddy is here now. I am not going to let anyone make you do this anymore."
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Before Lily could respond, heavy footsteps crunched on the wooden deck behind them. Mark turned his head to see Elena standing at the top of the stairs. She wasn't angry anymore; her expression was terrifyingly calm, but her hand was tucked firmly inside the deep pocket of her cream sweater, gripping the outline of something heavy and hard.
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