Chapter 6
Mark reacted instantly, shoving past Leo and tearing the interior door open before the echo of Maya's scream had even faded. Leo sprinted right behind his father, his heart hammering against his ribs as they burst into the brightly lit kitchen.
Sarah was standing frozen by the kitchen island, her hands covering her mouth in horror. On the tile floor near the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, a shattered ceramic mug lay in a heap of jagged pieces and spilled tea. The glass door itself was unlocked, sliding open just a few inches, letting in a cold draft of evening air. Maya was pressed tightly against the far counter, sobbing uncontrollably and pointing frantically toward the dark yard outside.
"Mom! What happened?" Leo shouted, rushing past the broken ceramic to pull his trembling little sister into a protective hug. Maya buried her face in his grey t-shirt, crying softly as her floral dress shook with every shudder.
"I heard a tap on the glass," Sarah said, her voice shaking violently as she pointed a trembling finger at the open door. "I thought it was just a branch in the wind. I turned around for one second to grab a towel, and when I looked back... a hand came through the latch. It unlocked the door before I could even scream."
Mark didn't waste a single second asking questions. He vaulted across the kitchen, throwing the sliding glass door wide open and stepping out onto the patio. The backyard was quiet, bathed in the pale light of a rising half-moon. The garden path wound down toward the edge of the dense pine woods that bordered their property, empty and still.
"Did you see who it was?" Mark called out into the dark, his voice sharp and demanding, cutting through the whispering night wind.
"No," Sarah answered, following him to the threshold and wrapping her arms around herself against the sudden chill. "They didn't take anything. They just knocked over the mug and opened the door. It was a warning, Mark. They're telling us they can get inside whenever they want."
Leo knelt down by Maya, holding her tight. "It's okay, May. I'm right here. Nobody is going to hurt you." He looked up at the open door, his anger returning tenfold, burning away the fear that had momentarily paralyzed him. The stranger from the garage, the parchment, the broken glass—it was all connected to whatever secret his grandfather had left behind in the mill foundation.
Mark stepped back inside, locking the sliding door with a heavy metal bar and pulling the heavy curtains shut. His face was pale, his jaw set in a grim, unyielding line. He walked over to the kitchen counter where his phone lay, picked it up, and dialed a number with practiced speed, pressing it to his ear while pacing across the room.
"Come on, pick up," Mark muttered under his breath as the phone rang on the other end. After a long, agonizing pause, a gruff voice answered on the line.
"Yeah? Who is this?" a tired voice grunted through the speaker.
May you like
"Sheriff, it's Mark. We have a break-in at the house," Mark said, his voice tight. "They bypassed the perimeter. I need you to send a car out to Oak Grove Road right now."
There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line before the sheriff replied with a chilling question. "Mark... are you talking about the old mill property again? Because if you're digging around down there, I can't help you."
