Chapter 1 - The Muffled Taps
The elegant American living room was bathed in bright, crisp afternoon sunlight. The polished hardwood floors gleamed perfectly. It was the kind of pristine, wealthy house that looked flawless on the outside, but right now, the air inside was thick with suffocating tension.
Six-year-old Lily, wearing a soft pink knitted cardigan over her blonde hair, was kneeling in the center of the room. She held a bright pink plastic toy stethoscope. Instead of playing doctor with a stuffed animal, she was aggressively pressing the plastic chest piece directly against the hardwood floor.
Her father, Arthur, a man in his thirties wearing a green sweater and a white collared shirt, was pacing frantically near the window. He was on the phone with the police, his face pale with sheer terror.
His eight-year-old son, Noah, had vanished four hours ago.
Suddenly, Lily gasped. She yanked the earpieces of the toy out of her ears and looked wildly at her father.
"Listen..." Lily whispered urgently, waving her tiny hand.
Arthur dropped his phone on the sofa. He rushed into the frame, dropping to his knees beside his daughter in absolute alarm. He pressed his own ear directly against the cold, polished hardwood floor.
The room was completely silent. And then, he heard it.
Tap... Tap... Tap.
Three distinct, muffled taps vibrated directly from underneath the solid wood.
Arthur’s heart hammered against his ribs. He looked up at Lily, whose blue eyes were welling with heavy, terrified tears.
"Daddy," Lily said softly, her voice trembling. "Noah is crying down there."
Arthur froze, his face violently draining of all color. Behind them, standing near the floral teacups on the coffee table, was Arthur’s sister, Meredith.
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Meredith froze entirely. She began trembling so violently that the hot tea in her floral cup spilled over the edge, splashing onto her white pants.
👉 What terrifying lie is Meredith about to tell to cover her tracks?
