CHAPTER 1: THE SECRET INSIDE THE CAST
CHAPTER 1: THE SECRET INSIDE THE CAST
Olivia Harper stared at Vanessa's message.
Do NOT touch the cast.
Six words.
Six terrifying words.
The rain outside continued pounding against the windows, but the storm inside Olivia's mind was louder.
She slowly lowered her phone.
Noah was still sitting on the bed, trembling.
"Olivia..." the boy whispered.
His voice was small.
Broken.
"Did you hear it?"
Olivia didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth was impossible.
Because for two weeks she had watched an eight-year-old child beg everyone to believe him.
And now she had felt it herself.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Something inside the cast moved again.
Olivia looked at Noah.
The fear in his eyes wasn't the fear of a child trying to get attention.
It was the fear of someone trapped with something he couldn't escape.
"I believe you," she finally said.
Noah froze.
"You do?"
Olivia nodded slowly.
"For the first time... yes."
A tear rolled down Noah's cheek.
Not from fear.
From relief.
Someone finally believed him.
But that relief lasted only a few seconds.
Because the scratching sound suddenly became louder.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Noah grabbed Olivia's arm.
"It's trying to get out."
Olivia stood up.
Her nursing instincts took over.
She examined the cast carefully.
There were no cracks.
No visible damage.
Nothing.
But then she noticed something.
A tiny dark stain near the edge.
She leaned closer.
"What is that?"
Noah swallowed.
"I told Dad."
"What did he say?"
"He said it was probably dirt."
Olivia touched the edge carefully.
The stain was unusual.
Not dirt.
Not blood.
Something else.
A strange smell reached her.
A chemical smell.
Her expression changed.
Because she had smelled it before.
At the hospital.
"Someone did something to this cast."
Noah's eyes widened.
"Someone?"
Before Olivia could answer, a sound came from downstairs.
The front door.
Opening.
Both of them froze.
Vanessa.
But Vanessa wasn't supposed to be home.
Olivia quickly turned off the bedroom light.
"Don't make a sound."
Noah nodded.
They heard footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Someone walking through the house.
Not like someone coming home.
Like someone searching.
Olivia's heart raced.
She reached for her phone.
No signal.
The storm had knocked it out.
The footsteps moved closer.
Closer.
Then stopped outside Noah's door.
The handle slowly turned.
Olivia stepped in front of Noah.
The door opened.
A figure stood in the darkness.
"Olivia?"
It was Vanessa.
Her voice sounded calm.
Too calm.
"What are you doing upstairs?"
Olivia forced herself to breathe.
"Checking on Noah."
Vanessa looked past her.
Straight at the cast.
Not at Noah.
Not at Olivia.
The cast.
"I told you not to touch it."
The room went silent.
Olivia felt a chill.
"You knew."
Vanessa's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
"Knew what?"
"You knew something was inside."
For a moment, Vanessa said nothing.
Then she smiled.
That same cold smile.
The one Noah had described.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with."
Noah started crying.
"Why did you put it there?"
Vanessa looked at him.
And for the first time...
she looked guilty.
"I didn't."
Olivia frowned.
"Then who did?"
Vanessa stepped closer.
Her voice dropped.
"Someone who wants this family destroyed."
A loud crash came from downstairs.
All three turned.
Vanessa's face went pale.
Because she recognized the sound.
Someone else was in the house.
She whispered:
"He came."
Olivia felt her blood run cold.
"Who?"
Vanessa didn't answer.
Instead, she grabbed Noah's bed and pulled him away from the window.
"Stay away from the glass."
"Why?" Olivia asked.
Vanessa looked toward the dark hallway.
Her voice shook.
"Because whoever did this..."
A shadow moved outside the bedroom window.
"...is still watching us."
Lightning flashed.
For one second, Olivia saw a face outside.
A man.
Standing in the rain.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then darkness returned.
Noah screamed.
The cast began shaking violently.
Not tapping anymore.
Moving.
Like something inside was desperate.
Olivia grabbed scissors from the emergency kit on the shelf.
Vanessa shouted:
"No!"
But Olivia was already cutting.
The first layer opened.
Then the second.
The smell became stronger.
A strange mixture of medicine and something rotten.
Noah cried.
"Please hurry!"
Olivia cut deeper.
Suddenly...
the movement stopped.
Silence filled the room.
Everyone froze.
Then something fell out from inside the cast.
A tiny object.
Wrapped in cloth.
Not an animal.
Not a monster.
Something much worse.
A small recording device.
Everyone stared.
Vanessa's face collapsed.
Because she knew exactly what it was.
Olivia picked it up.
"What is this?"
Vanessa whispered:
"Evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
Vanessa looked at Noah.
Her eyes filled with fear.
"That your father has been lied to."
Before anyone could ask another question, the device suddenly turned on.
A voice played.
A man's voice.
Michael Bennett's voice.
The recording began:
"If anyone finds this..."
Everyone stopped breathing.
The voice continued.
"Protect Noah."
A pause.
Then:
"Because the person living in this house is not who they say they are."
Olivia slowly looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa looked back.
And for the first time...
she wasn't angry.
She was terrified.
Because someone had discovered their secret.
May you like
And that someone...
was coming back.
