Chapter 4 – A Voice From the Dead
Chapter 4 – A Voice From the Dead
Nathan stood frozen in the darkness.
His heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears.
"Sarah?"
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
No answer came.
Only the wind howled through the shattered window.
Nathan raised the flashlight on his phone.
The narrow beam swept across the hallway.
Nothing.
The upstairs landing was empty.
He climbed the staircase one careful step at a time.
Every floorboard creaked beneath his feet.
His right hand tightened around the pistol.
His left hand held the flashlight.
"Sarah."
"If that's really you, say something."
Silence answered him.
Then he heard it again.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Broken.
"Nathan..."
It came from his father's study upstairs.
Nathan rushed toward the room.
The door was wide open.
The windows were closed.
No one was inside.
He slowly lowered the pistol.
His eyes searched every corner.
Then he noticed something sitting on the old record player.
A small digital voice recorder.
Its red light was blinking.
Nathan carefully picked it up.
He pressed the play button.
Sarah's voice filled the room.
"If you're hearing this..."
"...I couldn't come back."
Nathan stopped breathing.
"I hope Lily made it."
"I prayed every night that she would find you."
His hands began to shake.
"I'm sorry for everything."
"I should have trusted you."
The recording crackled.
Static interrupted several words.
Then Sarah continued.
"Marcus found out about Father's secret."
"He thinks the children will lead him to it."
"He'll never stop hunting them."
Nathan swallowed hard.
"What secret?"
The recorder answered only with silence.
The message had ended.
Nathan replayed it three more times.
Each time he hoped another sentence would appear.
Nothing changed.
The recording was complete.
Someone had left it there only minutes earlier.
His phone buzzed.
It was Detective Ryan Collins.
"Nathan."
"What happened?"
"The alarm company called me."
Nathan looked around the room.
"Someone broke into the house."
Ryan's voice sharpened.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"But they left something."
Nathan explained everything.
The brick.
The recorder.
Sarah's voice.
Ryan interrupted him.
"Don't touch anything else."
"I'm on my way."
Twenty-five minutes later.
Police officers filled the mansion.
Crime scene technicians dusted every surface for fingerprints.
Ryan stood beside the shattered window.
"There are fresh boot prints."
Nathan looked outside.
"They came through the woods."
Ryan nodded.
"And they knew exactly where to go."
Nathan showed him the recorder.
Ryan listened carefully.
When it ended, neither man spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Ryan looked up.
"This recording is recent."
Nathan frowned.
"What makes you think that?"
"Listen to the background."
Nathan replayed the first few seconds.
At first he heard only static.
Then...
A church bell.
Ryan opened his phone.
"There are only two churches within twenty miles that still ring real bells every hour."
Nathan's eyes widened.
"You think Sarah recorded this nearby?"
Ryan nodded.
"If she did..."
"...she might still be alive."
Nathan grabbed his coat.
"We're going."
Ryan stopped him.
"Not tonight."
"It's too dangerous."
Nathan's patience snapped.
"My sister could be out there freezing to death."
Ryan didn't move.
"And that's exactly what whoever left this recording wants you to believe."
Nathan stared at him.
Ryan lowered his voice.
"This could be a trap."
Meanwhile...
Three miles away...
An old pickup truck sat hidden beneath snow-covered pine trees.
Marcus Kane watched Nathan's mansion through binoculars.
A younger man sat beside him.
"They found the recorder."
Marcus smiled.
"Good."
"They'll chase ghosts now."
The younger man looked confused.
"You copied Sarah's voice perfectly."
Marcus shrugged.
"Technology makes lying easy."
He looked back toward the mansion.
"But emotions..."
"They make people blind."
His phone vibrated.
A text message appeared.
The girl remembered the key.
Marcus's smile disappeared.
"So..."
"She remembers more than I expected."
He immediately dialed another number.
"Move tonight."
"No mistakes."
"If you can't get the key..."
His voice turned ice cold.
"...bring me the little girl."
Back at the hospital...
Lily couldn't sleep.
The hallway lights glowed beneath the door.
She quietly climbed out of bed.
She padded down the hall in oversized hospital socks.
No one noticed.
She stopped outside the twins' room.
Both boys were sleeping peacefully.
She smiled.
Then she heard a familiar whistle.
Three short notes.
Exactly the way her mother used to call her from the backyard.
Lily slowly turned toward the window.
A woman stood outside in the falling snow.
Her face was hidden beneath a hood.
She gently raised one hand.
Then she pressed a finger to her lips.
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"Mommy?"
The woman slowly nodded.
Lily took one step toward the window.
Then another.
Just before she reached the glass, a nurse entered the room.
"Lily?"
The little girl looked back for only a second.
When she turned again...
The woman was gone.
Only fresh footprints remained in the snow.
The nurse frowned.
"What are you looking at, sweetheart?"
Lily pointed toward the parking lot.
"My mommy was right there."
The nurse looked outside.
"I don't see anyone."
Lily pressed her tiny hand against the cold glass.
"I know what I saw."
Far beyond the hospital lights...
A woman wrapped in a dark coat disappeared into the forest.
She clutched her injured side as she walked.
Blood slowly soaked through the bandage beneath her jacket.
She whispered through tears.
"Just a little longer, Lily."
"I'm coming back."
Behind her, hidden among the trees, another figure quietly stepped out of the shadows.
He watched her disappear into the woods.
Then he raised a radio to his mouth.
"I found Sarah."
There was a brief pause.
May you like
A familiar voice answered.
"Don't lose her this time."
