Chapter 12 - THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR
At 3:14 a.m., the motion-activated floodlights outside the cottage flickered blindingly to life. I sat straight up in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. On the security monitor beside my nightstand, the camera showed a lone figure standing by the wooden gate, soaked in fog, wearing a dark hoodie with the hood pulled low over their face. It wasn't Derek, and it wasn't Marcus. This person moved with chilling precision, bypassing the front porch entirely and heading straight for the utility box on the side of the house. A heavy mechanical thud echoed through the outer wall, followed instantly by total darkness as the main power grid died. The backup generator kicked on three seconds later, but not before I heard the unmistakable sound of a heavy boot stepping onto our back deck. I reached under the mattress, my fingers wrapping around the cold steel barrel of the legal firearm I had purchased two weeks ago, and whispered a silent prayer that my daughter would stay asleep.
