Chapter 49: The Shadow Returns
The farmhouse felt too still when we got back. Dawn light was just starting to creep across the fields, turning everything gray and gold, but the quiet wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was the kind of quiet that makes your skin crawl, like the world is holding its breath waiting for something to break.
Marcus killed the engine in the driveway. Nobody moved right away. We just sat there listening to the ticks of the cooling motor and the faint sound of birds waking up in the trees.
Rico broke first. “Something feels off.”
Marcus nodded slow. “Too quiet. No birds near the house. No wind moving the porch swing.”
Lydia already had her laptop open in the back seat. “Cameras are live. No movement on the property. No heat signatures outside the house. But the gate s
