Chapter 1
PART 3
Darkness swallowed the house.
"Lila!" Marcus shouted.
Her terrified scream echoed from upstairs.
Without thinking, he dropped the blue bottle onto the kitchen counter and raced toward the staircase.
Behind him, Sophia yelled his name.
"Marcus, wait!"
But he wasn't listening.
His daughter was crying.
Nothing else mattered.
He climbed the stairs two at a time, nearly stumbling in the darkness.
"Lila!"
"Daddy!"
Her voice came from her bedroom.
Marcus burst through the door.
Lila was sitting upright in bed, trembling.
He rushed to her side.
"It's okay. I'm here."
She wrapped her arms around him.
Then she whispered something that made his blood run cold.
"She's angry."
Marcus froze.
"Who?"
Lila's small fingers tightened around his shirt.
"The woman."
A chill swept through the room.
"What woman?"
"The woman who comes into my room at night."
Marcus's heart nearly stopped.
"What are you talking about, sweetheart?"
Lila hesitated.
As if she had been keeping a secret.
"For months... she sits beside my bed."
Marcus felt the room spinning.
"Who sits beside your bed?"
Lila turned her sightless eyes toward the door.
"Mommy."
Silence.
Heavy.
Terrifying silence.
Marcus slowly looked behind him.
Sophia stood in the doorway.
Pale.
Frozen.
For the first time since he had met her, she looked afraid.
"Lila," Sophia said softly, "you should go back to sleep."
"No!"
Lila buried her face against Marcus.
"Don't let her give me the medicine again."
Marcus's entire body went rigid.
The medicine.
The words hit like a hammer.
"What medicine?" he asked.
Sophia immediately stepped forward.
"Marcus, she's confused."
"No," Lila cried.
"Mommy says it's special medicine. She puts it in my juice."
The room fell silent.
Marcus slowly stood.
His eyes never left Sophia.
"Tell me she's lying."
Sophia opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
"Tell me!" Marcus shouted.
Tears suddenly filled Sophia's eyes.
"It's not what you think."
Marcus felt rage rising inside him.
"Then explain it."
Sophia took a shaky breath.
For a moment it seemed she might finally tell the truth.
But then—
The front door alarm began blaring downstairs.
All three of them jumped.
Someone had entered the house.
At midnight.
Marcus ran to the upstairs window.
A dark vehicle was parked outside.
Two men in black clothing were moving toward the front entrance.
"What is this?" Marcus demanded.
Sophia's face turned white.
Whiter than he had ever seen.
"No..."
She backed away from the window.
"No, no, no."
Marcus stared at her.
"You know them."
It wasn't a question.
It was a realization.
Sophia looked as though she might collapse.
Then she whispered:
"They found us."
Marcus felt ice crawl through his veins.
"Who found us?"
Sophia's lips trembled.
"The people I was hiding Lila from."
Before Marcus could speak, a loud crash exploded from downstairs.
Glass shattered.
Footsteps entered the house.
Heavy footsteps.
Multiple people.
Coming up the stairs.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Sophia grabbed Marcus's arm.
Her voice broke as she spoke.
"You have to trust me right now."
Marcus stared at her in disbelief.
"Trust you?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"If they take Lila, you'll never see her again."
Then the hallway lights suddenly flickered back on.
And at the top of the staircase stood a tall man in a black suit.
Calm.
Expressionless.
Watching them.
The stranger's eyes settled on Lila.
May you like
And he smiled.
"We finally found her."
