Chapter 3: The Name Written in the Dark
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I was trying to decide what scared me more.
The person behind the door…
Or the person standing beside me pretending not to know them.
The gala ended within minutes after the phone call.
Guests left with confused expressions and unanswered questions. Nobody wanted to be the first person to admit they had witnessed something strange.
Simone barely spoke.
I barely looked at her.
And Ava never let go of my hand.
The next morning, the memory of those three knocks followed me everywhere.
The sound.
The fear on Simone’s face.
The woman’s voice on the phone.
Three years.
She had been hiding someone for three years.
When I finally confronted Simone in our home office, sunlight poured through the windows, making everything look normal.
That almost made it worse.
“Who was on the phone?”” I asked.
Simone stood near the desk, silent.
“Simone.””
She looked exhausted.
“I don’t know.””
I stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling you the truth.””
“No, you’re protecting something.””
Her jaw tightened.
“Darius, there are things you don’t understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
She looked toward the hallway.
“Ava shouldn’t be involved in this.””
I felt anger rise.
“She already is.””
That sentence broke something in her expression.
For a moment, she looked less like someone hiding a secret and more like someone drowning under one.
“I never wanted her to see.””
“See what?””
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she walked to the cabinet near the wall.
My eyes followed her.
“Where are you going?””
She hesitated.
Then she opened a drawer.
Inside were old papers.
Photographs.
Documents.
Things I had never seen.
She pulled out one photograph.
Her hand shook as she placed it on the desk.
“This is why I was afraid.””
I picked it up.
The picture showed Simone.
Years younger.
Standing beside another woman.
The other woman looked almost identical to her.
Not exactly.
But enough to make my chest tighten.
“Who is this?””
Simone sat down slowly.
“My sister.””
I looked at her.
“You never told me you had a sister.””
“I told you she was gone.””
“No. You told me your family was complicated.””
Simone looked down.
“She disappeared.””
The room felt colder.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
My mind immediately returned to Ava’s words.
The lady who comes when you’re gone.
I looked at the photo again.
“Is she alive?””
Simone didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I placed the picture down.
“Why is she in that room?””
Tears formed in Simone’s eyes.
“She shouldn’t be.””
“But she is.””
She covered her face.
“I thought I had more time.””
Those words made me freeze.
“More time for what?””
Before she could respond, a small voice came from the doorway.
“Daddy?””
I turned.
Ava stood there holding a piece of paper.
My heart sank.
“Where did you get that?””
She walked closer.
“I found it by the stairs.””
I took the paper from her hand.
It was old.
Folded.
Written in black ink.
At the top was one name.
A name I had never heard before.
A name that made Simone stand up instantly.
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
She rushed toward me.
But she was too late.
I had already read it.
Because beneath the name were four words:
*“Darius is my father.””*
I looked at Simone.
She looked like the truth had finally reached the room before she was ready.
And then, from somewhere inside the house…
Three slow knocks echoed.
Not from the door at the gala.
May you like
From upstairs.
From the room where nobody was supposed to be.
