RACHEL'S POV
I stepped into the house. The silence in it was thick and suffocating. The floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I closed the door behind me, and for a brief moment, all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. But then it hit me—a scream. My mother’s scream.
I froze, feeling my heart leap into my throat. The sound ripped through the house. It was a high-pitched wail of pain that sent chills racing down my spine. Then, almost immediately after, I heard my father’s voice—deep, rough, and filled with anger.
I couldn’t breathe. Panic gripped me so tightly it felt like my chest was collapsing in on itself. My legs moved on their own, carrying me toward the stairs, toward the sounds of terror that echoed from the second floor. Each step felt like I was moving through qu
