Chapter 1 - The Light Beneath Bennett’s Door
I came home from a work trip and my seven-year-old son said:
“Don’t go into my room.”
Of course I did.
I had been away for four days.
Long enough to miss my son’s bedtime stories.
Long enough to start feeling guilty every time he asked:
“When are you coming home, Mom?”
So when my flight landed early, I decided not to tell anyone.
I wanted to surprise seven-year-old Bennett.
Instead…
He surprised me.
The front door flew open before I even reached for my keys.
Bennett wrapped his arms around my waist so tightly I could barely breathe.
For a second, everything felt normal.
Then he looked up at me.
His smile faded.
“Mom…”
His voice trembled.
“Please don’t go into my room.”
I laughed, assuming he had made a mess while I was away.
“What happened? Did you draw on the walls again?”
He shook his head so hard that tears filled his eyes.
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
He glanced nervously toward the hallway.
“I promised I wouldn’t let anyone in.”
I frowned.
“Promised who?”
He didn’t answer.
My sister Lauren had been staying with him while I was away.
When I called her name, no one replied.
The house felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
I checked the kitchen.
Empty.
The backyard.
Empty.
Lauren’s car was still parked in the driveway.
My pulse quickened.
“Bennett,” I asked softly, “where’s Aunt Lauren?”
He stared at the floor.
“I… I don’t know.”
That was impossible.
She would never leave him alone.
Then I noticed something.
A faint strip of light was shining from beneath Bennett’s bedroom door.
I knew I had turned everything off before leaving.
And there was another sound.
So faint I almost missed it.
Not footsteps.
Not the television.
A low whisper.
Followed by the scrape of something heavy being dragged across the floor.
Bennett grabbed my sleeve.
His tiny fingers were shaking.
“Mom… please.”
“They said you’d be angry if you found out.”
My heart began pounding.
I stepped closer to the door.
The whispering suddenly stopped.
The room fell completely silent.
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I wrapped my hand around the doorknob.
Then I pushed the door open just a few inches.
