Carter Vance stood in the threshold, his dark suit rumpled from a sleepless cross-country flight, his face pale with dread.
Behind him stood two private security officers, their radios crackling against the tense silence of the house.
Carter: Lily! What is going on here?
Evelyn: Carter, honey! Thank God you are back. She had another nightmare.
Lily: Daddy! Don't listen to her! Don't let her touch me!
Lily broke free from Evelyn's manicured grip and sprinted across the foyer, throwing herself toward Carter's knees.
Carter: You are safe now, my daughter. Daddy is right here.
Carter lifted the girl into his arms, feeling the wild beat of her heart through her thin cotton dress.
Lily: She put Mommy in the dark hole, Daddy! Mommy knocked on the wood!
Evelyn: Carter, please. She has been hallucinating ever since Clara disappeared three days ago.
Carter: Why did you call me saying she tried to run away from the house?
Evelyn: Because she did! She ran toward the main gate screaming nonsense. The child psychologist warned us about grief trauma.
Lily: I didn't run away! I saw Evelyn push Mommy down the stairs while you were in Houston!
Evelyn let out a high, artificial laugh, smoothing down the front of her champagne evening dress.
Evelyn: That is absurd. Clara took five hundred thousand dollars from the family trust fund and boarded a flight out of Dallas. You saw the bank slips.
Carter: The bank slips had electronic signatures, Evelyn. Not Clara's handwriting.
Evelyn: Because she authorized the wire transfer online before she left you! Why are you questioning me?
Lily: Daddy, look at the rug! The rug is crooked because she moved the heavy chest!
Carter looked down at the massive Persian carpet, usually centered perfectly beneath the crystal chandelier.
It had been dragged four feet to the left, bunching against the marble skirting.
Carter: Marcus, check the front perimeter. Do not let any vehicles leave the property.
Marcus: Yes, Mr. Vance.
Evelyn: You are treating me like a criminal in my own future home? After everything I did to protect your reputation?
Carter: This is Clara's home. It has been Clara's home for twelve years.
Evelyn: Clara abandoned you! She walked away from this marriage!
A faint, rhythmic thudding sounded directly beneath their feet, vibrating through the cold marble floor.
Lily: Listen! Daddy, listen!
Carter froze, lowering Lily slowly onto her feet while keeping one protective hand on her shoulder.
Carter: What was that sound?
Evelyn: It is the old plumbing in the basement cellar. The pipes knock whenever the irrigation kicks on.
Carter: The irrigation line runs on the south wing, sixty yards away from this room.
Evelyn: Carter, you are exhausted. Let the guards take Lily upstairs so we can talk like adults.
Carter: Step away from the staircase, Evelyn.
Evelyn: You don't trust me? After I stood by you through the entire board meeting crisis?
Carter: I said step back.
Carter kicked the bunched corner of the Persian rug aside with his boot, revealing the polished square seam hidden beneath.
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