Chapter 4: The Voice Downstairs
For three seconds, I couldn’t move.
My brain refused to understand what my ears had just heard.
My mother was standing beside me.
Upstairs.
In the bedroom.
And yet someone downstairs had just called my name using her voice.
“Emma?””
The voice came again.
Soft.
Gentle.
Familiar.
Exactly like my mother.
My fingers tightened around my phone.
My mother looked at me, and I watched the color drain from her face.
“You heard that.””
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded.
She stepped closer.
“Stay here.””
The words were barely a whisper.
“What?””
“Stay here.””
She grabbed my arm.
“Do not go downstairs.””
The fear in her eyes was different from before.
This wasn’t guilt.
This wasn’t sadness.
This was recognition.
“Mom,” I whispered.
“Who is that?””
She didn’t answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because my mother knew.
She knew who was inside our house.
A floorboard creaked downstairs.
Then the voice came again.
“Emma?””
This time, it sounded impatient.
Like whoever was pretending to be my mother was getting tired of waiting.
My mother grabbed the old baseball bat that sat beside the bedroom door.
I stared at her.
“You keep a bat in here?””
“Your father bought it after the neighborhood break-ins.””
She swallowed.
“He never thought we’d need it.””
Another sound came from downstairs.
A drawer opening.
Someone was searching.
My heart pounded.
“They’re looking for the folder,” I whispered.
My mother looked at the blue file sitting on the bed.
She nodded.
“Yes.””
The realization hit me.
Whoever was downstairs didn’t come to hurt us.
Not yet.
They came for Lily’s evidence.
And they knew exactly where to look.
“How would they know?””
My mother looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
But her expression said she did.
“Mom.””
She looked away.
That was enough.
“You do know.””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I stared at her.
She closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“I know how they might have found out.””
My stomach tightened.
“How?””
She looked toward the bedroom door.
“Because someone knew Lily gave me something.””
“Who?””
My mother didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
A name appeared in my mind.
Jason.
But then another possibility came.
Rachel.
My mother slowly opened the bedroom door.
I grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing?””
“I’m checking if they’re alone.””
“No.””
“Emma.””
Her voice became firm.
“Your sister trusted me with this because she believed I could protect you.””
She looked at the bat in her hand.
“I need to know what we’re dealing with.””
Before I could stop her, she stepped into the hallway.
I followed.
I know she told me not to.
But Lily had spent her final days trying to protect me.
I wasn’t going to hide while someone invaded our home.
The hallway was dark.
The only light came from the downstairs lamp.
Slowly, we moved toward the stairs.
A shadow crossed the wall.
Someone was standing near the kitchen.
My mother froze.
Then the person spoke.
“Emma.””
My entire body went cold.
Because the voice sounded exactly like my mother.
But then the person stepped into the light.
And I saw her.
Rachel Morgan.
She was standing in our kitchen.
Rainwater dripped from her coat.
Her hair was wet.
Her face looked exhausted.
Not confident.
Not cold.
Terrified.
My mother raised the bat.
“What are you doing here?””
Rachel lifted her hands.
“Please.””
Her voice cracked.
“I know how this looks.””
“You broke into my house.””
“I didn’t break in.””
She reached into her purse slowly.
“I have a key.””
My mother’s face changed.
“What?””
Rachel pulled out a small key.
“I had it because Lily gave it to me.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“Why would Lily give you a key?””
Rachel looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw something real in her eyes.
Pain.
“Because she was afraid.””
My mother stepped forward.
“Afraid of what?””
Rachel looked toward the stairs.
Then back at us.
“Of Jason.””
Nobody spoke.
The name landed like a weight.
“You expect us to believe that?”” I asked.
Rachel nodded slowly.
“I expected you not to.””
She reached into her purse again.
This time she pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I came because I knew you found the blue file.””
My mother tightened her grip on the bat.
“How?””
Rachel looked at the folder upstairs.
“Because Lily told me.””
I felt anger rise inside me.
“You knew about this?””
“Yes.””
“And you didn’t tell us?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
Rachel looked down.
“Before Lily died.””
The answer hurt.
Because it meant there was more.
“How did you know Lily?””
Rachel sat down slowly at the kitchen table.
Like she was too tired to stand.
“She was my friend.””
I laughed bitterly.
“My sister hid your name on her phone.””
“I know.””
“She was scared when she saw your messages.””
“I know.””
“Then explain.””
Rachel looked at me.
And said the one thing I didn’t expect.
“She was scared because I was the one person who could prove Jason was lying.””
The kitchen became silent.
My mother sat across from her.
“Start talking.””
Rachel took a deep breath.
“Jason and I knew each other before Lily.””
My stomach dropped.
“Before Lily?””
“Yes.””
“Were you together?””
Rachel shook her head.
“No.””
Then she looked at me.
“But Jason wanted people to think we were.””
“Why?””
“Because he needed a story.””
“A story for what?””
Rachel’s fingers trembled.
“He needed Lily to believe he had something to hide.””
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It will.””
Rachel pulled out her phone.
She opened a photo.
It showed Jason.
But this time, I recognized the location.
The hotel from the picture in Lily’s folder.
“He met me there because he wanted me to help him.””
“Help him with what?””
Rachel looked at the photo.
“He was trying to convince Lily that I was blackmailing him.””
I stared.
“Why would he do that?””
“Because he needed Lily to become isolated.””
The words hit hard.
“From family. From friends. From anyone who could notice what was happening.””
My mother whispered:
“He was controlling her.””
Rachel nodded.
“Yes.””
I looked at the blue file upstairs.
“What was Jason planning?””
Rachel hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
“You know.””
She looked at me.
“I know part of it.””
“Tell me.””
Rachel looked down.
“Jason wasn’t just after Lily’s money.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“Then what?””
She took out another photograph.
This one showed a document.
A legal document.
At the bottom was Lily’s signature.
And Jason’s.
I moved closer.
“What is that?””
Rachel’s voice became quiet.
“An agreement.””
“About what?””
She looked at me.
“The baby.””
My heart stopped.
“Noah?””
Rachel nodded.
“Jason had plans for Noah before Noah was even born.””
My mother stood.
“What kind of plans?””
Rachel looked toward the stairs.
Then whispered:
“The kind that made Lily realize she and her baby were never safe.””
Before I could ask another question, the lights suddenly went out.
The entire house fell into darkness.
My mother grabbed my arm.
Rachel stood quickly.
“What happened?””
Then we heard it.
A sound from upstairs.
A door opening.
Not downstairs.
Upstairs.
Where the blue file was.
Someone else was already inside the house.
Someone who had been waiting.
Rachel’s face turned white.
“No.””
“What?”” I whispered.
She grabbed my wrist.
“Emma, listen to me.””
Her voice shook.
“That person upstairs isn’t here for the file.””
A shadow moved across the ceiling above us.
Rachel looked toward the stairs.
“They’re here because they know you opened it.””
The floor creaked.
One step.
Then another.
Someone was coming down.
And then a man’s voice spoke from the darkness.
“Emma.””
I stopped breathing.
Because I knew that voice.
It was the voice everyone in Willow Creek trusted.
The voice of a grieving husband.
The voice of a man who had just buried his wife that morning.
May you like
Jason Reed whispered:
“You should have left Lily’s secrets buried with her.””
