Chapter 6 - Whispers in the HallwayDown on the second floor, the nursery had grown dim as the floor lamp clicked off, leaving only the soft glow of a star-patterned nightlight casting gentle constellations across the ceiling.
Emma sat quietly in a rocking chair by the corner, her hands resting in her lap. The three boys were tucked tightly beneath their heavy duvets, their breathing slow and synchronized in the deep rhythm of childhood sleep. Aiden had one small hand curled into the edge of his pillow; Parker’s face was slack and peaceful; Cole lay closest to the edge, his eyes wide open in the dark, staring up at the ceiling.
“Emma?” Cole whispered, the sound barely louder than a rustle of dry leaves.
Emma leaned forward, her soft pink dress making a faint whisper against the wooden rockers. She reached out and brushed a stray lock of light-brown hair off the boy's forehead. “I’m right here, Cole. Go to sleep.”
“Is Daddy angry because you found us?”
Emma’s hand paused for a fraction of a second against the boy's hair. Her eyes flicked toward the heavy oak door, as if she could see right through the wood, straight up to the third-floor study where Grayson was currently unearthing ghosts.
“Your father isn't angry, sweetheart,” Emma said carefully, her voice carrying a strange, sorrowful weight that didn't sound entirely reassuring even to her own ears. “He’s just… remembering things he tried very hard to forget.”
“Mommy said he forgot how to smile,” Cole murmured, turning his head sideways into the pillow. “She said when the bad men took her away, she left us in the dark, but you had the key to turn the lights back on.”
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Emma closed her eyes tightly, a single breath escaping her lips in a shuddering sigh. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the boy's forehead, her fingers tightening around something hidden deep within the pocket of her apron—a small, silver key on a faded blue ribbon.
“Go to sleep, Cole,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. “Tomorrow is going to change everything.”
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