Chapter 7
The sun dipped below the distant tree line, painting the western sky in bruised shades of purple and burnt orange. Inside the master guest suite on the second floor, the shadows lengthened across the floral wallpaper, casting distorted shapes that frightened Toby. He sat huddled on the edge of the heavy mahogany bed, clutching a small stuffed bear he had managed to rescue from his suitcase.
David stood by the window, peering through the lace curtains at the gravel drive below. The black utility truck was still parked square across the exit, its headlights now switched off, plunging the gateway into absolute darkness. A second vehicle, a sleek black sedan, had joined it sometime within the last hour, its engine also idling silently in the cool evening air.
"They're locking us in," David said quietly, his reflection stark against the dark windowpane. "Even if we get out of this room, the house itself is a fortress. Every window on the ground floor has security bars hidden behind the shutters."
Sarah was sitting beside Toby, rubbing soothing circles into his back. She looked exhausted, the adrenaline of the afternoon finally giving way to a bone-deep weariness. "Eleanor isn't just eccentric, David. There’s something deeply wrong with this family history. Remember the stories your father used to tell about his sister who vanished when they were children?"
David’s jaw tightened. He turned away from the window. "Aunt Clara. They said she ran away to Europe when she was sixteen and never contacted the family again. My mother always spoke of her like she was a ghost who had committed an unforgivable sin against the Lilywood name."
"She didn't run away, David," Sarah said, her voice dropping to an intense whisper. "While you were out looking for the bolt cutters, I found a stack of old photo albums in the library desk. Clara’s pictures weren't missing... they were cut out of every single page. Except one. There was a stray photograph tucked behind the frame of the grandfather clock. Clara was standing right out in that backyard, locked inside a smaller, older version of that exact same metal cage."
May you like
A chilling silence descended upon the bedroom. Toby looked up at his mother with wide, frightened eyes, sensing the dread in the room without fully understanding the words.
Before David could respond, a sharp, heavy knock echoed against their bedroom door. It was not Eleanor’s polite tap, but a commanding, formal rap that demanded immediate submission.
