Chapter 22 - MIDNIGHT SHADOWS
At 2:00 AM, David’s phone vibrated on the nightstand.
He opened his eyes in the dark. Beside him, Claire was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She had felt the phone buzz too.
David unlocked the screen. The app connected to the trail camera in the garage loaded. The night-vision footage was grainy, cast in an eerie green light.
A small figure in an oversized hoodie was standing at his workbench.
Lily.
David and Claire watched in horrified silence as their daughter unlocked the red tool chest. She didn't fumble. She knew exactly which drawer to pull. She extracted the rotary tool and the digital caliper.
With practiced, terrifying efficiency, Lily clamped the titanium brace into the table vise. She turned on the rotary tool. The faint, high-pitched whine of grinding metal vibrated through the floorboards beneath their bedroom.
She was checking the depth with the caliper, ensuring the wear mark looked natural, shaving down the safety pin just enough to guarantee the brace would hyper-extend her knee the next day.
Claire choked back a sob, burying her face in her pillow.
David couldn’t breathe. His daughter wasn't just hurting herself. She was an expert at it.
He stood up, put on his robe, and walked out of the bedroom. He descended the stairs, his bare feet silent on the wood, and pushed open the heavy fire door to the garage.
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The grinding stopped instantly.
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