Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
The power failed at 10:14 p.m.
The mansion went dark.
Emergency lighting activated seconds later.
But the girls screamed.
Becca was in the hallway.
She ran toward the nursery.
Luna, Stella, and Nova were huddled beneath a blanket.
Their hands were clasped together.
Becca knelt nearby.
"It's Becca. You're safe with me."
Nova shook violently.
"No lights."
Stella whispered:
"Smoke."
Luna covered her face.
Becca did not ask questions.
She helped them focus on the present.
The floor beneath their feet.
The blanket in their hands.
Her voice.
Then the nursery door opened.
Valentino entered.
His face was pale.
He sat on the floor beside his daughters.
Not demanding answers.
Not issuing orders.
Just sitting.
After several minutes, Nova reached for his hand.
Valentino's eyes filled.
"Daddy," she whispered.
He stopped breathing.
It was the first time she'd called him that in two years.
He pulled her gently into his arms.
Then Stella joined them.
Then Luna.
Becca looked away to give them privacy.
But downstairs, Marco was receiving troubling news.
The outage had not been accidental.
Someone had disabled a backup control panel.
Security footage showed a maintenance worker entering the basement.
The worker's identification was false.
When Valentino learned this, his expression hardened.
"Someone got inside."
Marco nodded.
Valentino looked toward the nursery.
"Then find out how."
The next morning, investigators discovered a small metal box hidden behind an electrical cabinet.
Inside was a photograph of Annie.
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And a handwritten message.
SHE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.
