Another voice answered.
Deep.
Not someone from the house.
—What if she refuses to sign?
Daniel laughed softly.
—She’ll sign while she’s asleep.
Just like Mom.
My blood froze.
I covered my mouth to stop any sound.
Mom.
That meant… she didn’t just die.
Suddenly the metal door creaked.
It was opening from inside.
I stepped backward into the darkness and stumbled against the stairs.
The flashlight switched off.
Complete darkness.
I pressed myself against the wall as the door opened and a line of yellow light spilled into the corridor.
Daniel’s shadow stepped out.
And behind him… another man.
Daniel stopped.
—Who’s there? —he asked.
That wasn’t my brother’s voice.
It was the voice of someone ready to do the worst.
At that moment, something saved me.
My phone vibrated.
Alarm.
The alarm I had set earlier before doing any of this:
“LEAVE. NOW.”
The vibration made a faint sound.
Daniel’s head turned.
He saw me.
—Ah… —he whispered—. So you didn’t drink it.
He stepped closer.
I backed away.
Until my back hit the wall.
—Sister… you didn’t have to make this difficult.
The other man said:
—Come on. We don’t have time.
Daniel smiled slowly.
—We do. She always falls asleep.
At that moment, I ran.
I threw my phone to the ground to make noise and sprinted up the corridor.
