My Daughter’s Phone Call from the Past

In my panic, I knocked over a pill bottle on the nightstand. I reached out instinctively to catch it, but I sent the glass of water tumbling instead.The sound of shattering glass split the silence. Shards scattered across the floor, and water dripped down the edge of the nightstand. A jagged piece nicked the back of my hand, but I barely felt the sting.I covered the phone’s receiver with my hand and prayed that the person on the other end did not hear it.However, it was too late!The chilling and triumphant laugh of a man echoed through the phone.“Well, well, I’ve found you!”It felt like a bomb had gone off inside my skull. “No! Please! Please leave Aurora alone!” I screamed into the phone like a lunatic.What followed drained every ounce of hope within me.Aurora’s piercing screams mingled with the man’s sinister and giddy laughter.Then all of a sudden, both voices were cut off.All that remained was empty, crushing static.I lost control and screamed like a lio

It was Sam’s phone, but a woman had answered it! Judging by her voice, she was around thirty.I was stunned, and anger surged within me. But what she said next made me realize that it was not the right time to snap.She snarled impatiently. “Whoever you are, you stupid witch, you’re really pissing me off. Damn you for ruining my night!”She hung up after that, and I shot to my feet. That voice sounded too familiar, especially the way she said the words, “Stupid witch!”It was the same woman from the call, one of Aurora’s killers.My husband was with the murderer!Were Sam and the murderer working together?No. That could not be. Before I even got pregnant, he would always say how much he wanted a daughter. He joked that sons could be such handfuls. At a certain age, they might even become so mischievous that it drove everyone crazy. A daughter was different. She would be his sweet and gentle little princess.‘Oh, no! Sam must be in danger!’The thought chilled me to th

I quickly told my daughter to check the cabinet by the entryway for the spare key. At the same time, I asked her what time it was over there.It was 2:50 a.m.! In just ten minutes, the murderers would climb in through the window. If Aurora could take the elevator down before then, she would still have time to escape!However, Aurora told me the spare key was gone.I started biting my nails in a panic.The spare key had always been kept in that cabinet. How could it suddenly disappear? Had Jennifer stolen it?This was bad. Aurora was trapped!Was this it? Was her death inevitable?If she could not get out, she had to hide.Yes, the water in the bathtub!She had taken a bath that night. I told Aurora to carry a pile of clothes into the bathtub and pour in more laundry detergent. It would create the illusion that dirty laundry was soaking. She could hide beneath it. Her smartwatch was waterproof, so we could stay on the call.“Mom, someone’s coming in. It’s Dad! “H

At that hour, Sam was usually in his study. I told Aurora to slip quietly out of the apartment without him noticing.This time, the door was not locked, and she made it out without any trouble.Time passed, and after a while, I reckoned that she should have stepped out of the elevator.However, when I called out to her, she responded in a startled voice, “You’re not my mom. I just saw my mom walk out of the lobby. Who are you? What are you trying to do?”I was stunned and confused. How could she have seen me? At that time, I should have just arrived at the office.I quickly told her a secret that only the two of us would know.She chose to believe me, so I urged her to follow the woman quietly and see what she was up to.“She’s back! I have to hide. She just got into the elevator and pressed the 27th floor. That’s our floor.”I quickly told her to take the other elevator and follow the woman.Moments later, her stifled gasp came through the phone.“She just used a key to op