Chapter 3 - Shadows in the Yard
The kitchen window looked out over the overgrown backyard and the wooden deck. Standing near the edge of the patio was a figure in a dark hoodie, hood pulled low, peering directly through the glass.
I froze, adrenaline surging through my veins. The stranger didn't knock. Instead, a gloved hand reached out, trying the back door handle. It rattled in its frame, locked tight.
My mind raced. David and Claire had lived in this quiet suburban neighborhood for less than a year. They didn't have enemies—or at least, none they had ever told me about. Who was this person? And why were they trying to get inside the house while I was here with my infant grandson?
The baby let out another sharp, piercing wail, vibrating against my chest. The figure outside jerked at the sound, turning their face slightly toward the window. In that brief split second, as the afternoon sun caught their profile, I saw a flash of pale skin and a familiar scar running along a jawline.
It couldn't be.
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Memories flashed through my mind—a turbulent chapter from David’s past before he met Claire, a debt collector or a troubled acquaintance named Marcus who had vanished years ago. But Marcus had been sent away. Or so David had claimed.
The doorknob rattled again, more violently this time. I backed away slowly, stepping out of the kitchen and into the dimly lit hallway. I needed a secure room, a place with a lock and a phone where I could protect the baby and call the police. But as I reached for the hallway phone, the landline began to trill shrilly, breaking the heavy silence.
