And my eleven-year-old daughter was standing beside my bed, waiting for me to explain why her dead father had left a warning about the man she was supposed to call her stepfather.
“Mom?”
Sophie whispered.
I couldn’t speak.
“Mom, why does Daddy say Miles is dangerous?”
I grabbed her hand.
“Sweetheart, I need you to listen very carefully.”
Her eyes widened.
“Don’t tell anyone you found this letter.”
“Not even Miles?”
“Especially not Miles.”
Then, from somewhere beyond my bedroom door, I heard the unmistakable sound of a floorboard creaking.
Someone was awake.
And someone might have been listening.
CHAPTER 1 — THE LETTER THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE EXISTED
I turned off my bedside lamp.
Sophie immediately pressed against me.
“Mom, I’m scared.”
I wrapped my arms around her and stared at the narrow strip of light beneath my bedroom door.
The hallway remained silent.
Then came another creak.
