Chapter 1: My Daughter Said Her Father Was Living Behind the Wall
My Daughter Said Her Father Was Living Behind My Bedroom Wall
For nearly two months, my husband had supposedly been managing a major construction project in Seattle.
Then one quiet Tuesday evening, my eight-year-old daughter looked toward my bedroom and said something that made the entire house feel unfamiliar.
“Mom, Dad comes out of the wall after you fall asleep.”
I stopped folding the laundry.
My daughter, Lacey Halstead, sat cross-legged on the living room rug of our home in Naperville, Illinois. She was holding a purple marker and drawing stars across an old calendar from school.
“What did you say?” I asked.
She pointed toward the hallway.
“Dad is still here. He sleeps behind your closet. He comes out when you’re sleeping and gets food from the kitchen.”
My husband, Nolan, had left fifty-eight days earlier. He had told me his company needed him in Washington to supervise the opening of a new distribution center.
At first, he called every evening.
Then the calls became shorter.
He said he was attending late meetings, touring warehouses and having dinner with investors. Whenever I asked to see his hotel room, the camera conveniently stopped working.
He sent photographs of coffee cups, spreadsheets and rain-covered windows, but he rarely included his face.
I had noticed the distance between us, yet I believed he was exhausted.
I never imagined he might be only a few feet away.
The Secret Game
I sat beside Lacey and tried to keep my voice calm.
“Sweetheart, your father is in Seattle. Maybe you had a dream.”
She shook her head.
“It isn’t a dream. He told me it was a secret game.”
My hands became cold.
“What kind of game?”
“He said I should count how many nights he stayed hidden. If I didn’t tell you, I would win a surprise.”
