Chapter 20 - The Midnight Lullaby
Three weeks later.
The Vance estate had been completely overhauled. The old staff had been vetted through military-grade background checks, the security grid upgraded to military black-site standards, and the autumn leaves had finally given way to the first quiet snowfall of winter.
It was 2:15 AM.
Daniel stood by the fireplace in Mason’s newly remodeled bedroom, watching his son sleep beneath heavy down blankets. The color had fully returned to Mason’s cheeks; the boy had spent the afternoon playing in the fresh snow with Marcus and their newly adopted German Shepherd, a trained protection dog named Titan who currently lay stationed across the nursery threshold.
Everything was peaceful. The legal battle was completely settled: Victoria had been moved to an isolated supermax facility with zero contact privileges, Arthur’s stolen millions were repatriated, and the Mercer assets had been seized by federal authorities.
Daniel adjusted the blanket over Mason’s shoulders. He leaned down and whispered, "Goodnight, my brave boy."
He stepped out of the room, closing the heavy oak door until it clicked into its magnetic lock.
Titan the dog whined softly.
Daniel frowned, looking down at the massive animal. "What is it, boy?"
Titan’s ears were pinned back against his skull, his lips pulling back slightly to reveal white fangs. He wasn't looking at the front door, or the stairs, or the windows.
He was staring directly at the ceiling.
Suddenly, without warning, every single light on the second floor snapped off.
The estate plunged into suffocating, pitch-black darkness.
Daniel’s hand instantly went to his sidearm. "Marcus! We lost primary power! Engage the backup generators!"
His tactical radio produced only a burst of sharp, deafening static.
Then, from inside Mason’s locked bedroom, a sound began to play.
It wasn't a cry of pain. It wasn't the sound of an intruder breaking glass.
It was the faint, tinny chime of an antique music box. It was playing Clara’s favorite lullaby—the melody she had composed exclusively for Mason, a song that had never been recorded, never written on sheet paper, and known only to Clara, Daniel, and their dead father.
Daniel threw his weight against the bedroom door. The electronic magnetic lock refused to disengage. It was jammed by an external override.
"Mason!" Daniel roared, slamming his shoulder into the ballistic wood. "MASON!"
Inside the dark room, a chilling, soft whisper carried through the ventilation duct right above Daniel's head. It wasn't Julian Mercer's voice.
It was a woman's voice. Cold, crystalline, and sounding impossibly, terrifyingly like Clara Vance.
*"He doesn't belong to you, Daniel. He never did."*
The heavy lock clicked open on its own.
Daniel kicked the door wide, his flashlight cutting through the blackness, sweeping across the room.
The bed was empty. The blankets were folded neatly back.
May you like
Mason was gone.
And resting on the center of the boy's white pillow was a single, fresh, blood-red rose wrapped inside a third collar—with a brand-new timer glowing in the dark, counting down from ten minutes.
