Chapter 5 - Midnight Footsteps
The third-floor hallway was swallowed by predatory shadows.
Clara moved barefoot along the edge of the velvet runner, avoiding the squeaking boards she had memorized years ago.
The manor was dead quiet, save for the rhythmic thrum of the central heating pipes behind the walls.
She reached the service dumbwaiter, sliding the brass key into the concealed panel beside the linen closets.
With a faint oiled sigh, the panel swung inward to reveal the narrow vertical shaft.
She slipped inside, pulling herself up the service ladder with quiet, disciplined strength born from years of manual labor.
Her palms grazed the cold brick until she reached the iron grate overlooking the nursery.
Peering through the brass scrollwork, her breath caught in her throat.
Leo was not in his grand canopy bed.
He had crawled underneath the heavy mahogany desk in the corner, clutching a threadbare cotton rabbit to his chest.
His cheeks were stained with dried salt, his tiny chest still twitching with phantom sobs in his sleep.
Outside the locked bedroom door, the heavy tread of Julian’s hired guard echoed down the marble hallway.
Clara waited until the footsteps faded toward the north gallery before easing the vent open.
She dropped silently onto the thick wool rug, barely making a sound as her bare feet touched the floor.
She crossed the room in three strides and dropped to her knees beside the desk.
"Leo," she whispered, her voice barely louder than the hum of the radiator.
The little boy’s eyes snapped open in the dark, wide and terrified.
Clara froze, not reaching out, terrified of startling him into another scream.
Instead, she began to hum a slow, melancholic Southern lullaby—the melody of the blue ridge pines she had sung to him during his first six months of life.
The boy’s frantic breathing hitched.
May you like
His tiny mouth parted, a trembling exhale escaping his lips as recognition washed over his small features.
He dropped the rabbit, crawled out on his hands and knees, and buried his entire face into the hollow of her neck.
