Chapter 2: The Message From The Unknown Number
I stared at the message until the screen dimmed.
*“If you’re trying to help Sophia, you need to know what happened before you arrived.””*
For several seconds, I didn’t move.
The snow tapped softly against my windshield.
The engine was still running, but I barely felt the heat blowing from the vents.
My first thought was simple.
Someone was watching me.
My second thought was worse.
Someone knew Sophia needed help.
I looked back at Daniel’s house.
The Christmas lights still glowed around the porch. The curtains were drawn in the living room. From outside, it looked peaceful.
Safe.
But I had learned something that night.
A house could look perfect while something terrible was happening inside.
My thumb hovered over the message.
I typed:
*Who is this?*
I stared at the words for a moment before pressing send.
The reply came almost immediately.
*Someone who tried to help her before you did.*
My heart started beating faster.
I typed again.
*What happened to Sophia?*
The three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Whoever was on the other end was hesitating.
Finally, another message arrived.
*Not over the phone. Don’t call. Don’t go back inside. Just drive home and wait.*
I frowned.
That wasn’t an answer.
It was a warning.
I looked at the house again.
A shadow moved behind the living room curtain.
I couldn’t tell who it was.
But suddenly, I felt like I was being watched too.
I put my phone down and gripped the steering wheel.
Everything in me wanted to walk back inside.
I wanted to grab Sophia, put her in my car, and drive away.
But I remembered her face when Rachel called her.
The fear.
The way she immediately obeyed.
The way she looked at me and asked if I would help her.
If I made the wrong move, I could lose the only chance she had.
So I stayed in my car.
And for the first time in years, I felt completely helpless.
I didn’t sleep that night.
I drove to the small hotel near the highway where I had planned to stay before heading home the next morning.
The room smelled like old carpet and coffee.
I sat on the edge of the bed, still wearing my Christmas sweater, staring at my phone.
No new messages.
No explanation.
Nothing.
At 2:17 a.m., I finally called the number.
The call went straight to voicemail.
A woman’s voice answered.
“Hi, you’ve reached—”
I hung up before hearing the rest.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe because a part of me already knew who it was.
The next morning, my phone buzzed.
I grabbed it instantly.
Another message.
*Meet me at the coffee shop on Oak Street. 10 minutes. Come alone.*
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
But then I remembered Sophia’s bruises.
I remembered the way she whispered:
The secret is in this house.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the corner of a nearly empty coffee shop, watching the door.
A woman entered wearing a gray coat and a baseball cap pulled low over her face.
She looked around nervously.
Then she walked toward my table.
“Michael?””
I stood.
“Yes.””
She sat down quickly.
“My name is Emily.””
I waited.
She looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like she had been carrying something heavy for a long time.
“How do you know about Sophia?”” I asked.
Emily looked down at her coffee.
“Because I was there.””
My jaw tightened.
“Where?””
She swallowed.
“In that house.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who are you?””
She looked at me.
“I used to work for your brother and Rachel.””
“Work for them?””
“As a nanny.””
The word hung between us.
A nanny.
Someone who had been close enough to see what happened when family members weren’t around.
I leaned forward.
“What happened?””
Emily looked toward the window.
“She wasn’t always afraid.””
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
“What do you mean?””
“When I started working there eight months ago, Sophia was different. She laughed. She asked questions. She used to sing while she played.””
Emily paused.
“Then slowly, she stopped.””
I listened carefully.
“She started apologizing for everything.””
“Apologizing?””
Emily nodded.
“For spilling water. For dropping toys. For talking too loudly.””
My hands tightened around my coffee cup.
“Kids do that sometimes.””
“Not like this.””
Her voice became quieter.
“She would look at Daniel before answering simple questions. Like she needed permission to speak.””
I thought about dinner.
The way Sophia looked at her father.
Emily continued.
“The first time I noticed something was wrong was when I heard her crying in her room.””
“When?””
“Three months ago.””
“What happened?””
Emily hesitated.
Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
She pushed it across the table.
I looked down.
It was a drawing.
A child’s drawing.
A house.
A family.
A little girl standing outside the house.
Alone.
“Where did you get this?””
“Sophia gave it to me.””
I looked up.
“Why?””
“Because she wanted someone to understand.””
My throat tightened.
“What does it mean?””
Emily pointed at the drawing.
“Look at the chair.””
I looked closer.
In the corner of the drawing was a small chair.
Red marks covered the seat.
My stomach dropped.
“She drew that after the first time it happened.””
“What happened?””
Emily looked directly at me.
“She told me her chair was hurting her because someone had changed it.””
I felt my entire body go still.
“Changed it how?””
Emily didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked around the coffee shop.
Then she whispered:
“Daniel didn’t want anyone sitting at the dining table except during family meals.””
I frowned.
“That doesn’t explain anything.””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“But what he did afterward does.””
My chest tightened.
“What did he do?””
Emily took a breath.
“He put something underneath Sophia’s chair.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“I don’t know exactly what it was.””
“You don’t know?””
Emily shook her head.
“I never saw it clearly. But I heard Sophia scream once.””
My hands went cold.
“When?””
“Two weeks before I quit.””
“Why did you quit?””
Her eyes filled with anger.
“Because when I asked Rachel about it, she told me I was imagining things.””
I said nothing.
Emily continued.
“Then Daniel found out I had asked questions.””
“What did he say?””
Her face changed.
“He smiled.””
A strange chill went through me.
“He told me, ‘You’re here to take care of our daughter, not create problems in our family.’”
I looked down at the drawing again.
A little girl.
A chair.
A secret.
“Why didn’t you report it?””
Emily looked away.
“I tried.””
The answer surprised me.
“I called child services.””
“And?””
“They came.””
My heart sank.
“What happened?””
“They interviewed Daniel and Rachel.””
“And Sophia?””
Emily nodded slowly.
“But Sophia wouldn’t say anything.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel was standing right outside the room.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
A five-year-old child wouldn’t speak freely if the person she feared was nearby.
Emily reached across the table.
“There’s something else you need to know.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“She didn’t tell you everything last night.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What do you mean?””
Emily lowered her voice.
“Sophia is afraid of the chair.””
She paused.
“But she’s more afraid of what happens after someone asks questions.””
The words stayed with me.
I thought about Rachel calling her.
I thought about Daniel laughing in the dining room.
I thought about the unknown message telling me not to go back.
“What should I do?”” I asked.
Emily looked at me.
“Don’t confront them.””
“I already know that.””
“No, Michael.””
Her voice became serious.
“You don’t understand.””
She leaned closer.
“Daniel knows how to make people look crazy.””
A silence fell between us.
Then my phone rang.
The screen showed Daniel’s name.
I stared at it.
Emily’s expression changed immediately.
“Don’t answer.””
I looked at the phone.
It kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a voicemail notification appeared.
I didn’t open it.
Not yet.
Because at that exact moment, another message appeared from the unknown number.
May you like
This time, it was only four words.
*“He knows you know.””*
