Chapter 2 - The Mysterious Thud Above
The heavy silence in the grand living room stretched like a taut wire ready to snap at any second.
Another deep, bone-rattling vibration echoed down from the ceiling, shaking the crystal chandelier until its prisms chimed softly.
The little girl buried her face deeper into her father’s trousers, her small frame trembling violently with residual terror.
Noah remained frozen near the white sofa, his hands dropping slowly away from his ears as he stared wide-eyed upward.
The stepmother’s face lost every shred of color, turning a chalky, sickly white that matched the polished marble beneath her feet.
Her manicured hands twitched nervously at her sides as she tried to step backward toward the sweeping mahogany staircase.
“What was that?” the father demanded, his voice dropping into a chilling, dangerous register that brooked no argument.
The stepmother swallowed hard, her throat working convulsively as she avoided meeting his burning, wrathful gaze.
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“It’s just... the old plumbing settling in the walls,” she lied quickly, her voice pitching up with forced, unnatural calm.
The father did not blink, his eyes narrowing as he watched every microscopic micro-expression of absolute panic on her face.
