Chapter 13 - The Uninvited GuestThe sun had just dipped below the tree line when a strange car rolled slowly down our quiet suburban street. It wasn't a sleek black sedan this time; it was an ordinary, dented blue sedan, but something about the way it crept past our driveway set every nerve in my body on edge.
I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dinner dishes while the kids watched cartoons in the living room.
The car stopped three houses down. A man stepped out, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt low over his face, and began walking briskly up our sidewalk.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I dried my hands frantically on a dish towel and walked to the front hallway, slipping my hand into the pocket of my cardigan where I had tucked a heavy iron doorstop.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound was sharp, aggressive.
"Grandma, someone's at the door," Lily called out from the living room, pausing the TV.
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"Stay where you are, kids," I said, my voice rigid. I stepped up to the front door, looked through the peephole, and gasped.
It wasn't a mercenary. It was a man I hadn't seen in over ten years—my estranged brother, Richard.
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