Chapter 2 - Piper Had Been Hearing the Same Three Knocks Every Night
Tristan’s first instinct was to attack the door.
His second was better.
He got Piper out.
“Stay with me.”
He led her several feet into the hallway and knelt.
Selene remained inside the storage room.
Silent.
Watching.
Tristan took Piper’s hands.
“Tell me everything.”
Piper’s lower lip shook.
“I heard it again.”
“Again?”
She nodded.
“How many times?”
“Three nights.”
Tristan felt his stomach tighten.
“What did you hear?”
“Knocking.”
“Like pipes?”
Piper shook her head immediately.
“Three knocks.”
She lifted a tiny fist.
Tapped Tristan’s palm.
Three times.
Exactly spaced.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Then it stops.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did.”
That answer hit him.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Memory returned.
Piper had come into his office while Tristan was on a conference call.
She said:
“Someone’s in the wall.”
He had barely looked away from the laptop.
“Old houses make noise, sweetheart.”
Then he sent her downstairs.
He had dismissed her.
Tristan swallowed.
“What happened after you told me?”
“Selene heard.”
“What did she say?”
Piper glanced toward the storage room.
“She said I was making things up again.”
Again.
That word mattered.
“What does that mean?”
“She says sometimes I hear things that aren’t there.”
Tristan stared at his daughter.
“Do you?”
Piper looked confused.
“No.”
“Anything else?”
Her eyes filled.
“Last night the wall said my name.”
Every part of Tristan went cold.
“Your name?”
Piper nodded.
“Quiet. Like…”
She leaned close.
“Piper.”
Tristan slowly stood.
That was no pipe.
No settling foundation.
No childish imagination.
Someone behind that door knew his daughter.
And Selene had just tried to drag Piper away before Tristan could find them.
He looked back into the storage room.
Selene had stopped retreating.
Now she was watching him with a different expression.
Calculation.
Tristan finally understood that his wife was no longer deciding whether to explain.
May you like
She was deciding how much he had already figured out.
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