The name on my phone glowed in the dark room.

I stared at it.

I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.

My hands were still wrapped around Noah’s small fingers, but my attention was locked on the screen.

Lily noticed my expression.

“Dad?””

I didn’t answer.

Vanessa did.

“Don’t pick up.””

Her voice was barely a whisper.

I looked at her.

“You know this number?””

She swallowed.

“No.””

It was the fastest lie I had ever heard from her.

The phone kept ringing.

The entire room felt frozen.

Finally, the call stopped.

For one second, nobody moved.

Then a message appeared.

One sentence.

One sentence that changed everything.

*Marcus, if you pull him out, you’ll never know the truth.*

My fingers went numb.

Lily looked at me.

“What does it say?””

I locked the phone.

“Nothing.””

She stared at me.

Seven years old.

But somehow she already knew when adults were hiding something.

Vanessa stepped closer.

“Marcus, listen to me.””

“No.””

Her eyes filled with fear.

“You don’t understand.””

“Then explain.””

She looked toward the broken floor.

Toward Noah.

Toward the opening that had been hidden under our home.

“I was trying to protect him.””

The words hit me harder than any scream could have.

Protect him?

My son had been missing.

My daughter had been crying herself to sleep.

And my wife was standing there telling me she had been protecting him.

“Protect him from what?””

Vanessa’s breathing became uneven.

“I can’t explain everything here.””

I laughed once.

A cold, painful laugh.

“Here?””

I pointed around the room.

“Our living room? The place where our family ate dinner? The place where Noah played with his toys? The place where our son was hidden beneath us?””

Vanessa looked down.

And that was when I noticed something.

A small scratch on her wrist.

Fresh.

My eyes narrowed.

“What happened to your arm?””

She quickly covered it.

“Nothing.””

“Vanessa.””

She didn’t answer.

Below me, Noah squeezed my hand.

“Dad…”

I looked down.

“I’m here.””

His voice shook.

“She’s scared because she knows.””

My heart stopped.

I looked at Vanessa.

“What does he mean?””

Her face changed.

For the first time since I had known her, she looked completely powerless.

Not angry.

Not defensive.

Just afraid.

“Marcus…”

A sound came from outside the room.

A floorboard creaking.

Someone else was in the house.

Vanessa turned toward the hallway.

And whispered:

“Oh no.””

Lily grabbed my arm.

“Dad, who is that?””

I didn’t know.

But I knew one thing.

Someone had been waiting for me to open that floor.

The doorway slowly moved.

A shadow appeared.

And before I could see who was standing there, Noah suddenly pulled my hand downward and whispered the one sentence that made my blood run cold.

“Dad… that’s not the person you should be afraid of.””