Chapter 2 - Shadows in the Basement
Arthur stared at the smartphone screen, his fingers tightening around the cold glass until his knuckles turned white.
"Who is that?" Maya whispered, burying her face in Clara's satin blouse, unable to look at the screen any longer.
"It's a glitch," Arthur said, though the sound of his own voice failed to convince even himself. "The firmware update must have looped an older recording from last month. There is no logical reason for anyone to be down in the sub-level tonight."
"Go down and check, then," Clara challenged, her dark eyes locking onto his with a searing intensity that made it difficult to breathe. "If it's just a digital ghost in the machine, you won't find a single thing disturbed in your private office."
Arthur hesitated, the silence of the hallway pressing down on his chest. He turned his gaze toward Leo, who was still shaking, his dark polo shirt soaked with nervous sweat.
"Did you hear anything before I came through the front door, son?" Arthur asked, kneeling down to look the boy in the eye.
"I heard footsteps," Leo sobbed quietly. "Heavy ones. Like the boots you wear when you go hunting in the mountains. But you weren't home, Dad. You were at work."
A cold sweat broke out across the back of Arthur's neck. He stood back up, sliding the smartphone into his breast pocket and reaching for the heavy brass key ring attached to his belt loop.
"Stay here," Arthur ordered, his voice dropping an octave as he moved toward the hidden stairwell door tucked behind the pantry.
May you like
He unlocked the heavy oak panel, pulling it open to reveal the pitch-black staircase leading down into the subterranean levels of the house. The air rising from the basement smelled faintly of ozone and old dust, but beneath that familiar scent was something entirely foreign—the sharp, unmistakable aroma of freshly brewed black coffee. Arthur gripped the wooden banister, took a deep breath, and stepped down into the dark.
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