Chapter 7
Midnight arrived with a steady, driving rain that lashed against the bedroom windows in rhythmic sheets. Arthur sat bolt upright in his bed, jerked awake not by a noise outside, but by the sharp, piercing chime of his smartphone on the nightstand.
He grabbed the device, his thumb swiping across the screen to silence the alarm. The app interface glowed blindingly white in the pitch-black room. Motion detected—Front Porch.
Before he could swing his legs out of bed, a second notification pinged. Motion detected—Back Patio.
Then a third. Camera offline—Living Room Window.
Arthur’s breath hitched. He threw off the blankets, his bare feet hitting the cold hardwood floor as he sprinted down the hallway toward Maya's room. He pushed her door open without knocking; her bed was empty, the sheets tangled and cold. Panic surged through his veins, icy and sharp.
"Maya!" he shouted, throwing caution to the wind.
"Dad! Down here!" her voice echoed from the lower floor, trembling but sharp with urgency.
Arthur raced down the stairs, taking them three at a time, nearly tripping over his own pajama pants. He burst into the living room, flipping the wall switch, but the overhead lights flickered twice and died, plunging the room into darkness save for the pale, greenish glow of the streetlamp filtering through the curtains.
Maya stood near the window, pointing a shaking hand toward the floor.
Sitting right in the center of the braided rug, directly beneath the dark window frame where the camera had just gone offline, was the grey stuffed rabbit toy.
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes scanned the room, darting toward the front door, which stood slightly ajar, the deadbolt mechanism splintered cleanly around the latch. Someone had forced entry while they slept, moving through the house with terrifying silence, leaving their signature token like a calling card on a crime scene.
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"He was inside," Maya whispered, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she clutched her striped grey shirt with white knuckles. "I heard the floorboards creak in the hallway. I came down to check on Leo, and... and the door was open, and the rabbit was sitting right there."
Arthur rushed past her, his heart hammering against his ribs, and dropped to his knees beside the grey baby rocker. Leo was sleeping peacefully, his tiny chest rising and falling in a steady, innocent rhythm. The baby was untouched. The intruder hadn't come for the infant; they had come to deliver a message.
