CHAPTER 2: "The Voice That Knew Everything"
Lily survived the surgery.
Barely.
Doctors warned Emma that the next forty-eight hours would determine whether her daughter would ever wake up.
Emma refused to leave the hospital.
She replayed the mysterious phone call over and over.
Who was that man?
Why had he known exactly what happened inside her house?
Late that night...
Her phone vibrated again.
Unknown Number.
Her hands shook as she answered immediately.
"I knew you'd pick up this time."
Emma's voice cracked.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored the question.
"You think Lily fell because of bad luck."
A pause.
"She didn't."
Emma felt cold.
"What are you talking about?"
"You weren't the target."
Her breathing stopped.
"The accident wasn't meant for Lily."
Emma nearly dropped the phone.
"What do you mean?"
The stranger continued calmly.
"Someone has been watching your family for weeks."
"No..."
"They expected you to answer that phone."
Emma's mind raced.
"If you had answered... you would have walked toward the front door."
She remembered.
The phone had been sitting near the entrance.
"Instead..."
"You stayed in the kitchen."
Emma whispered,
"So Lily..."
"She unknowingly took your place."
Tears streamed down Emma's face.
"Who are you?"
Finally...
The man answered.
"I used to work for your husband."
Emma's blood turned to ice.
"My husband?"
"There are things Daniel never told you."
Click.
The call ended.
Emma immediately searched through Daniel's office after returning home the next morning.
Hidden beneath a locked drawer she found a thick envelope.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Pictures of Emma.
Pictures of Lily.
Pictures taken through bedroom windows.
Pictures from school.
Pictures from inside their own backyard.
Then...
One final photograph made Emma collapse onto the floor.
It showed Daniel...
Standing beside the mysterious caller.
Smiling.
On the back of the photo, written in black ink, were seven chilling words:
"Phase One Failed. Mother Still Alive."
Emma finally understood.
Lily's fall had never been an accident.
Someone had planned for Emma to die.
May you like
And the man she trusted most...
Was standing at the center of the nightmare.
