Chapter 4: Someone Was Waiting at My House
Don't go home, Claire. He's already there.
I read the message again, my fingers turning cold around the phone.
Lily stood beside me, clutching the sleeve of my coat. Walter remained near the bus shelter, his old canvas bag hanging from one hand. The afternoon sunlight illuminated every crease in his face, but his expression had changed. He no longer looked merely frightened.
He looked defeated.
"Who is at my house?"" I demanded.
Walter swallowed.
"I don't know.""
"Stop lying to me!""
A woman pushing a shopping cart glanced in our direction. Walter lowered his voice.
"Claire, I swear to you, I don't know who's there.""
"Then why did you tell me not to answer that call? Why did that woman sound terrified when she heard you?""
He rubbed his palms against his trousers.
"Because I know what people can do when they're afraid of the truth.""
I stared at him.
"That isn't an answer.""
"No," he whispered.
"It isn't.""
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
Check your front door camera. Do not approach the house.
I opened the security app.
The first image showed my front porch, captured twelve minutes earlier. The afternoon sun fell across the welcome mat, the white door, and the little ceramic flowerpot Lily had painted for me last Mother's Day.
Everything looked normal.
Then I noticed the door.
It wasn't fully closed.
A narrow gap separated it from the frame.
I zoomed in.
The brass deadbolt hung at an angle.
My hand flew to my mouth.
Someone had forced the lock.
"Mom?"" Lily whispered.
I turned the screen away from her.
"Baby, I need you to stay close to me.""
Walter took a step forward.
"Let me see.""
I hesitated before showing him the image.
His face drained of color.
"That's impossible.""
"What is?""
He pointed to the bottom corner of the screen.
A small rectangular envelope lay on the welcome mat.
My name was written across it in thick black letters.
CLAIRE.
I recognized the handwriting.
Not my mother's.
Not Walter's.
I had seen it before, on a document that had arrived in the mail three months earlier.
A document from a man named Marcus Bell.
My mother's younger brother.
My uncle.
He had attended her funeral in a perfectly pressed charcoal suit. He'd hugged me with one arm and spent the reception asking whether I intended to sell her house.
When I told him I wasn't ready to make that decision, he'd smiled and said, "Of course, sweetheart. Take your time.""
Two weeks later, he'd sent me paperwork claiming that my mother had left him a financial interest in the property.
I refused to sign it.
He stopped calling.
Now his handwriting was on my front porch.
"Oh, my God," I whispered.
Walter watched my face.
"You know that name.""
I looked at him sharply.
"What name?""
He nodded toward the envelope.
"Marcus.""
I felt the ground shift beneath me.
"How do you know my uncle?""
Walter didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sat down heavily on the metal bench and pressed his hands together.
"Because Marcus was the man who told me never to come near your family.""
My breath caught.
"Why?""
Walter's eyes shone with tears.
"Because he said your mother had made her choice. He said if I ever tried to contact her again, I'd destroy the life she'd built.""
"That doesn't make sense. My mother was his sister.""
"I know.""
"Why would he keep you away from her?""
Walter stared at the photograph in my hand.
"That is what I've been trying to tell you.""
A car horn sounded behind us. I barely noticed.
I called my neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, who lived directly across from my house.
She answered on the second ring.
"Claire, honey?""
"Are you home?""
"Yes. What's wrong?""
"Can you see anyone at my house?""
I heard her move toward a window.
"Hold on.""
A few seconds passed.
Then she said, "There's a black SUV parked in front. Tinted windows. I thought it belonged to one of your visitors.""
"Is anyone inside?""
"I can't tell.""
"Please don't go outside.""
"Baby, I wasn't planning to.""
I ended the call and looked at Walter.
"I need to get Lily somewhere safe.""
He nodded.
"Take her to a place where nobody expects you to go.""
"Do you have somewhere?""
He looked down at his worn boots.
"There's a veterans' center about twenty minutes from here. I used to go there.""
"Used to?""
"They stopped letting me stay after I missed too many appointments.""
I studied his face.
"Why?""
He gave a small, bitter laugh.
"Life gets complicated when you're trying to survive it.""
For a moment, I saw the man beneath the dirty jacket and the trembling hands. Not a mystery. Not yet. Just someone who had been left alone too long.
I reached for Lily's hand.
"We're going to make a stop," I told her.
She nodded, but her eyes remained on Walter.
"Is he coming with us?""
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother. Walter. The baby in her arms.
Me.
"Yes," I said.
"He is.""
We walked toward the shopping district, staying among the crowds. I didn't know whether the person watching my house was still there, or whether the black SUV had followed us.
At the corner, I opened my security app one last time.
The envelope on my porch had disappeared.
Then a notification appeared.
*FRONT DOOR OPENED — LIVE VIEW AVAILABLE.*
I tapped it.
The camera showed an empty hallway.
A man's voice came from inside my house.
"Claire, I know you're watching.""
My blood turned to ice.
Marcus stepped into view, holding a small black device in one hand.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then he smiled.
May you like
"Bring Walter home, sweetheart. We need to finish what your mother started.""
The screen went black.
