—Good night, sister.
I heard his footsteps walking away.
Slow.
Unhurried.
As if he knew exactly what time everything was supposed to happen.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Fifteen.
I stayed completely still, controlling my breathing, until the silence began to feel “safe”… though in that house nothing was ever truly safe—only disguised as such.
Exactly at nine o’clock, as if the clock itself were an accomplice, I heard the first creak in the hallway.
Then another.
Footsteps.
Daniel was coming.
I lay sideways on the bed, just like always. I let one arm hang slightly off the mattress, like someone asleep. I opened my eyes
