Chapter 13 - The House That Remembered Everything
The old Calehan house sat outside Chicago.
Abandoned.
Silent.
Forgotten.
At least that was what everyone believed.
Annie stood in front of the wooden door.
“This is where my mom lived?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at the building.
He remembered the last night he saw Claire.
The argument.
The fear.
The promise he made.
A promise he failed to keep.
“I should have protected her.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You were young.”
“I should have known.”
“You were fighting an entire world.”
Daniel looked down.
“And she paid the price.”
Annie walked toward the door.
She placed her hand on the old wood.
For some reason, she felt like her mother was close.
Like the house was waiting for her.
Inside, everything remained untouched.
Old furniture.
Dust-covered pictures.
A piano in the corner.
Then Annie noticed something.
A small wooden bird carved into the wall.
The same symbol.
She touched it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small box.
Everyone froze.
Daniel opened it carefully.
Inside:
A journal.
A flash drive.
And a letter.
The letter was addressed:
“To my little bird.”
Annie’s hands shook.
“That’s me.”
Eleanor started crying.
Annie opened the letter.
Her mother’s handwriting filled the page.
“My little bird…”
“If you are reading this, it means I was not able to tell you the truth myself.”
Annie’s eyes filled with tears.
“She knew.”
Daniel looked at the journal.
“What’s inside?”
Annie opened it.
The first page had one sentence:
“The person who betrayed us was never outside the family.”
Everyone looked at each other.
Then a sound came from upstairs.
A floorboard.
Someone was inside.
Daniel immediately closed the journal.
“Everyone stay quiet.”
Another step.
Closer.
Annie whispered:
“Who is there?”
A voice answered from the darkness.
May you like
“Someone who has been waiting for you.”
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